Partial agreement between SFM and workers on railway safety: "We are on the right track"

PalmThe management of Mallorca Railway Services (SFM) and the works council will meet again next Tuesday after reaching an agreement this Friday on fifteen of the 48 requests submitted regarding railway safety, although the creation of a safety committee was not addressed. Speaking to the media after the meeting, SFM manager José Ramón Orta indicated that the negotiations are "on the right track," while the president of the works council, Ricardo Mas, celebrated the move "from doing nothing to doing something, which is always better." Mas also lamented that the safety committee for train traffic and the internalization of contracts in sensitive safety areas were still not discussed. After more than two hours of meetings, the workers' representative criticized the company for not providing a clear, structured, or formal response regarding the 48 safety measures presented.

During the meeting, the parties addressed point by point the issues that need to be reviewed. "It has been shown that what we are denouncing is not unfounded. There are many missing protocols for day-to-day operations. The company always says it has future plans, but we want work procedures to be formalized and incidents to be recorded," he stated.

Orta, for his part, noted that many of the points raised by the workers are aspects that the company is already implementing or will be resolved with the implementation of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) signaling standard.

The SFM manager expressed his desire for the negotiations not to drag on indefinitely and assured that the company is not hindering the workers' requests "as long as they are logical and technically sound."

During the meeting, the works council was given a protocol regarding the centralized operations center and the traveler information service. Orta explained that it is a draft document that will be continuously updated and revised to incorporate input.