MADRID, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The union representing drivers of the Madrid Metro (SCMM) on Friday called for a series of strikes in protest against the refusal of management to increase the category of their positions from "unskilled" labor to "machinists of electric traction" (i.e. engine drivers).
The first of the one day strikes will be held on Sept. 28 with five more to be held in the week before Christmas and a further five in the second week of January 2018.
The stoppages are between 5:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. in the morning and 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. at night.
The SCMM said metro drivers face a high-stress job which involves "psychological risks," due to the stress caused by possible suicides with people throwing themselves under the trains they are driving.
The drivers have held 10 strikes during 2017 and insist their action is not for higher wages, longer holidays or early retirement. A few weeks ago, the union highlighted there would be 122 fewer metro drivers on the network in 2018.
