MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Recife subway strike ends after 23 days

“What we witnessed was an alarming situation,” Senator Humberto Costa said

Workers of Recife's underground have announced the end of their 23-day strike. Therefore, trains in the capital of the Brazilian State of Pernambuco will be running again as of Monday, it was decided late Friday.

The Pernambuco Subway Workers' Union (Sindmetro-PE) said the labor grouping had recorded a major victory against the deterioration of working conditions after the struggle.

“We will maintain the state of strike and we will have a new assembly on September 5 to evaluate CBTU's response,” said Sindmetro-PE president Luiz Soares.

On Aug. 21, a group of senators and federal deputies went to the Recife Metro to get a closer look at the reality that around 180,000 passengers go through every day. Scrapped trains, dirty stations, malfunctioning or paralyzed elevators and escalators, overcrowding, and broken air conditioning were some of the situations they witnessed, it was explained. According to Sindmetro-PE, the Parliamentarians made a difference in the recovery of the service.

“What we witnessed was an alarming situation; a state of decay that has worsened over the last two governments, with cuts in operating and investment resources. However, at the same time, we were able to identify the potential of the metro, whether in terms of experience or structure. What we need now, before any discussion, is to stop this process of deterioration,” said Senator Humberto Costa of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's Workers' Party (PT).

The subway workers want a pay floor adjustment and clauses that guarantee job stability. In addition, the union wants the federal government to remove CBTU from the National Privatization Program (PND). If privatization goes ahead, the subway workers are asking for the employees to be reassigned to other public bodies.