Malaga metro workers call off Thursday strike

The labour dispute regarding Malaga's metro network has finally reached some progress. The extraordinary meeting between the workers' council and the concessionary company that manages the metro on Wednesday ended with a clear narrowing of the gap between the two sides' positions.

For this reason, the unions have decided to call off the partial strikes that were planned for Thursday, which would have further disrupted the urban service.

"Although today's negotiations did not reach the minimum demands of the staff, tomorrow's strike has been called off," the committee said following the meeting.

"This decision reflects a sense of responsibility and the genuine willingness to negotiate that the workforce has demonstrated throughout the conflict, prioritising at this time the possibility of further narrowing the gap between the two sides."

Both parties have agreed to continue negotiations on Thursday, with the aim of making progress on the remaining issues and definitively resolving the situation.

The council reminded the public that the conflict remains unresolved and that calling off the demonstrations on Thursday does not imply abandoning further protests, which could resume if the negotiations don't make any real progress. Finally, the council said that any proposal representing a significant advance will be presented to the workers' assembly, which will have the final say.

This progress in negotiations comes amid an announcement by the workforce that they would escalate the protests. Had the strike not been called off, it would have affected workers and students during two peak-hour timeframes on Thursday.

Future strikes could take place on 22, 23 and 24 April. The regional government has already established a 50 per cent minimum service requirement on strike days.

One of the main demands of the unions is equal pay with Seville metro workers, who, according to union representatives, earn 25 per cent more that Malaga's workers in some key job positions.