(ATR) A spokesperson from MetrôRio told Around the Rings there are no contingency plans in place for the city's metro if subway workers strike ahead of the Olympic Games.
On July 27, the Subway Workers of Rio de Janeiro (SIMERJ) union released a statement saying that they were prepared to strike on midnight August 4 unless a new labor deal is reached. The statement said that "MetrôRio and MetrôBarra so far have not presented a worthy proposal for their workers, either for wage increase or other clauses."
The MetrôRio spokesperson said to ATR that "there is no possibility of strike yet," and that operations will continue as currently scheduled for the Olympic Games.As labor negotiations continue down to the wire, alternate arrangements to keep the metro operational in case of a strike were not discussed.
"I don’t know what we are going to do if there is a strike," the spokesperson said. "The operation is planned to be running as normal."
In a statement to ATR MetrôRio said that SIMERJ offered a proposal of a 9.83 percent increase in wages, and remains under consideration. The statement said that MetrôRio remains "committed to the ongoing wage bargaining, as occurred in previous years."
The Ministry of Public Works (MPT) for Rio de Janeiro told ATRthat it will meet withSIMERJ on the afternoon of August 1 to help assist in negotiations between SIMERJ andMetrôRio.
"There will be direct meetings between the Union and the Rio Metro, but it is not yet possible to indicate whether there will be an agreement between the parties or if the strike will erupt," a spokesperson for the ministry said to ATR. "MPT is facilitating work to try to sign an agreement between the SIMERJ and MetrôRio before the start of the Olympic Games."
Requests for comment on the situation from SIMERJ, went unreturned to ATR.
A possible strike would derail the carefully made transportation plans for the Olympic Games. Organizers have pledged repeatedly that the metro line 4 expansion would be ready for Olympic passengers. The new subway line is set to be inaugurated just six days before the Opening Ceremony. Without subway operations, organizers would have to introduce transit alternatives to get spectators from the city's South Zone to the Bus Rapid Transit lines in Barra da Tijuca.
A spokesperson from the Rio Municipal Secretary of Transportation said to ATR that plans have been discussed in the event of a strike. These plans would not include use of metro line 4, but other methods of transportation to get spectators to the Olympic Park and other venues.
"The City Council also said that it is prepared to meet the demand of passengers through the municipal transport network in case of any possible problem in the subway, so that users will not be unattended by public transport," the spokesperson said. "Importantly, during the Games, the operation of BRT Transcarioca and Transoeste, which are already in operation in the city, will be normal as well as all regular public transport."
Written by Aaron Bauer in Rio de Janeiro
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