The Toledo train accident occurred on the eve of a train drivers' strike that had already been called to demand improvements in railway safety and operation. SEMAF announced on October 16 a 24-hour strike for this Thursday, the 29th, aimed at all driving personnel of the Renfe Group companies.
The collision between a Renfe AVE and an Iryo train, registered at 8:54 a.m. near Urda, has left at least 30 dead and more than 80 injured, according to the balance from the president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page. The figures, for now, are provisional.
The causes of the accident are still under investigation.
A call announced twelve days earlier
The union set the strike for October 29, from 00:01 to 23:59, after declaring the previous negotiation in the Conflict Commission exhausted. Its statement was published after a meeting with Transportes, Adif, the State Railway Safety Agency, and Renfe.
SEMAF then denounced an administrative blockage of already signed commitments on railway safety, response to meteorological emergencies, hiring of train drivers, attention to professionals involved in run-overs, and reliability of rolling stock.
The organization had registered the Conflict Commission on October 5. After the meeting on the 16th, it maintained that progress remained stalled and reproached the administrations and companies for justifying the delays due to bureaucratic coordination between agencies.
Among the main demands is the implementation of binding protocols for meteorological alerts and clear rules for communications when there is a risk on the track. The union demands that the need to maintain circulation does not prevail over safety.
It also calls for definitive technical solutions to the reliability problems of rolling stock and a direct communication channel between workers' representatives, the railway safety agency, and the Labor Inspectorate.
Another of its demands is to apply a "Just Culture": a model with which it aims to prevent, in the event of an incident, responsibilities from being automatically sought in the cabin without analyzing all the factors involved.
Breaks, retirement, and attention after run-overs
The call also includes labor claims. SEMAF demands a correct application of driving time interruptions and that the reducing coefficients for the retirement age be unblocked, to avoid differences between professionals in equivalent situations.
For new promotions, it demands compliance with the agreement of May 7, so that they access as entry-level drivers in training. Likewise, it asks to fully preserve the protocol for assisting those who suffer a run-over during their work, without cuts or changes in criteria regarding what was agreed.
Renfe maintains that it has fulfilled its commitments
Renfe disagrees with the union's diagnosis. The company states that it has executed its corresponding obligations and that a large part of the issues raised depend on other bodies or regulatory changes beyond its decision-making capacity.
In its communication of October 26, the company defended that it had reinforced operations and safety with more than 1,200 new workers, maintenance teams, and actions to improve the reliability of trains. It also described the strike as unjustified.
For the strike, minimum services of 73% had been established for high-speed and long-distance, 65% for medium-distance, and 26% for freight. In Commuter trains, the general resolution contemplates 75% during peak hours and 50% the rest of the day. These percentages correspond to the strike planning; restrictions derived from the accident constitute a different situation.
