Metro workers will go on strike during the busiest days and hours of Holy Week in Málaga.

The workers of the Málaga metro maintain their strike call, with partial stoppages on days and hours with the highest demand from travelers during ... Holy Week, which is about to begin. It is worth remembering that this has become one of the most used means of transport to attend the processions in the Center from the neighborhoods. But also by residents of the metropolitan area of Greater Málaga, who leave their cars in Teatinos and Martín Carpena.

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The days and hours of the strike calls are as follows: the first will be Holy Monday (March 30), with a stoppage from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM. This coincides with peak time for attendees to see El Cautivo in the city streets. This will be followed by Holy Wednesday (April 1), from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM. And Holy Thursday (April 2), from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. On the same days, there will be gatherings of the staff at El Perchel station, next to María Zambrano.

On Holy Monday the stoppage will be from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM, coinciding with the arrival at the Center of attendees to see El Cautivo

This decision comes after today's Sercla meeting ended without agreement. "The company, far from coming with the intention to bridge gaps and avoid conflict during Holy Week, focused its intervention on reproaches towards the committee, even questioning how its proposal was conveyed to the assembly," sources from the workers' committee report.

These sources assure that the information provided to the staff about the proposed agreement has been "transparent" at all times, and the decision to reject the agreement was taken by a majority. "Today, once again, the company has avoided addressing the key aspects of the agreement, especially in organizational matters, maintaining an attitude of absolute blockade."

Minimum Services

"This stance leads us to a scenario of strike during Holy Week, with minimum services set at 60%, which will likely create a complicated situation in the service, with overcrowding and difficulties for the citizens. All of this is the direct responsibility of a company that has not lived up to expectations," add the union representatives. Despite this, the committee remains open to negotiate. "If there are no real advances, the staff will continue to increase pressure in the coming weeks."

Indeed, the General Directorate of Labor, Security and Occupational Health of the Junta de Andalucía has established minimum services of 60% in the metro service due to the strike called by the unions CCOO and CSIF for the upcoming days March 30, April 1 and 2, coinciding with Holy Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

To justify this measure, the Junta considers it essential to guarantee mobility during Holy Week, when the expected demand for this service will exceed 100,000 daily travelers, where the subway acts as one of the main access routes to the official procession route.

In fact, the Atarazanas station, on the Alameda Principal, is considered the only direct public transport access to the very heart of the processional itinerary. Therefore, the Junta establishes the aforementioned uniform minimum services, of 60% in all worker groups of the concessionary company.

Furthermore, it stipulates that the trains in operation at the start of the stoppages must complete their journey to the nearest head station and be parked as instructed by the company to avoid incidents. The concessionaire, along with the strike committee, will be responsible for designating the personnel who will cover these minimum services.

The State of the Labor Conflict

The workers' committee explains the reasons why, in their opinion, the Sercla meeting ended without agreement. "The business representation conditioned the progress of the negotiations on the immediate withdrawal of the strike, without detailing a comprehensive improvement proposal."

"Given the committee's refusal to withdraw the mobilizations without guarantees, the company put forward a series of measures that have been described as insufficient and regressive." Among the critical points of the negotiation, the committee cites "immobilism" on critical matters for the staff, such as continuous driving, compensation in rest for night work, or improvements in retirement matters.

Despite the disagreement, the committee leaders reiterate their permanent willingness to negotiate, but warn that the unity of the staff is "total," so pressure will increase if significant advances are not made in the coming days.