HIGH-SPEED rail services between Spain's largest two cities and France have been snapped up by half a million passengers in less than nine months, reveals the transport board.
Catering staff on long-haul trains to strike
19/02/2017
A WEEK-LONG strike among catering staff on the high-speed AVE, long-distance and international rail links has been announced over plans to lay off 452 employees.
The strike will start a week today – next Sunday, February 26 – and will affect cross-border trains between Spanish destinations and the French cities of Paris, Toulouse, Lyon and Marseille as well as the fast and long-haul national lines.
Ferrovial Servicios, which provides on-board assistance and is a branch of the national rail transport company Ferrovial, has around 1,900 employees working on the trains plus additional office staff.
The franchise was awarded by rail board RENFE in late 2013 for four years, with the option to renew for another two.
Several unions, which are behind the strike – due to continue until Sunday, March 5 – say the company has 'blocked negotiations' and 'ceased to apply' the collective working conditions agreement in force, as well as announcing temporary redundancies.
Its management cites 'organisational and productive reasons' for the lay-offs, which will affect just under a quarter of the full-time staff.
According to the firm, employees will not be laid off beyond November 30, 2019 at the very latest, meaning they will be able to go back to their jobs within two years and nine months from now at the outside.
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A WEEK-LONG strike among catering staff on the high-speed AVE, long-distance and international rail links has been announced over plans to lay off 452 employees.
The strike will start a week today – next Sunday, February 26 – and will affect cross-border trains between Spanish destinations and the French cities of Paris, Toulouse, Lyon and Marseille as well as the fast and long-haul national lines.
Ferrovial Servicios, which provides on-board assistance and is a branch of the national rail transport company Ferrovial, has around 1,900 employees working on the trains plus additional office staff.
The franchise was awarded by rail board RENFE in late 2013 for four years, with the option to renew for another two.
Several unions, which are behind the strike – due to continue until Sunday, March 5 – say the company has 'blocked negotiations' and 'ceased to apply' the collective working conditions agreement in force, as well as announcing temporary redundancies.
Its management cites 'organisational and productive reasons' for the lay-offs, which will affect just under a quarter of the full-time staff.
According to the firm, employees will not be laid off beyond November 30, 2019 at the very latest, meaning they will be able to go back to their jobs within two years and nine months from now at the outside.
Related Topics
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