School Buses Running “Brake‑Free”: ALSA Drivers Decry Slave‑Like Shifts and Unsafe Transport

Lack of safety in discretionary passenger transport on Fuerteventura – This is one of the main complaints raised by ALSA’s workforce to explain the indefinite strike they have called, starting on 2 March.

In an interview on the programme La Voz de Fuerteventura on Radio Insular, workers said the island has become the final destination for buses discarded elsewhere in the archipelago.

“We are the islands’ recycling plant,” they declared.

María, vice‑president of the Works Council and delegate of the Strike Committee (who participated by phone), Seila Boullosa, also a Strike Committee delegate, and Víctor de Francisco, an ALSA bus driver, added that Fuerteventura is “the funeral home of buses.”

They explained that the poor condition of the vehicles forces drivers to perform continuous repairs that do not always result in improvements. In some cases, they stressed, there is no guarantee that the brakes work, yet the service still runs.

A striking example they cited involved a bus “that failed its technical inspection because of missing brakes, yet was sent out to work, taking children to school without any problem.” They noted that failures in mandatory safety systems such as ADAS are common and often go unrepaired. According to them, breakdown reports remain unresolved due to a lack of parts or resources, while the vehicles keep circulating.

“Because we lack enough vehicles, we have to go out on the road, period,” Boullosa insisted.
“The last time, I was told to wait 45 minutes for the sun to rise before I could start my shift, because my bus had no low‑beam lights.”

Drivers also highlighted other irregularities: children placed in unsuitable seats, ramps that do not work for pupils with reduced mobility, and delays caused by breakdowns.

“We keep going out on the road with unfit vehicles day after day,” they protested.

Endless Shifts and Unpaid Overtime

The labour side of the conflict concerns unpredictable schedules and shifts that far exceed legal limits.

“We work up to fourteen, even fifteen hours,” the workers said.

Assignments are often given only a few hours in advance, and refusing them can trigger disciplinary action.

“If you refuse any of those services, the company threatens to open a sanction file against you,” they lamented.

The company can also force drivers to stop at unauthorized locations. Boullosa recounted that after refusing to “unload 37 people onto a pedestrian crossing and a bike lane,” the firm stripped her of airport‑transfer duties—the trips that carry extra pay.

She also revealed that last year she accumulated two fines of about €2,500 each for exceeding driving‑time limits, a consequence of the company’s planning decisions that can jeopardise a driver’s licence and employment.

Regarding pay, workers claim that “to date we have not been paid for overtime.” The company proposes to start paying after the tenth hour, a formula the staff reject.

“It’s eight hours of work, and we should be compensated from the eighth hour onward,” they insisted.

They also pointed to favoritism in the allocation of extra‑pay routes, creating a wage gap among employees.

Since ALSA’s entry into Fuerteventura, workers say they have seen no real improvement or transformation in management.

“The management is still carried out by the people who ran the previous company,” they explained, suggesting that planning and pressure dynamics remain unchanged.

Overall, the staff describe a state of “modern slavery,” where they must remain virtually on‑call all day, glued to their personal phones, with no real disconnection.

Indefinite Strike and “Fear” of 100 % Minimum Service

In this context, roughly 150 drivers have called for an indefinite strike beginning 2 March.

They want their right to strike to have impact but fear that the Cabildo of Fuerteventura will impose excessively high minimum‑service requirements, as has happened in previous disputes.

“We can’t even carry out a decent strike because we are always operating under minimum‑service mandates,” they lamented.

The protest is not intended to harm families; rather, it aims to improve service safety. The workers ask the public to “support us a little.”

They conclude by reminding citizens that they “are seen every day on the road, spewing smoke and smelling burnt.”