Towards a “return to normal”. On Monday, 3 of the 4 TGVs must run for the last day of the SNCF controllers’ strike, which caused the cancellation of 60% of the trains this weekend, according to a SNCF spokesperson. It evokes “a total resumption of traffic” on Tuesday.
Gathered in a collective outside the union framework, the controllers of the SNCF – also called captains – have ceased their work since Friday to demand better recognition of their status. As the SNCF management had announced on Friday, “new meetings” are scheduled for this week – on Thursday according to the SUD Rail union website – “in the framework of the dialogue that began weeks ago with the union organizations on the subject of the board of chiefs”.
On Sunday, traffic was still severely disrupted, with 60% of TGV and Intercités cancelled.
With the exception of the CGT-Cheminots, all the unions (Unsa-Ferroviaire, SUD Rail, CFDT-Cheminots and FO-Cheminots) gave their support to the movement.
Strikes for the Christmas season?
To put pressure on the SNCF, the controllers also threaten strikes on Christmas and New Year weekends.
Fearing interruptions during the holiday period at the end of the year, the delegate minister for Transport, Clément Beaune, called on Saturday for “collective responsibility”.
The nearly 10,000 SNCF train supervisors, of whom nearly 3,000 work at TGV and Intercités, play an essential role in terms of traffic and passenger safety. Without them, the trains cannot run.
Improvement of working conditions
Beyond salary issues, controllers feel “mistreated” and demand better consideration, as well as an improvement in their working conditions, explained Fabien Villedieu, representative of the SUD Rail union, on Saturday at RMC.
After this “temperature-taking” weekend, SUD Rail hopes that concrete proposals will be made during the negotiations next week, saying “believe in social dialogue”, especially now that Christmas is approaching.
The month of December promises to be eventful at SNCF: this mobilization occurs just before the start of the annual salary negotiations, which are due to start on Wednesday at group level.
The CGT, SUD Rail and CFDT called for a “unitary strike” that day.
Source: BFM TV
