The Liberal initiative will introduce a proposal in parliament that aims to refund users of Comboios de Portugal the value of the pass corresponding to the strike days, the leader of the party, Rui Rocha, announced on Monday.
The Liberals want “the return of the value of the pass corresponding to the days when there is no service and in which people therefore use alternative public transport, or their own means, or through transport services by taxi and Uber,” the president explained. from IL out,
Rui Rocha was today at the train station in the parish of Agualva-Cacém, in the municipality of Sintra, on a day when workers of CP – Comboios de Portugal went on strike again due to a deadlock in salary negotiations.
“We are moving forward with a legislative initiative to that effect so that, at least when people do not benefit from the service, the amount they invested in the monthly pass can be reimbursed to them,” he said.
Asked about this proposal, Rui Rocha explained that the return would be “proportional”, illustrating that the 40 euros of a monthly pass would be divided by 30 days, and that the amount corresponding to each day on which there was a strike, and “on which there were no minimum services” would be returned to users.
In addition to this proposal, IL states that “where possible there should be competition from providers of rail services” and the concession of transport services from CP itself.
On yet another day of strike by CP workers, the leader of the Liberal Initiative accused the state of being a “bad employer”.
“It fails to solve the social conflict, strikes follow one another and this also fits what we said in the IL, which is the exhaustion of the solutions that the PS and the government have for the country, for the economy , for society, but also for the management of public companies,” he criticized.
Rui Rocha pointed to a “situation of permanent social conflict within the CP” which has two consequences, the first “from the point of view of its own workers, who are dissatisfied and manifest themselves in this way”.
“The second is the consequence this has for the users of CP’s rail transport service, who are going through a real trial with the succession of strike days. They do not know what time they will return at the end of the working day and they also do not know what financial resources to invest, because they buy the pass to access the service, but then they have no service,” he complained .
During the time he was at this train station on the Sintra line, Rui Rocha approached some people waiting on the platform, including a woman named Eunice, who was waiting for a train to Lisbon Oriente and confessed to the IL leader that she didn’t know what time he would arrive or return home.
“Sometimes the mistress is in a good mood, other times in a bad mood. One time she pays for the taxi, another time she doesn’t want to pay anything, and when it’s time to go back, I’ll be home at eleven.” at night because I have to hop the subway through Uber until you arrive,” he complained.
When asked if the social pass measure failed, Rui Rocha replied that these passes are “obviously an important measure, but it was good that they worked” and criticized the “lack of service even when there is no strike”.
CP canceled 143 trains out of 249 scheduled between 12 a.m. and 8 a.m. today due to the carrier’s workers’ strike, according to a statement from the company to Lusa.
CP workers are starting more strikes today, with the carrier warning of “serious disturbances” until March 2, in protest of the impasse in wage negotiations that also involve Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP).
This strike was declared after another strike between 8 and 21 February.
Source: DN
