“The Arbitral Tribunal unanimously decides not to set any minimum services regarding the ‘Strike between 00:00 on May 7 and 24:00 on May 14, 2025 and Strike from 00:00 on May 7 to 24:00 on May 8, 2025'”, reads the decision published on the Economic and Social Council website, dated May 2.

However, the services necessary for the safety and maintenance of equipment and facilities must be ensured, emergency services, rescue trains and all trains that have started their journey must be taken to their destination.

The Arbitration Court says that it considered decreeing minimum services for the 7th, 8th and 9th, when the strike assumes a greater dimension, even though it understands that there are alternatives to rail transport, for the urban lines of Lisbon and Porto, taking into account the great pressure of demand by those populations.

“However, its implementation […] proved to be inadvisable as it did not guarantee, in terms of the percentage that was considered to correspond to the satisfaction of essential social needs without, at the same time, annihilating the fundamental core of the right to strike, the minimum safety standards for users when accessing railway station platforms and using the trains, according to information obtained from the company”, highlighted the panel of arbitrators chaired by Jorge Bacelar Gouveia.

Last week, on the day that a power outage affected Portugal and Spain for several hours, a strike by CP conductors, without minimum services, led to a total stoppage of circulation until 10 am, the company's last update until the blackout, around 11:30 am.

Several unions representing CP workers delivered a strike notice to the transport company, between midnight on May 7 and midnight on May 8, against the imposition of wage increases “that do not restore purchasing power” and for “collective negotiation of decent wage increases”.

Workers also want the “implementation of the salary scale restructuring agreement, under the terms in which it was negotiated and agreed”.

The advance notice was issued by the Trade Union Association of Intermediate Railway Operations Managers (ASCEF), the Independent Trade Union Association of Commercial Career Railway Workers (ASSIFECO), the Federation of Transport and Communications Trade Unions (FECTRANS), the National Union of Transport, Communications and Public Works (FENTCOP), the National Union of Railway Workers of the Movement and Related (SINAFE), the National Democratic Railway Union (SINDEFER) and the Independent Union of Railway Workers of Infrastructure and Related (SINFA).

Also signing are the National Independent Union of Railway Workers (SINFB), the National Union of Transport and Industry Workers (SINTTI), the Independent Union of Railway and Related Workers (SIOFA), the National Union of Technical Staff (SNAQ), the National Union of Railway Workers (SNTSF), the Railway Transport Union (STF) and the Union of Metro and Railway Workers (STMEFE).