The president of the CP Drivers' Union, António Domingues,
has revealed that no trains are planned to run nationwide on Thursday, 9
February, the second day of the workers' strike, adding that from Saturday the
strike will be partial.
"Today the affected trains will be especially the
medium and long-haul ones, also on the Douro Line and on the Minho Line, and we
expect that tomorrow [Thursday] there will be a total stoppage. Tomorrow there will
be no trains nationwide", said António Domingues, in statements to RTP3.
The president of the Union explained that "tomorrow
there will be a total stoppage", so "on Friday the strike will still
have a great impact".
Then, "from Saturday, the stoppage will be partial. We
will strike, on average, half an hour in daily work. The circulation of trains
will be affected, but it will be partial, it will not have the impact that we foresee
for tomorrow".
The partial strike will be "until the 16th" and
thereafter "passenger trains will not be affected".
On the CP side, the company foresees "severe
disturbances" in circulation until February 21, since no minimum services
have been decreed.
The "big reason" for this strike, explained
António Domingues, is related to the fact that the company is proposing
"wage increases well below inflation".
CP recalls that "for customers who have already purchased tickets to travel on Alfa Pendular, Intercidades, Internacional, Interregional and Regional trains, CP will allow a refund of the total amount of the ticket purchased, or its free revalidation for another train of the same category and in the same class".