The threat of a strike by SFM workers grows: "It's all just talk."

PalmThe works council of Mallorca Railway Services (SFM) and management will meet again next week to try to make progress in negotiations regarding safety, amid growing tension and the threat of strikes and protests by the workers. Both sides met this Thursday in a meeting where SFM presented union representatives with a document outlining the status of the 48 measures demanded by the works council. According to the public company's manager, José Ramón Orta, it is now up to the workers to analyze the proposal. Orta explained that the document is the result of an analysis prepared by technical staff and includes an evaluation of each demand, as well as a planned implementation schedule. The manager emphasized that virtually none of the points require political intervention, except for those related to the outsourcing of services. However, the works council considers the assessment highly critical. Its president, Ricardo Mas, described the document as "devoid of content" and lamented the vagueness of the responses. "It's like Groundhog Day. They say they've worked hard, but the points are just rambling: that it will be studied, that the appropriate tool will be sought…," he remarked. Mas warned that if concrete commitments don't emerge from the next meeting, a schedule of protests will be launched. In fact, he acknowledged that at the beginning of Thursday's meeting, the committee even walked out with the intention of going to the Balearic Islands Arbitration and Mediation Tribunal (TAMIB) to formally register strikes. "We can't wait any longer. It's the only way to get results," he stated.

Security Commission

One of the main demands is the establishment of the security committee. Orta has reiterated the commitment to have it formed by March. However, committee sources believe that the implementation of a security management system should be further along and denounce shortcomings in incident tracking. In this regard, the manager has announced that testing of a system to improve incident tracking will begin this Friday. SFM technicians are also scheduled to travel to Valencia to study the implementation in Mallorca of an internal communications system similar to the one used by the Valencian Regional Government Railways (FGV). Criticism of Minister Óscar Puente

In statements to the media, José Ramón Orta also responded to the remarks made by the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, in Congress, who referred to the Mallorcan railway in a response to PP deputy José Vicente Marí. The SFM manager described the statements as "insulting" and asserted that the Ministry "has not sent a single euro to the Balearic Islands for railway matters." According to Orta, state contributions arrive through insularity funds and are not earmarked for direct investments in the railway. He also invited the Minister to visit Mallorca to see for himself, he said, that the quality of the trains is superior to that of other services under his responsibility. The next meeting between management and workers will be key in determining whether the conflict will be resolved or if, ultimately, the rail service could be affected by strikes in the coming weeks.