Unions call off Lisbon Metro partial strikes after arbitration sets minimum services

Unions call off the strikes

The Fectrans federation and the STRUP union cancelled partial strikes at the Metropolitano de Lisboa that had been set for Wednesday, 28 October and Friday, 30 October. Sara Gligó, a union leader, told Lusa on Monday, 26 October, that workers and the Economic and Social Council had been informed of the decision. The cancellation followed a ruling by the arbitration court (Tribunal Arbitral), which imposed minimum services for both stoppages. The strikes were called by supervisors and operations staff at the central command post (PCC) who run train movement and traction.

What the arbitration court decided

Under the ruling, minimum services keep all four lines running between 07:00 and 10:00. The court fixed circulation at 25% of the trains normally operated in that window, which means four on the Blue line, four on the Yellow line, three on the Green line and two on the Red line, with at least one train per line each hour. The Metro said 26 stations would open: ten on the Blue line, six on the Yellow, five on the Green and five on the Red. These include terminals, interchanges, and stations serving hospitals, universities and courts, while the remaining stations stay closed to the public until 10:00 and are kept under watch.

Blue line4

Yellow line4

Green line3

Red line2

Blue line

4 trains

Yellow line

4 trains

Green line

3 trains

Red line

2 trains

Data from the article text

Unions say the ruling breaks with precedent

FECTRANS argues that the minimum services raise serious doubts about compliance with the Constitution and the Strike Law, and that they match the request made by the Metro administration. The unions also say the court changed the criteria it applied to a similar stoppage in 2024. Sara Gligó told Lusa that the ruling contradicts existing case law and allows strikers to be replaced by workers who are not qualified for the roles.

“This decision goes against existing case law and puts the safety of users and workers at risk.”

The unions further argue that guaranteeing minimum services to neutralise the effects of a strike amounts to replacing and penalising the workers who join it. In the federation's words, the trend shows a growing effort to limit what strikes achieve.

“When the strike does not bother anyone, nobody questions its effectiveness.”

Why the court changed its approach

The arbitration court said this strike differed from recent stoppages that case law had assessed, and it weighed three factors in reaching its decision. The first is that this is the third action of struggle in six months and the second in 15 days. The court also counted the repetition of strikes by the same professional categories: supervisors sought to halt service on 9 and 14 April 2026, again on 14 October, and now announce two more stoppages for 28 and 30 October. According to the ruling, repetition is one of the factors that case law has identified as relevant. The 14 October strike had suspended circulation for 24 hours, and the unions say the claims behind the new stoppages are the same.

The ruling therefore leaves the 28 and 30 October stoppages without a strike on the calendar, while the Metro's published station list and train counts stand as the service that would have operated during those mornings.