Almada and Seixal tram strike: all day on 16–18 November, last two hours of shifts on 19 and 23 November
Drivers on the Metro Sul do Tejo tram, which runs through Almada and Seixal on the south bank of the Tagus, have called another strike. On 16, 17 and 18 November they will not work at all, and on 19 and 23 November they will stop work two hours before the end of each shift. The drivers' union SMAQ gave notice of the strike on 30 October (Observador).
During the previous strike, on 20 and 21 October, the mandatory minimum service ran only on line 3 (Cacilhas – Universidade) and only from 7:00 to 9:00 and from 17:00 to 19:00 (see our article of 19 October). The operator, Metro Transportes do Sul, has not yet announced the minimum service for November; it posts strike notices on its website.
According to the union, almost all drivers took part in the October strike. Since then, the union says, neither the company nor the government has been in touch, even though the drivers asked for a mediator to be brought in (Notícias ao Minuto).
The dispute is over a new collective agreement: talks have dragged on for two and a half years. The drivers want pay to rise in line with prices and work schedules to be agreed with them rather than set unilaterally. The company calls the strike disproportionate: it says pay has risen by 7.7–12.8% over the past four years, and that it was the union that broke off talks in September.
