On 4 and 5 October, the 9th Congress of our organisation was held in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid), bringing together train drivers from 13 different countries and the professional unions that represent them to work, debate and emerge stronger and more united.
CESI’s Secretary General opened the event with a speech highlighting the importance of ALE as a social partner in the European transport sector.
The member unions, aware that the challenges facing ALE in the coming years will be fundamental for the development of the profession of train drivers and the European railways, have decided to adopt a new set of internal organisational measures.
Despite the difficult times of recent years, the member unions have agreed on the good work of the Executive Presidency during its term of office and have demonstrated this by re-electing them again for the 2022-2026 term of office. In addition, the post of Secretary General has been created, which will give more impetus to the technical work we carry out with the European institutions.
The current process of revising the Directive on the Certification of Train Drivers was one of the main issues discussed, as well as the concern about the high average age of train drivers in Europe and the need to make this profession attractive to young people, which requires adequate working and social and economic conditions and the guarantee that safety standards are not lowered, but increased.
Safety Culture and European Social Dialogue were the main topics of the meeting we held this morning with the President and representatives of the European Air Traffic Controllers’ Union (ATCEUC – www.atceuc.org).
This meeting, between European trade union organizations of professionals on whom safety has a considerable impact, responds to the need to join forces in order to achieve common objectives in our sector. The current railway liberalization and the unbalanced transposition of the 4th Railway Package among the member States, as well as the lack of railway operations after the Covid 19 pandemic, which are causing a fall in railway jobs, where there is already a high average age, have been topics discussed during this morning.
The need to provide accident and incident Investigation Bodies with independence and human and economic resources to make transport safer and more reliable, to work in a preventive way, and to look for the causes in order to propose solutions was highlighted.
We will continue to work hand in hand to share experience, work against labor and social dumping in our sector, and carry out joint proposals.
On the 31 of May and 1 of June ALE celebrated his board meeting in the perfect context of Rome. At the event participated all the European members involved in the activities of ALE at EU level. The European Year of Rail 2021 has come to an end and we could discuss and assess most of the statements and initiatives produced at the EU and national level related to boosting railways in order to reach the Green Deal target.
ALE considers that there is still a long way to go to achieve these goals and claims that the different organizations and Member States have to get more involved. In some countries, the railways have experienced a setback. There cannot be two railways in Europe moving at two different speeds.
After the pandemic, international cross-border and national trains have still not recovered from previous rates in several Member States. It should be a demand of the Union towards them, considering also the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) tool set up for this purpose. This situation has led to a worsening of working conditions such as employment rights, workplaces, lower levels of wages and unfair competition practices in some countries. We are working actively at EU and national level to return to previous standards of service and quality in the train drivers sector and railway workers.
ALE is aware of the importance of rail interoperability as a key element of union, development and prosperity. Work on the standardization and implementation of important issues such as ERTMS or the application of the train driver’s directive equally in all countries. Up to now, there have been widely differing interpretations in the individual countries for obtaining a train driver’s license. There must be common criteria and provisions, which would equalize safety and quality standards in each Member State.
Ultimately we want to send all our support to Ukraine, to its citizens, and the train drivers and railways workers in particular. All the members of ALE are collaborating with them from different lines and in first person our Polish, Hungarian and Czech colleagues. The great and unceasing work that the Ukrainian train drivers and railwaymen are doing, under extreme conditions of war to provide their compatriots with survival and subsistence conditions, demonstrates the European spirit of our collective.
On the 3rd, 4th and 5th of November, the “Rail Safety Days”, promoted by the ERA (European Railway Agency), were held in the Portuguese city of Porto.
The event was attended by numerous experts in the field, from all the railway institutions and organisations with relevance in Europe and related to Railway Safety, like Railway Undertakings, Infrastructure Managers, Suppliers, etc.
The European train drivers’ union, ALE, participated as one of the 4 commentators who intervened throughout the event after the rounds of presentations and made a final summary at the end of the conference. In addition to highlighting the value of the profession of train driver and its close relationship with Safety, a fundamental part of our interventions and demands in Europe, the importance of accompanying the Safety Culture in the railway sector with the application of a Just Culture, which really serves to make the system safer, generating a climate of trust when it is necessary to report incidents or events related to Safety without the fear of being punished or persecuted for it, was also highlighted. Drivers often feel that they are the last link in the safety chain, and sometimes the only link.
Train drivers were one of the main levers that served as an example of a group that is affected in a special way. For all these reasons, we will continue to highlight the professionalism of all our colleagues and the importance of developing a Justa Safety Culture and useful reporting tools, as a safe railway is an attractive railway for both workers and users. Professions such as ours are nourished by female train drivers who decide to join this beautiful profession because it is becoming more reliable every day.
ALE continues to be a benchmark for railway driving in Europe and from here we continue working to make the European railway a safer and more efficient railway, which serves as an element of recovery and fulfils its function as a backbone in line with respect for the environment.
The declaration of the year 2021 as the European Year of Railways has given rise to initiatives such as this one, where the European Commission has chartered this “Connecting Europe Express” to promote sustainable transport and attract more users to this means of transport.
ALE has participated in the Opening Ceremony and the departure event from the Oriente Station in Lisbon (Portugal) as well as its route to Spain, passing through Madrid and Irun with the border crossing in Hendaye, from where it continues its journey through France.
It is striking, and has been reported in several media, that this train runs along the same route as several trains (Lusitania, Surex, etc.) which were cancelled because of the pandemic and have not been restored.
