Politicians and a Possible Covert Strike Create New Chaos in Rodalies

New Trouble in the Rodalies Service in Catalonia. After the Renfe and Adif strike was called off at the last minute yesterday, this Monday began with incidents on almost all lines of the Catalan railway network. Rodalies reported delays and suspended trains, attributing it to the strike even though it was called off.

Users have erupted over this new day of railway chaos, denouncing a "covert strike." Renfe argues that they couldn't communicate the schedule changes to the drivers in time, but promised it would normalize within hours.

The other focus of criticism is on the politicians, especially ERC, which agreed with PSOE on the full transfer of Rodalies. Under pressure from the unions with the strike, ERC has accepted an intermediate solution involving joint management of the service. According to this agreement, the State will continue to hold the majority of the management (50.1%), compared to 49.9% by the Generalitat.

This has been the last straw for the patience of Catalans, tired of the empty promises of ERC and the pro-independence parties. Once again, the middle classes and workers who take the train every day to get to work or home are the ones suffering the consequences. It reflects the failure of the Catalan political class, which is increasingly detached from the real problems of the people.

Tired of Being Taken for a Ride

ERC agreed with PSOE on the transfer of the Rodalies service, which caused unrest among Renfe and Adif workers. Fearful of losing working conditions and even their jobs, they announced a strike that threatened the already disastrous functioning of the network. In last-minute negotiations, ERC agreed that the new Rodalies company would be attached to Renfe for a period of two years.

This means that the service will continue to be managed by the State for the next two years. This has sparked a wave of criticism from outraged Catalans who call Oriol Junqueras's party "traitors" and "liars." They all convey the same idea, which is that they are tired of being taken for a ride.

ERC, meanwhile, defends that "the attachment of the new company between the Generalitat and the State in the Renfe group is an option that allows for the pacification of relations with the unions."

Political Failure and Possible Covert Strike

This new chaos in the Renfe service is the result of political failure on one hand, and a possible covert strike on the other.

It first responds to a perverse way of doing politics that pro-independence parties like ERC and Junts have been practicing. They need to compete with each other and demonstrate that they are the most useful for Catalonia. That's why they have become accustomed to forging big agreements to make headlines, without paying attention to the fine print that always ends up causing problems.

This is what has happened now with Rodalies. In their competition with Junts to extract "historic" concessions from PSOE, Esquerra announced the full transfer of the service without clarifying the fine print. The uncertainty caused a labor conflict whose consequences have once again been borne by the users.

The majority of Catalans no longer care who manages the service, but rather that they can get to work and home without delays. Just like in any other advanced country in the world, but in Catalonia, this has not been possible for a long time.