Representatives of Metro de Málaga workers have challenged statements from the concessionaire's management, which denies a significant salary difference compared to Metro de Sevilla. According to the Works Council, the comparison provided by the company is “partial” and “misleading,” as it relies on future scenarios linked to a collective bargaining proposal rejected by over 70% of the workforce in an assembly, rather than current economic conditions.
To support their argument, the committee has provided an anonymized payslip from a Line Operator, the largest group responsible for train operation and user safety. This document, according to the social side, shows a net monthly salary of 1,617.14 euros, a figure intended to dismantle the salary projections the company uses to maintain its public narrative.
The labor dispute dates back to March, when Metro de Málaga management, through the Junta de Andalucía's Public Works Agency, proposed a new agreement with an approximate overall increase of 28% between 2026 and 2029, a limit of three and a half hours of continuous driving, new supplements, and a 20-hour reduction in the annual working day. However, this proposal was rejected by the workers' assembly on March 11, thwarting the pre-agreement.
The committee insists that this proposal cannot be a valid salary reference as it is not approved and mixes future forecasts with variable remuneration. In contrast, the social side argues that the correct comparison should be based on actual fixed salaries, where a difference of approximately 25% with respect to Sevilla is evident, further exacerbated by the absence in Málaga of consolidated supplements that exist in the other operation.
The comparison presented by the company is “partial” and “misleading,” because it relies on future scenarios linked to a collective bargaining proposal rejected in assembly by over 70% of the workers, and not on current economic conditions.
Negotiations for the IV Collective Agreement have been stalled for months, leading to partial strikes on March 12 and March 20, with minimum services of 50% established by the Junta de Andalucía. The participation in these strikes was total among drivers and line operators. Tensions escalated during Holy Week, a period of high operational demand, with new strikes on Holy Monday (March 30), Holy Wednesday (April 1), and Holy Thursday (April 2), with minimum services of 60%.
Despite the strikes, Metro de Málaga transported 719,853 passengers between Dolores Friday and Easter Sunday, a historic record for Holy Week. This data highlights the growing demand for the service, which has increased by over 41% since 2023, from 13.6 million to 19.2 million passengers in 2025, adding pressure to labor negotiations.
The conflict continues, with the committee announcing another day of partial strikes for Wednesday, April 16, in two time slots: from 07:00 to 10:00 and from 12:30 to 15:30. A new mediation meeting at SERCLA is scheduled for Monday, April 13, in an attempt to unblock the situation before the new strike call.
Beyond salary, the committee also demands regulation of continuous driving times, station presence, night staff breaks, salary guarantee clauses against inflation, and objective criteria for partial retirement. These issues are considered fundamental for service safety and labor dignity.
The committee argues that the problem is not the concessionaire's lack of economic capacity, which has reported record profits of over 47 million euros in the last fiscal year, exceeding 22.4 million for Metro de Sevilla. Since the start of operations, the concessionaire has accumulated approximately 307 million euros in profits, of which 245 million have been allocated to dividend distribution. The staff denounces that a significant portion of these profits leaves Andalucía and even Spain, as ownership is held by an international investment fund.
The social representation also highlights the role of the Operations Technician in Metro de Málaga, a highly qualified and versatile profile with no direct equivalent in Sevilla, who assumes multiple tasks without proportional economic recognition. The increase in demand, especially after the metro's arrival in the city center in 2023, with stations like Atarazanas and El Perchel accounting for over 5.1 million passengers in 2025, has increased operational pressure on the network.
The Works Council denies being the cause of the negotiation deadlock and warns that, if there are no real advances, the conflict could escalate with new pressure measures. The Junta de Andalucía, which holds a 24% stake, is under pressure for more active involvement in this essential public service.
