“I am only the spokesperson for the anger that has been dragging on for years among all controllers.” Mobilized employees of the SNCF defended, on BFMTV this Tuesday, the strike movement of the controllers scheduled for this weekend that should affect some 200,000 travelers for Christmas. In France, only two out of every three trains should circulate, according to the first estimates this Tuesday of the SNCF management, which foresees that one in four travelers will see their train withdrawn.
Since November, the SNCF has been fighting to establish a dialogue with the group of controllers of the ASCT (CNA) at the origin of this social movement, which calls for better recognition of the specificity of this profession. The CGT-Cheminots and SUD-rail, maintaining the notice, did not call a strike, leaving the door open to the strikers.
“We do not ask for the moon”
“We are not asking for the moon, but the last time the management did something for the controllers was in 2006,” laments Denis, controller of the main SNCF lines and member of the ACST collective, who preferred to remain anonymous on BFMTV. “Imagine, with the life we have, we are still considered sedentary. It makes my family both laugh and cry. The controllers, we go alone, to handle more than 500 people, ”he assures, lamenting the lack of recognition.
At the end of a meeting with the collective and the unions on December 8, the management proposed to increase the “work bonus” for employers by 600 euros per year, part of which would be integrated into their salary in 2024, as well as an allowance additional 600 euros gross per year. Other specific promotion measures have been put on the table to facilitate the professional development of employers.
If Unsa-Ferroviaire announced that it was withdrawing its strike notice, the CNA was unable to reach a clear position and was forced to cancel an online consultation due to “numerous frauds and attempts to manipulate the vote.”
“The unions had warned the management”, also advances Axel Persson, general secretary of the CGT Cheminots de Trappes interviewed on BFMTV. “I would never, ever have imagined that we would go on strike on December 24 and 25 with an impossible loss of money, but management would rather lose millions…”
An independent movement at the initiative of the controllers
“This is what happens in all the departments where the conflict lasts for months and months, and at the end of the year management comes out with the same blackmail saying: ‘if you don’t stop now, we’ll attack you in the media,'” the unionist developed.
“And here we come to the end-of-year celebrations, to a conflict that has been going on for a year now. The question is, are we going to give in to management blackmail? The answer is no. C It is the company that has chosen to participate in this confrontation, and we will take it to the limit of our possibilities, “he adds.
“The French need to go on vacation, I call on captains to remember this particular Christmas date and not go on strike,” said Christophe Fanichet, chief executive of SNCF Voyageurs. “Our door is still open if the unions want to lift the notices.”
The same story with the Delegate Minister of Transport, Clément Beaune. “There is still time to make the choice of responsibility. This choice is that of social dialogue and not that of penalizing the French during the holidays.”
Source: BFM TV
