SFM and workers move closer to an agreement ahead of partial strikes for railway safety

PalmThe management of Mallorca Railway Services (SFM) took a step towards dialogue with the works council on Tuesday, after workers agreed in an assembly to call partial strikes to demand improvements in the safety of the railway network. The meeting, scheduled for Wednesday morning, aims to defuse the conflict before the protest materializes. Union representatives and the management of the public company will meet at the headquarters to open a channel of dialogue based on the demands expressed by the workers, who announced the mobilizations after months of complaints about deficiencies in infrastructure safety, equipment maintenance, and other technical aspects of the network. During the first assembly, held on Monday, delegates approved by majority vote the call for work stoppages, likely compatible with the nationwide train drivers' strike scheduled for February 9, 10, and 11, although the protest has not yet been formally registered. The unions argued that the action is not intended as an attack on the service, but rather as a tool to denounce situations they consider unsustainable and that endanger both staff and passengers. The works council has confirmed it will attend the meeting "in a constructive spirit, but with the firmness the situation demands," according to a statement released this Tuesday. The unions emphasized that their goal is to reach "concrete and binding" agreements on safety, with effective measures and clear commitments to prevent the recurrence of risky situations. "Safety is non-negotiable," they stressed. The call for partial strikes comes in a context marked by the train accidents in Adamuz (Córdoba) and Gelida (Barcelona), fatal incidents that have reopened the debate on the safety standards of Spanish railway infrastructure and which SFM workers have cited as a point of reference to justify their actions. For their part, SFM management and the Balearic Government have issued reassuring messages to the public, maintaining that the railway network in Mallorca is safe and that historic investments have been made in the safety and maintenance of trains, tracks, and associated systems. The Minister of Mobility, José Luis Mateo, expressed his willingness to engage in dialogue but emphasized the need for union demands to be "specific and well-founded."

Wednesday's meeting will be a litmus test to see if the announced but not yet formalized conflict can be channeled through agreements and commitments to improve the safety of the public rail service in the archipelago, or if it will ultimately lead to protests.