Portuguese unions join in European railway workers' strike

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Portuguese railway workers' trade unions took strike action on 23 November 1998, as part of a European day of action in protest against the EU-led liberalisation of the sector. The Portuguese unions are particularly worried about the creation of private monopolies and about possible non-compliance with labour regulations in the industry.

On 23 November 1998, railway workers in a number of European countries took part in a day of action, coordinated by the Federation of Transport Workers' Unions in the European Union (FST), in protest against EU plans to liberalise the rail sector, and specifically against a recent decision to open a quarter of the rail freight market to competition over the next 10 years. In Portugal, the day of action included a strike which stopped all trains for one hour (between 16.00 and 17.00) and affected rail traffic for four hours. The strike was called by four unions affiliated to the main confederations - the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (Confederação Geral dos Trabalhadores Portugueses, CGTP) and the General Workers' Union (União Geral de Trabalhadores, UGT) - and independent unions representing involving locomotive engineers, train crew and station workers.

The CGTP-affiliated Federation of Portuguese Railway Workers (Federação dos Sindicatos dos Trabalhadores Ferroviários Portugueses) believes that the policies being followed - based on a 1991 EU Directive - will lead to the abandonment of unprofitable secondary rail lines. This would undermine the social function of railway services and contribute to population loss in the interior of Portugal. Remodelling the country's transport sector would also let in private operators, thereby weakening the position of the state-run companies that maintain the infrastructure.

A particular focus of union discontent is the new rail service over the river Tagus. This project is supported by public investment, but the nationalised rail company, Portuguese Railways (Caminhos de Ferro, CP), was barred from bidding for the concession, leaving the field open to private operators. The Fertagus consortium won the contract. The unions are opposed to this model and believe that there is no reason for the separate, private service to exist. The unions are also critical of the lack of anti-trust legislation to restrict private companies in a monopoly position. Fertagus, which has links to the highway transportation sector in the north-south corridor and the Cascais and Sintra suburban lines, could be in a position to control suburban transport in the Lisbon metropolitan area. The unions also claim that there could be problems with worsening safety conditions, increased ticket prices and non-compliance with labour regulations.

CP has a long history of collective bargaining. Fertagus, which has a 30-year concession for the cross-Tagus service, hires workers on short-term contracts and has given no guarantees providing for bargaining between unions and the company. The government, according to the unions, should oblige the company to at least comply with existing minimum employment conditions in the sector.

The government saw the November strike more as a symbol of solidarity with European railway workers than as a vote against reform of the Portuguese railway system. On the day of the stoppage, the Minister of Equipment, Territorial Planning and Administration swore in the administrative council of the National Institute of Railway Transport (Instituto Nacional dos Transportes Ferroviários), a new regulatory body. He took the opportunity to state that the rail reform should be seen as part of a larger group of changes in progress in the maritime, port, highway and air transport sectors, given that Portugal is "Europe's largest Atlantic platform".