A Barcelona social court has upheld the dismissal of Carmen Macías, the former head of regulatory compliance at Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), the public transport operator. The ruling found the dismissal fair after a subordinate accused Macías of workplace harassment.
For TMB staff, the judgment resolves Macías’s employment claim at this stage, but it does not decide the separate criminal proceedings opened after her complaint against three senior officials. The case therefore remains split between the labour ruling on her dismissal and the ongoing investigation into her allegations.
Employment claim dismissed after subordinate’s complaint
According to ARA’s account of the ruling, the court dismissed Macías’s claim that her dismissal was unfair and retaliatory.
Macías had said she was demoted and later dismissed because she investigated internal complaints involving three TMB executives. The ruling states that her dismissal followed a harassment complaint made by a subordinate.
TMB sources said the ruling “fully proves that there was harassment and that there has been no retaliation or conspiracy” in Macías’s dismissal.
The operator told ARA that dismissal had been “the only possible” response because of the seriousness of the actions found.
Criminal investigation remains separate
The labour judgment does not resolve the criminal proceedings involving the three senior TMB officials, which began after Macías filed her workplace-harassment complaint.
ARA reported that an Anti-Fraud Office of Catalonia (OAC) report in 2025 had found that Macías’s dismissal could form part of a possible retaliation case. That finding was cited in Macías’s account of the dispute, while TMB argued in court that the dismissal was justified.
Macías was represented by labour lawyers from Col·lectiu Ronda, who told ARA they will appeal the social court’s ruling. The appeal is the next formal step in the employment case.
Reported by Source Text Link, El País, Laia Galià, J. G. Albalat, russpain.com, beteve.cat, Dani Cordero, Pol Pareja, L.G., vlex.es, Pilar Araque Conde, Albert Llimós, El Periódico, Ara Cat.
