Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC), TUSGSAL, Dbus, Emtusa, Alsa, TRAM, Sagalés and Vectalia have signed a partnership agreement to facilitate the inter-company mobility of female workers of any of these eight public transport operators who are victims of gender-based violence.

The aim of the agreement is to offer alternative employment to female workers who are victims of gender-based violence, helping them to move away from their aggressor through safe access to other social protection measures. In this way, if any of the partner companies finds that it has a female employee who is considered to be a victim of gender-based violence, she will be able to contact the rest of the signatories to the agreement and receive proposals for alternative job positions.

The possibility of offering alternative employment, as included in this agreement, is based on the mandate and special protection granted by Organic Law 1/2004 on comprehensive protection measures against gender-based violence for female workers. The Law expressly contemplates the right of female workers who are victims of gender-based violence to relocate, as well as the right to unemployment if they need to terminate their current contract. Already in 2018, the Sectoral Public Administration Conference reached an agreement on the protection of female public workers for mobility and special measures between the different state administrations.

The eight Spanish transport operators undertake to offer a position of employment as similar as possible to the position that the worker wishes to leave, and to proceed to incorporate her into the new company, although the worker’s original position will also be held for her should she wish to return. The agreement includes the creation of a working group or committee made up of one representative from each of the operators that will assess all the requests received, looking at the professional profile of the worker and the possible job positions that could be offered.

This partnership agreement was signed as a result of the initiative put forward and promoted by representatives of the member companies within the framework of the Mobility and Gender Committee of the ATUC (Spanish Urban and Metropolitan Public Transport Association). The signing ceremony, which took place at the FGC offices in Sarrià, was attended by the president of Ferrocarrils, Toni Segarra i Barreto, the director of the Administrative Management and People Area of DIREXIS TUSGSAL, Francisco Rodríguez Cazorla, the managing director of Dbus, Igor González Aranburu, the managing director of EMTUSA, Juan José Piniella Aranda, the director of Service Improvement of Alsa, Paula Bouzada Outeda, the managing director of TRAM Operadora, Xavier León Benítez, the CEO of Sagalés, Ramón Sagalés Orteu, and the Director of Organization and People of Vectalia, Marc Mascareñas Sarda.

Xavier León Benítez noted that “For TRAM, this agreement is very important because it is framed within our existing initiatives carried out to tackle gender violence, and we believe it is a good tool to help victims. Furthermore, it is important to highlight that the different operators have a united front on this issue.”

The event was also attended by the Secretary General of the ATUC, Jesús Herrero, the Chair of the ATUC Mobility and Gender Committee, María José Ajuriaguerra Uribe, and representatives of the companies that have formed the committee.