Spanish Unions Silent on Puente Ouster and Adif Worker Blame

Unions stay quiet as Adif targets its own staff

A former Adif board member from UGT has two sons working at the company. The Renfe auditor who reported daily train disappearances due to IT failures claims she received threats after submitting "a thousand reports." Meanwhile, Adif controllers accuse Transport Minister Óscar Puente of pressuring them to prevent delays: "Trains cannot be stopped." Amidst this noise, UGT and CC.OO leaders remain silent about the minister's ouster and the blaming of Adif workers. The pattern repeats: when scrutiny falls on political management, the blame lands on the weakest link in the chain.

The sequence of recent weeks has an uncomfortable common thread. First, the "human error" in Urda. Then, audio leaks to friendly media placing the Adif operator in the crosshairs. Later, unnamed Adif officials denounced an internal witch hunt. Simultaneously, union leadership remained silent, historically quick to act in other causes. The lingering question is simple: whom do UGT and CC.OO really represent when the government is left-wing?

Puente's Dismissal and Union Silence

Óscar Puente's removal as Transport Minister left a striking scene: top UGT and CC.OO officials did not step forward to defend Adif and Renfe workers directly targeted by the official narrative. While SATSE regional leaders condemned violent intrusions with knives and guns, they said nothing about railway issues. The contrast with other mobilizations is notable. Some argue that mainstream unions act as transmission belts for the executive, aiming to defuse conflicts rather than amplify them.

Union membership in Spain barely reaches 12.5%, according to data within the union sphere itself. With such a narrow base, real bargaining power dilutes. When unions depend on public subsidies to sustain their structure, independence becomes a balancing act. The result is an ecosystem where railway workers seek refuge in alternative unions; for instance, most drivers are affiliated with other organizations.

Adif: Nepotism, Retaliation, and Leaked Audios

Adif controllers have denounced nepotism and retaliation: "This has been a private estate." A CRC member warns that managers across Spain can access audios that implicated the Atocha worker who ordered movement resumed. The leak of these recordings to friendly media, while hiding security system failures, outlines a modus operandi described by several Adif officials as an internal "witch hunt": "They want to silence all of us who weren't appointed hand-picked."

The politicization of Adif's leadership with Socialist Party militants in key posts is not theory; appointing loyalists has been constant. A former Adif board member from UGT has two sons working there. These facts explain why the workforce distrusts traditional representatives. Meanwhile, Adif bonuses persist "amidst the dead," and the government included a measure in the Urda decree delaying compensation for Adamuz victims.

UGT and CC.OO: From General Strike to Passivity

UGT called a general strike over housing shortages while converting its old headquarters into a luxury hotel. The paradox is significant. The same union mobilizing for housing access manages its real estate assets with hotel profitability criteria. This isn't isolated: the image of Spanish unions has hit rock bottom, and leaders know it. They have chosen to drop masks and embrace the PSOE, which promises more public money to "fight for workers' rights."

The floating question is whether the announced general strike reflects real pressure strategy or a tactical move to heat up streets before November 30. Some argue the PSOE's last cartridge is social mobilization, and laws allowing picket excesses were approved for scenarios like this. Disaffection is so high that only 12.5% of workers are unionized, and those in strategic sectors—controllers, dockers, police—seek organizations that truly defend them.

Victims' Narrative and Political Responsibility

The Adamuz accident, with 46 deaths, is buried under interested leaks. The government leaked accident audios to friendly media to blame the Adif operator while hiding security system failures. The Civil Guard investigates if pressures existed to move trains and avoid delays behind Urda's "human error." An Iryo employee contradicts Puente: "Failures due to lack of maintenance happen daily."

Political responsibility dissolves in a command chain where the last link is always the same: the ordinary worker. Adif officials denounce an internal "witch hunt." Controllers point to Puente. Unions stay silent. And the minister, before leaving, puts operators in the crosshairs of blame. The pattern is old: when power feels cornered, it seeks a scapegoat in work clothes.

The Disorienting Data

While union leaders meditate on their silence, membership plummets and alternative unions gain ground in strategic sectors. The final paradox is that the general strike for housing is called by an organization turning its old HQ into a luxury hotel. If that isn't a metaphor for union drift, someone come down and see.