It is also striking that the train was made up of several Talgo IV – 4B12 carriages, withdrawn from circulation months ago and, it seems, condemned to disappear after this short journey.
The implementation of initiatives such as this one should not only serve to connect cities, but also to connect people, to attract citizens to this means of transport and to generate employment in an eco-sustainable and environmentally friendly mode of transport such as the railway. Currently, Madrid and Lisbon are two major European capitals that are not connected by rail.
Meeting the objectives of the 2030 Agenda and the “modal shift to rail” will not be possible as long as a multitude of rail traffic continues without returning to our tracks throughout Europe.
The existing reality of our European rail network has also been highlighted, where the interoperability promoted by the 4th Railway Package is a chimera. Up to 3 different compositions have been necessary to be able to operate the Connecting Europe Express throughout the continent, a situation that even the European Commission’s own Commissioner for Transport, Adina Valean, referred to.
The promotion of Connecting, as a long-distance commercial service, is a reminder that there are still countries that have not yet liberalised their services in accordance with the European Directives and that there is a mismatch between the opening of the market in some countries and the same in their neighbours.
All of the above leads us to claim that there is a profound effect on all railway collectives, with special attention to that of train drivers, given the lack of traffic and a real commitment to the railway, despite the declaration of 2021 as the European year of our means of transport and the initiatives associated with it.
From ALE, we will continue to promote the generation of quality employment, under standards of Safety, Training and Professionalism, which will make this year a reality that is not only reflected on paper.
In the last 10 years, the number of women train drivers has grown considerably.
Reduced working hours, uniforms, breastfeeding and adaptation of the workplace are among the improvements to be implemented.
With slogans such as “for equality, full speed ahead”, “I want to be a train driver, not a princess” or “I am not brave, I am a train driver” … the collective of women train drivers, belonging to ALE, reaffirms the feelings of the collective in the run up to 8 March, International Women’s Day.
As an example, in Spain, women train drivers represent 4.5% of train driving staff, according to data collected by the Train Drivers’ Union. This translates into 260 female professionals out of a total of 5,600.
At first sight, this figure seems very low, as the incorporation of women in the railways, especially in driving, has been late and has had a very gradual impact. This is due to the fact that, at the beginning, the promotions of train drivers came from the military service, and it was not until the 80s that the incorporation of women in the railways was encouraged.
However, the figures are not bad if we consider that only 10 years ago, in 2011, the percentage of women train drivers was 1.73% (a total of 70). This 350% growth in just a decade shows the effort and initiatives of professional Unions of Train Drivers, together with the companies, are putting into practice to incorporate women into train driving.
The people responsible for Equality in our union affirm that “there has been a great advance in the incorporation of women. For out of 52 railway depots, spread throughout the territory, 44 of them already have women on the driving charts. This is almost more important than the overall number, as it helps to visualise and normalise the capacity of women driving of a train”.
ALE, as a trade union representing more than 40.000 train drivers among Europe, set itself the objective, a few years ago, of initiating actions to analyse the organisational structure of the sector. A programme carried out by women, from the point of view of women and the suitability of their needs in the performance of their work duties. With the aim of normalising the social conception of women in the railway sector, correcting possible gender deficiencies and increasing the incorporation of women in the profession.
As a result of various working groups organised by ALE member organizations, the first results were soon obtained. The issues raised by the women drivers revealed the rigidities of a system that is not “used” to female professionals.
The main shortcomings identified by the professionals were:
The scarce or non-existent adaptation of the workplace to maternity issues, both during pregnancy and breastfeeding. The difficult reduction of working hours to allow for family reconciliation, the lack of adaptation of the toilets to meet the needs of feminine hygiene. And also the lack of visualisation of women train drivers in the social imaginary.
The deficits were mainly due to the lack of a global and homogeneous strategy in all the management departments of the different companies. Each one addresses these requirements with its own solutions. In some cases this is satisfactory and in others it is not.
Curiosity on gender bias
In addition, one issue that attracted a lot of attention, raised by the train drivers in the working groups, was the uniforms provided. In the case of women train drivers (there is evidence that this is also the case in other professional groups), they are offered the possibility of requesting high heels and a choice between skirt and trousers.
The heel and skirt contravene normaly the Companies´ own self-protection and occupational risk prevention protocols. The work of the train driver requires getting on and off the train from the track (there may be more than one metre) with large slopes, walking on the stones of the track, accessing cabinets and chests that may be in the engine room or under the train, etc. As for the trousers, the women’s model is tight-fitting and has no pockets. Women train drivers cannot keep their access keys, the train controls for changing cabs, the key to open the lockers, or the pens needed to write down notifications from the control room.
This circumstance implies a gender bias, since in the case of women, image is prioritised over utility and comfort, due to the stereotyped sociological use of women’s image.
Trying to change this, aims at favouring the entry of women train drivers, visualising their image and attracting them to the railway sector. Once this first part has been achieved, they should not be forced to leave driving to take up other jobs that are more conducive to reconciling family and professional life.
Despite these shortcomings, it can be said that the incorporation of women in driving and in the railway sector in general is progressing at full speed.
Undoubtedly, in order to achieve a better awareness in society of women as professional train drivers, we must be aware that the train on which you put your longings and emotions when you go on a journey… the train on which every morning, you catch up on your sleep… the train that fulfils your illusions by bringing you a visit from a loved one… and the train that, with relief, leaves you at home at the end of each long journey, is surely driven by a woman.
