The blow of effect that the Government of the Community of Madrid tried to give yesterday announcing the hiring of more than 300 new drivers for the Metro a day before the start of the strike called this Thursday failed to deactivate the protest. The Machinists' Union confirmed yesterday afternoon that the planned shutdowns for the day in which the centennial of the suburban is commemorated are maintained , during which 58% of the trains that do so regularly will circulate on average.

Through a statement, the organization reported that it had held a "non-fruitful" meeting with the public company in which "they had only been asked to acquire a written commitment to open a negotiating table" to address the rest of the demands raised. Apart from claiming more personnel, they criticize the management of the presence of asbestos in the facilities and denounce the «continuous aggressions» they suffer without, they say, the company adopts «actions for its solution».

The strike will continue throughout the Metro service this Thursday, in which a total of 322 trains will circulate. "The distribution will not be done in an equitable way since, as always, the periphery lines will be the most affected", they point out in the Machinists' Union, where they consider "abusive" the minimum services that have been established for peak and different hours routes that «can reach 70% or 80%».

In the suburban, they regret that "a day so marked for the history of the company and its workers" has been chosen to call this protest "when all its claims are being addressed by the company and the Ministry of Transportation." Thus, among other issues, they indicate that a deamiating plan is already being carried out, with more than 140 million euros that will allow the removal of this material from the entire network in 2025.

In parallel, Metro de Madrid will hire more than 300 new drivers next year, which will be added to the 100 that have already joined the workforce in recent months. Such a figure will mean a "historical record" in the workforce and will improve the frequencies of the convoys.

The announcement was made yesterday by the regional vice president, Ignacio Aguado, in an act celebrating the centenary of the suburban. "The most valuable thing that Madrid people have is time and we cannot make them lose it on the platforms," ​​said the leader of Ciudadanos, the party that controls the Ministry of Transportation.

The incorporation of the new drivers to the current workforce of around 1,800 troops will cost about 15 million euros a year. This will exceed the maximum number of 2,078 drivers reached in 2011, according to a spokesman for the regional government.

Likewise, the Community of Madrid follows the process for the purchase of 60 new trains that it announced in October 2018 in the previous Puerta del Sol Executive, a commitment that the current one maintains. However, the contract for the award of its construction, which will cost about 700 million euros , has not yet been tendered .

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  • Citizens
  • Madrid's community
  • Ignacio Aguado

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