Palma Mallorca bus strike negotiations break down

The bus strike in Palma will continue.

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma20/09/2020 20:50

Representatives of the management of Palma's EMT bus operator and the works committee met on Sunday evening in a new attempt to end the indefinite strike. The meeting started at 6pm and broke up shortly afterwards.

The spokesperson for the works committee, Andrés Rodríguez, described the management's proposal as "ridiculous". "They brought the same proposal as they did on Thursday. We can't even consider it."

Francesc Dalmau, Palma town hall's councillor for mobility, said that it was "unheard of" to leave the negotiating table "because they don't like the proposal and withdraw without even entering into a debate".

One of the main sticking points concerns shift work at the bus maintenance garages. The works committee wants agreements for these to be mediated by the TAMIB arbitration tribunal, but the EMT management has turned this down.

While the strike is continuing, support among drivers appears to be waning. The EMT management stated on Sunday that only five of the 157 services were being supported by strike action. The works committee says that drivers were given the option to decide whether or not to support the strike over the weekend.