by Alejandro Martínez Treceño | Feb 13, 2020 | News
Yesterday, February 13th 2020, the collaboration agreement between ALE and ETF (European Transport Worker´s Federation) was finally signed. It is a historic moment because the two european organizations wich combine the representation of almost all the train drivers, understand that it is time to give greater strength to the trade union movement in Europe.
The strength of the ALE member unions, together with the support provided by the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CESI), has made it possible to initiate a collaborative process, equally with ETF, that leads us to strengthen and improve social, labor and economic conditions for the train drivers, ensuring adequate training standards and that are to achieve the great objective of ensuring greater safety in the rail system through the Just Culture.
At a time of change, due to the transposition of the 4th Railway Package, we have to focus our efforts on getting European institutions to see, now more than ever, that train drivers are united, regardless of the organization to which they belong, and that we will continue working for the welfare of our collective.
by Alejandro Martínez Treceño | Sep 24, 2019 | News
On September 19 and 20, the Board of Directors of the European Train Drivers Union was held in Madrid, Spain.
In it, the President of ALE, Juan Jesús García Fraile, has talked and discussed the course of our Organization, the present and future challenges that arise in the short term.
Safety and Liberalization of passenger transport by rail have been the main topics of debate.
Many times we have remarked that Safety in Railways focuses our efforts and once again we, all the ALE member unions, jointly emphasize that an adequate transposition of the 4th Railway Package must be made, where the Safety Directive takes a vital relevance for the representation of the traindrivers in Europe.
We have marked the line to follow and proposed different actions both at European and national level, always keeping in mind the improvement of the working, social and economic conditions of the traindrivers.
by Alejandro Martínez Treceño | Jun 22, 2019 | News
Last 21st, the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CESI) invited us to participate as representatives of train drivers in Europe to a seminar to deal, among the different affiliated Spanish unions, with the problem of violence at work.
Violence at work, especially against public sector workers, is a growing phenomenon in Spain and in most EU countries. According to the European Survey of companies on new and emerging risks (ESENER 2) EU-OSHA of 2014, 67% of the Spanish personnel in the education sector and in social services has faced a conflictive public in their daily work. In terms of public administration, the figure stands at 62% according to the ESENER 2 survey.
The ALE, through this type of events, intends to share the current situation in our sector with different sectors, identify good and best practices and manifest the demands of the violence that train drivers suffer in their jobs, in political and legislative demands clear at all levels.
It is necessary to develop effective prevention tools and more efficient legislation that becomes into greater safety and health in the workplace.
In our attempt to make the train drivers community visible at European level and participate in all those forums where safety, the social, labor and economic conditions of train drivers can be affected in some way, we will continue to emphasize that Europe has, in the ALE, the voice and the representation of train drivers.
by Alejandro Martínez Treceño | Jun 17, 2019 | News
On June 12th and 13th, SEMAF, in collaboration with the National Safety Authority of Spain (AESF) and the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA), organized the II Event on Safety Culture and Just Culture.
The opening of the event was made by the Head of the Executive Office and Communication Unit of the ERA, Mr. Christopher Carr.
The President of the ALE and Secretary General of SEMAF, Juan Jesús García Fraile, claimed in his speech a transposition of the European Directives in their entirety and the search for a Safety Culture and a Just Culture necessary in the sector, together with the measures, the autonomy and the endowment of the necessary resources in the fundamental actors for their development.
At the same time, participation took place, within the institutional panel, of the President of the Spanish Infrastructure Administrator (Adif), the President of the Renfe Group and the European Commission, represented by the General Directorate of Transport and Mobility (DG MOVE), highlighting the commitment to a safer railways in Europe.
Representatives of the European Railway Agency, together with members of the National Safety Authority, the public operator Renfe and the Infrastructure Administrator, made the presentation of their new projects in the field of Safety.
Experts from different sectors also participated; professionals from the field of air traffic control management (ENAIRE), commercial aviation (COPAC), nuclear (Nuclear Safety Council), petrochemical (Repsol) and judicial (Provincial Court of Huelva), thus achieving a transfer of knowledge inter-sectorial.
The event also counted with the presence of the colleague of the Greek Union PEPE, Kostas Genidounias, who due to the dense trade union activity that is currently developing in his country, showed the implication and commitment of the driving staff to which we still have many years of work ahead.
The corporate management of Railway Operators, both public and private, as well as with different companies dedicated to safety consulting and other professionals of the sector, both nationally and internationally were also participants.
The development of the event can be considered as a success. On the first day a more theoretical treatment and exposure was made and on the second day we enjoyed a more practical approach, with workshops and round tables.
This conference highlights the intention of SEMAF and ALE to lead the claim in the European railway sector of a Just Culture that, through its implementation and evolution, translates into less accident and greater welfare for workers and for users.
In addition, due to the recent liberalization of rail passenger transport by the transposition of the 4th Railway Package, we did not want to miss the opportunity to show that, in Europe, the train drivers united and represented by ALE should be the ones who, from each forum, each working group and each meeting, emphasize that Safety is a subject that we can not leave for tomorrow and that we will all work together to focus our activity and our demand for a safer railways.
From our Organization we will continue working on a positive Safety Culture and the development of a Just Culture, promoting it through actions or taking the necessary measures at every moment and we will continue holding events where all professionals have the opportunity to participate and join a path wich objective is to achieve an even stronger railway safety.
by Alejandro Martínez Treceño | May 15, 2019 | News
On May 13 we had a meeting in Brussels, through @CESI, between the European Union of Air Traffic Controllers (ATCEUC) and ALE to address the issue of Culture of Safety and Fair Culture.
We believe that, with the proximity of the liberalization of passenger transport by rail and the transposition of the 4th Railway Package, we must lead and be at the head of something as important as Safety. We think that the Safety development that has taken place in the aviation sector can serve as a mirror and reference of how to transpose it to the railway sector that, to this day, is very immature in this matter.
On that day, a collaboration agreement was signed between CESI, ATCEUC and ALE for an exchange of experiences and mutual aid in the future.
by Alejandro Martínez Treceño | May 14, 2019 | News
On May 13, we had a meeting with the European Railway Agency, represented by, among others, Chris Carl (Head of the Executive Office of the ERA) with whom we discussed and presented proposals and claims on Culture of Safety in European railways and Just Culture.
Later, in addition, we had a meeting with representatives of the General Directorate of Transport and Mobility of the European Commission, together with the representation of the ERA and the ALE team, before which we made a presentation making clear that the ALE does not pretend a transposition of only a part of the Directives that are part of the 4th Railway Package and that concerns us, the transposition of the Safety Directive. In this transposition in particular we find deficiencies, doubts and uncertainty, so we made it clear that we must, all the actors that participate in the rail industry first hand, work together and in favor of an adaptation of the community regulations to the member countries , with all the guarantees.
