Lisbon Metro Workers Call Two Five-Hour Strikes for 28 and 30 October Covering the Morning Rush, and No Minimum Service Is Set Yet

The Lisbon Metro faces two more strikes this month. The unions representing its workers have filed notice of partial strikes on Wednesday 28 October and Friday 30 October, each running from 05:00 to 10:00, the company said in a press release on Friday 16 October. These are new dates, separate from the 24-hour strike that shut the network on Wednesday 14 October.

The Metro normally opens at 06:30, according to its published timetable, so a five-hour window starting at 05:00 covers the first three and a half hours of service, including the morning rush. The company has not yet said what time trains will run again on either day.

Who is striking, and why

The Metro says the new notices rest on the same demands as the 14 October stoppage. That strike was called by six unions, FECTRANS, STTM, SINDEM, SITRA, SITESE and STMETRO, according to the arbitration ruling published by the Economic and Social Council (CES). The dispute centres on supervisors at the Central Command Post, which controls train movements, and in the traction section.

Sara Gligó, a leader of the transport federation FECTRANS and of the STRUP union, told Lusa that the problems at the command post and in traction persist, as reported by TSF. The unions list a shortage of staff, heavy reliance on overtime, very long shifts, delays in training supervisors and inspectors, and what they call the hollowing out of supervisors' duties. In a statement before the 14 October strike, FECTRANS said the company had failed to honour an agreement signed on 13 April 2026, which had led the unions to call off an earlier strike.

The Metro's board calls the stoppages "disproportionate". It says the issues concern about 100 workers, that a recruitment and training plan is under way and due to finish in the second half of December 2026, and that proposed changes to working hours are awaiting approval. On allegations of workplace harassment by command-post and traction managers, the company says no concrete evidence has yet been presented, but that it will use its own inquiry and inspection procedures to look into them.

Will there be a minimum service?

Not yet decided. For the 14 October strike, a three-member arbitration panel at the CES ruled unanimously on 10 October not to set any minimum train service, requiring only three workers at the command post for safety and maintenance of equipment. The Metro says it will appeal that ruling and will again ask the arbitration panel to set minimum services for 28 and 30 October. The panel has declined to set minimum services in the Metro's recent strikes, Observador notes, so passengers should assume no trains will run during the strike hours unless a ruling says otherwise.

What passengers can do

Anyone who relies on the Metro before 10:00 on those two mornings should plan another route now, by bus, train or ferry. The navegante app and website show live running information for public transport across the Lisbon metropolitan area, which helps when looking for an alternative route. The Metro says it will keep passengers informed of any changes to service, and its board has asked the unions to reconsider the stoppages. For background on passengers' rights on the network, see the 25 recommendations the Ombudsman made to the Metro in September.