Long queues of passengers at bus stops in Malaga today as drivers start first of series of strike action

Ignacio Lillo

Malaga

Monday, 28 October 2024, 09:56

Motorists have encountered traffic chaos in Malaga city this Monday morning as city and interurban bus drivers have started their first day of strike.

Since 5.30am, some 30 striking drivers, from the UGT and CC OO unions, have been slowing down the departure of buses from the Empresa Malagueña de Tansportes (EMT) depot on Camino de San Rafael. The aim of the strike is to achieve an earlier retirement age for professional drivers. Both unions denounce the "systematic blocking" by the government and the various employers' organisations of the demand to bring forward the retirement age for drivers.

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A steady stream of union members are constantly using the pedestrian crossing at the gate, delaying the departure of city and interurban services by a few minutes. There is a police deployment to ensure the departure of the agreed minimum services, the only ones allowed to leave today.

Trade union memebers have also been mobilised at the Malaga bus station on Paseo de Los Tilos. There, demonstrators have stopped the departure of buses for a few minutes with some moments of tension between drivers and demonstrators, however very minor, under the watchful eye of National Police officers.

They have also been mobilised in the Port of Malaga where they intend to block tourist buses. Drivers are expecting the arrival of three cruise ships today. Meanwhile, demonstrators also tried to block the departure of buses at the bus depot of the Avanza headquarters.

The unions are demanding that drivers' employment conditions such as the retirement age, and the right to partial retirement be improved and adjusted to the conditions of other categories of workers who face similar kinds of risks to drivers. The unions are basing their demands on high accident rates on the road due to the older age of drivers, especially those aged above 55. In the case of EMT, measures aimed at early retirement are already being applied, although trade unions are demanding a greater commitment.