Session V.

Railways and Social Issues.
Coordinators: Ramón Molina de Dios (University of the Balearic Islands) and Francisco Polo Muriel (FFE).

Sabrina Alvarez (University of the Republic, Uruguay)
Notes on working conditions and collective organization among railway workers during Uruguay’s last civil-military dictatorship (1973–1985)
During the last civil-military dictatorship in Uruguay (1973–1985), the state-owned railway company (Administración Nacional de Ferrocarriles, AFE) was managed by a military board of directors that sought to revitalize its operations and thereby overcome some of the major financial problems it had been facing. In the early years of this period, there was a marked decline in the number of company employees, though this figure reportedly increased toward the end of the dictatorship. Additionally, changes were implemented regarding the duties workers were required to perform, and the hiring of workers without family ties to the service was permitted (as had been customary since the British administration period).
Studies on the Uruguayan railway system have focused on the economic aspects of its development and on the understanding and appreciation of the heritage associated with it. The focus on workers in the sector is very limited. There are some testimonial texts produced within the sector’s trade union circles and academic works focused on specific periods. In short, there is a clear need to broaden and deepen the analysis of the subject (given the significance of this mode of transport and communication in the country’s life), which must incorporate the actions of the workers and their organizations.
In this presentation, I will present, as an exploratory essay, some indications of changes in the working conditions and collective organization of railway workers during the last Uruguayan civil-military dictatorship. The content presented here is derived from research (currently in its initial phase) on labor conflicts during that period, analyzed through the railway sector, and from the findings of my master’s thesis, which focused on the study of collective action by railway workers during the 1967–1972 period.
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Luisina Agostini (CONICET-UNR, Argentina)
The 1961 railway strike in Laguna Paiva, Argentina. When the community took over the railway land
The 1961 Argentine railway strike was a demonstration in defense of the railway against the railway rationalization policies of Arturo Frondizi’s national government, which included the removal of tracks, the closure of workshops, and the early retirement of many workers. This national strike disrupted the routines that people had established in spaces linked to the railway trade; we are referring to local spaces, not exclusively to the impact of this strike in major cities. Laguna Paiva, a railway town in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, was known for the dynamism of its Belgrano Railway locomotive repair workshops and stood out in that national struggle because its residents—not only unionized railway workers, but primarily the women of the town—carried out various violent collective actions to challenge the economic measures that affected this working-class community. We argue that the 1961 strike was not just another event in the town’s history, but rather that the strike opened a critical juncture that strained the previously stable existence of the railway community.
Drawing on written and oral sources, we aim in this paper to explain why and how the 1961 conflict activated in Laguna Paiva the constituent elements of a collective history linked to the existence of the railroad, a history that transcended the workers to encompass family mobilization during the 42 days of struggle. We will also explain the theoretical foundations underlying the definition of the concept of a railway community that we have developed for the case of Laguna Paiva.
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Jairo Fernández Fernández
The Portrayal of the Engineer as a Hero: A Comparative Study with the French Case (1842–1921)
From the mid-19th century onward, the insecurity associated with steam technology became a recurring source of concern; each new accident repeatedly dominated public debate, with no apparent way to allay the fears of a significant portion of the public. In this context, by the end of the century, a portrayal of the engineer as the last resort for salvation emerged—as the hero who would risk his own life to save that of the passengers. This image, already noted by the French researcher François Caron, referred to the engineer’s unique position to stop, or at least slow down, the train in case of danger; and it remained relevant for many decades, reaching its peak in Spain in 1921.
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Jairo Fernández Fernández
Asturian Railway Unionism and the General Strike of 1917
The leading role played by Asturian railway unionism during the critical juncture of 1917 was already highlighted by the socialist leaders of the time. One of the most prominent was Andrés Saborit, who attributed to the Oviedo leader Teodomiro Menéndez the responsibility for the Northern Railway strike, which triggered the first major assault on the Restoration Regime. This was not an isolated event, as the prominence of this small region on the Cantabrian coast had been consolidated the previous year thanks to an alliance with Manuel Llaneza’s Asturian Miners’ Union, through which a more aggressive strategic shift was sought. This corroborates the conclusions of Luis Gómez Llorente in his *Approach to the History of Spanish Socialism*.
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Maria Antonia Fernández Pizà (Mallorca Railway Services Archive), Ramon Molina de Dios (University of the Balearic Islands)
Mallorca’s Railway Workers and the Military Coup of July 18
One of the least known aspects of the history of the labor movement in Mallorca concerns the workers’ response to the coup d’état of July 18, 1936, its scope, and the subsequent consequences that arose from it.
Contrary to the popular notion that there was no resistance to the coup, emerging data suggests that, although relatively limited, a response did exist and was led by the island’s railway workers. The total press censorship in effect from July 18 onward prevents us from knowing the full extent of the strike launched by the railway workers, but we can glean some crucial details from the reports on the purges of railway personnel carried out from late 1936 through early 1940.
