Madrid Metro Strike from 18th August

 

Madrid's Metro employees have defended their decision to strike by saying how they have been forced into calling for strikes during World Youth Day over salary negotiations.

A Leader of the UGT General Workers Unions, who represents the Metro employees, told Europa Press that the strikes are taking place due to the "failure to implement salary raises agreed to in a collective agreement for 2011 and the breakdown of collective bargaining."

The strikes are scheduled to take place from the afternoon of August 18th and to run until the 21st, to coincide with the visit of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Madrid to take part in World Youth Day.

Workers argued that the Economic crisis that led to a decrease in pay last year and a scaling back of services "seem to have ended coincidentally with the visit by the Catholic Church's highest authority" and that "there don't appear to be any economic problems to prevent increasing service on the days of the visit by His Holiness."

Despite the planned strikes the Madrid Metro reports that the subways will be operating normally during the Pope's visit, and that a minimum service will be operated during this time.