The announcement comes amid an ongoing dispute over negotiations for the third collective agreement at Los Tranvías de Zaragoza. Alamedía argued that the labor demands are directly linked to service safety and called for drivers' daily shifts to be capped at eight hours. He explained that staff consider the current shifts, which can involve up to eight and a half hours of driving, excessive. He also reported problems with the trams' rear-view cameras and called for explanations regarding noise measurements which, according to their data, place drivers' daily exposure at 72 and 73 decibels, compared with the 55 set out in the tender specifications.
The union representative also questioned pay differences with other transport services and called for transparency regarding the profitability of the concession and the resources allocated to maintenance, safety and staff. He further claimed that the committee had sent Zaragoza City Council reports on deficiencies identified in 2024 and May 2026 without receiving a response. Before the councillors, he called for explanations about the conditions under which the service is being provided.
COUNCIL REJECTS INTERVENING IN LABOR NEGOTIATIONS
Mobility councillor José Miguel Rodrigo argued that the City Council should not intervene directly in negotiations over the agreement, as the dispute is between the company and its workers. However, the city official said Zaragoza's government had conveyed the staff's demands to the company and had taken steps to try to bring the parties closer together. Rodrigo maintained that seven- or eight-hour shifts would make it impossible to operate the service under its current organization and defended municipal measures to optimize traffic-light priority and increase regulation times.
The PSOE, for its part, called for greater municipal involvement. Its councillor Chema Giral argued that drivers' working conditions are linked to tram safety and urged Zaragoza's government to facilitate dialogue between the company and its workforce. Zaragoza en Común also supported the need to improve workers' conditions and focused on journey times, while Vox argued that safety-related issues should be addressed without intervening in collective bargaining.
Finally, the plenary approved one of the points in the motion submitted by the PSOE, although with wording of a general nature. The agreement calls on Zaragoza's government to promote measures within the Mixed-Economy Company to guarantee safety in the provision of the service, reconcile it with the maintenance of its quality and reliability, and facilitate dialogue with staff on working conditions, organization and operations. The agreement does not include the specific demands put forward by workers during the session.
