The Court of Arbitration has decreed minimum services for the strike on CP – Comboios de Portugal on Wednesday, of around 30% in urban and regional services and 25% for long services.

In the judgment published on the website of the Economic and Social Council (CES), the Arbitration Court understood “that minimum services should be fixed with regard to the circulation of trains during the strike period, both in urban and regional services (in the order of 30% of scheduled services), as well as long-haul services (around 25%)”. The list of trains included in the minimum services can be found on this page.

The Arbitration Court considered that the proposal presented by CP, of minimum services between 50% and 75% of scheduled trains, was “manifestly inadequate and disproportionate”, jeopardizing “the very notion of 'minimum services'” and reducing “the extension and the scope of the essential right to strike”.

“Although formally limited to 24 hours, the decreed strike will cover a longer period, as it will begin to take effect on the 30th of May in relation to work periods that should only end on the following day and will only end on the 1st of June in the case of work periods starting on May 31", pointed out the court, stressing that "in practice, the decreed strike produces significant effects over, at least, two days".

The Railway Union of the Itinerant Commercial Review (SFRCI) and the SNTSF/FECTRANS called a 24-hour strike for May 31 at CP.