27/06/2013 00:00
TW
0
NEWSDESK

PALMA
RAIL users have called for an end to the ongoing standoff between the Majorcan Rail Service (SFM) and the unions.
The Rail Users' Association yesterday described the inconvenience being caused to passengers as “unjust” and said the current situation should never have been allowed to develop.

The association said that rail users felt they were “victims being used in the middle of a stand-off they did not understand”. It called for the conflict between the company's management and the unions to be resolved through discussion and dialogue rather than through shows of strength. “The Rail Users' Association calls on both sides - the management of SFM and the union committee - to be more conscious of the public, to give out more information, to show more transparency and to show a lot more responsibility,” it said in a statement.

Yesterday, passengers again experienced delays owing to the latest in the unions' rolling series of strikes.
Between 8am and 10am, there were delays of between 10 and 20 minutes in the service similar to the other days in which there have been stoppages.
Yesterday afternoon, management and unions were scheduled to meet with the intention of reaching a deal to put an end to the stoppages, develop a programme to improve the safety of the service and improve working conditions.

Prior to this meeting, a further stoppage was due to be held between 7pm and 10pm last night and two further days of stoppages were scheduled for tomorrow and Saturday.

A meeting between the two sides last week showed that there existed “fortified positions”, according to union sources, who believe it will be difficult to reach a deal if there is no movement on the issues of working hours and shifts.

Sources in the Department of Transport said yesterday that the company was studying a proposal put forward by the union and would meet union representatives to see if they could put an end to the ongoing protests that were affecting rail users in Majorca.