After the February strike, an advantageous agreement on the end of the careers of railway workers is in sight

2024-04-16 18:53:23

At least three representative unions out of four of the SNCF, including the CGT, are preparing to sign an agreement with management on end of careers. In particular, it provides for an improvement in the “early cessation of activity” system, which allows early retirement without being too financially penalized.

Railway workers will be able to benefit from it for 18 months before the end of their career, with nine months worked and nine months not worked, paid at 75%. Previously, the system lasted for only one year – including six months worked – paid at 60%. This system could even be extended to 30 months for employees who have held jobs with proven arduousness, such as drivers. They will be paid 100% for the 15 months worked then 75% for the 15 months not worked.

Improvements in remuneration

The controllers, who had launched a strike during a February holiday weekend, leaving 150,000 people in the lurch, got even better, with an early termination spread over 36 months with 18 months off work paid at 75%.

The agreement contains other provisions on end-of-career part-time work or the creation of an additional seniority level to improve remuneration and compensate for the increase in the retirement age voted for last year.

The signatory CGT

The social partners have until next Monday to make their position known. The CGT-Cheminots, the railway group’s leading union, quickly announced that it would sign this agreement which brings, in its words, “new rights for all”. However, the railway union only very rarely signs with management. Unsa-Ferroviaire and CFDT-Cheminots, respectively the second and fourth unions within the SNCF, have also announced their intention to sign.

For Unsa, these measures validate requests made by the union in 2023 to “limit the impact of the pension reform”. And the general secretary of the CFDT-Cheminot Thomas Cavel noted “an important first act” of the new social progress platform, this new method of dialogue announced by Jean-Pierre Farandou in February to respond to the controllers’ strike.