In addition to the reports concerning the Mallorca Railway Company, we have also been able to consult files on workers from the Sóller Railway Company and the Palma City Tram Company. This not only provides precise information on the response of railway and tram workers to the coup, but also offers a general overview of the organized labor movement in the sector and specific aspects of the political ideas of its key figures.
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Joaquín García Raya
The Implementation of the Eight-Hour Workday at MZA: An Overview
The arduous design of the Camp de Tarragona railway network and the stubborn imposition of the workday have always been a source of friction among stakeholders in the labor market. This issue even extends to the present day with the Spanish Railway Infrastructure Administrator (ADIF)’s proposal to establish 12-hour workdays for train operations. Regulations governing the workday reached a milestone at the 1919 Washington Conference, which established an eight-hour workday or 48-hour workweek.
In the case of Spain, specifically regarding the railways, this change led to conflict between the government, the companies, and the unions, as well as an economic cost for the companies. An analysis of a large number of sources provides a comprehensive understanding of what this labor policy implementation entailed at MZA, one of the most important companies in the Spanish railway sector and, consequently, in the Spanish economy prior to the Civil War.
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Josep Antoni Moreno i Guallar
The Railway Workers of Alcanyís and the War of 1936–1939
At various conferences on railway history, the different historical periods of construction and operation of the Sant Carles de la Ràpita to La Pobla d’Híxar railway, also known as the Vall de Safan line, have been gradually pieced together. During research into the overall history of this line, various topics have emerged that may warrant more specific exploration, particularly regarding the human and personal aspects, which are often absent from historical accounts.
This presentation will offer an initial exploration of the events and consequences that the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) and the postwar period had for some railway workers from Alcanyís. The city was a major hub for railway workers, as it housed the central offices and workshops of the railway, which had been managed by the state since 1899. The various events led some workers to take on responsibilities outside the workplace, while others who were not considered sufficiently “loyal to the regime” in power suffered repression at the hands of the authorities.
• The outline of the presentation to Congress will include the following sections:
• The outbreak of the War and the consolidation of the Aragon Front.
• Repression of workers between 1936 and 1938.
• The collapse of the Aragon Front and the arrival of Italian troops in Alcanyís.
• Repression of workers between 1938 and 1939.
• Repression in the postwar period: the Courts-Martial.
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Esther Aldave (FDMHN, UPNA), Daniel Oviedo Silva (FDMHN, UPNA), Izaskum Rodríguez Villar, Lisabe Velasco Zozaya (FDMHN, UPNA), Juan Carlos García Funes (FDMHN, UPNA), Imanol Satrustegi Andres (FDMHN, UPNA), 
Repression and Purges of Navarrese Railway Workers During the Civil War
When analyzing the political and social context of the railway sector in Spain—at least with regard to the second half of the 20th century—it is necessary to devote some attention to the impact that Franco’s purges had on this professional sector.
The purges, as part of the repressive machinery of the Franco regime, affected a large part of the population regardless of the sector in which they worked. Specifically, when discussing the railway sector, it is worth highlighting the particularities we find when studying the purges, both those related to the nature of the work itself and to the high degree of political, social, and union mobilization within the sector.
Through this paper, we propose to analyze the phenomenon of purges in the railway sector in Navarre as yet another form of repression exercised by the Franco regime and thus demonstrate how, through the study of these purge files, one can gain a deeper understanding of the social reality and the impact that political engagement had on different sectors of the population. Furthermore, it also highlights the value of these files as a source of information for the study of postwar society, the magnitude of repression, and the involvement of specific social sectors in political activism and labor movements.
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Belén Moreno (UOV), Miguel Muñoz (FFE), Francisco Polo (FFE)
The Repression of Female Railway Workers During the Civil War and the Franco Regime
The general aim of Franco’s repression was to crush the labor movement by eradicating its organizations and subjugating the workforce. But in the case of women, there was the additional goal of returning them to the sole role of submissive, obedient, and religious wives and mothers.
Data from research on the purge in the railway sector indicate that some 4,800 women were “purged”—that is, they underwent a process in which they had to prove they were not guilty of opposing the National Uprising in order to regain their jobs, of whom more than 700 received some form of disciplinary action. This process was meticulously documented to the extent that the files of all these women have been preserved; these files contain information not only on the proceedings—charges, defenses, denunciations, and sanctions—but also on their employment histories and personal circumstances. Thanks to these records, it is possible to reconstruct their employment status relative to men and their existing family networks, as many of them were relatives of railway workers.
The aim of this study is to examine the repression suffered by female railway workers during the Civil War and the early years of the Franco regime based on their purging files. Most of them were reinstated in their companies without any sanctions, but a significant number were sanctioned or dismissed from the company. Here we will focus our attention on the latter group, outlining their union and political affiliations, their ties to other railway workers in their families, and providing information on their career trajectories.
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