2023-09-26 21:20:46
An eventful lunch break this Tuesday, at the foot of the La Défense towers. Shortly before 1 p.m., the hall of the Ministry of Ecological Transition was invaded by several dozen angry railway workers, in particular trade unionists from Sud Rail determined to denounce “the privatization and breakup of rail freight”.
This striking action was carried out as part of a call for a strike launched by three railway workers’ union organizations: the CGT-cheminots, Solidaires Sud Rail and the CFDT-FGTE railway workers. Objective of this day of mobilization: to denounce the “social scuttling” and “dismantling” of Fret SNCF, a subsidiary of the SNCF. A subsidiary targeted since January by a European Union investigation into the financial support provided to it by the French State, from 2007 to 2019, in particular the cancellation of its debt of 5.3 billion euros. While the EU could deem this aid illegal, the government has proposed to Brussels “a discontinuity plan”, namely replacing Fret SNCF with a new subsidiary.
In the eyes of the union organizations, this “discontinuity plan” represents an “unparalleled attack for freight railway workers”. It would include the elimination of 500 positions out of 5,000 railway workers, the transfer to Fret SNCF’s competitors of all combined transport, i.e. 30% of traffic, the transfer of Fret SNCF railway workers to 2 subsidiaries and the privatization of 40% of real estate of Fret SNCF.
Determined to make themselves heard, some of the railway workers, first meeting in a general assembly at the Gare de Lyon, finally took the road to the La Défense business district and the tower of the Ministry of Ecological Transition. However, the occupation of the hall only lasted a few dozen minutes, cut short by the intervention of the police. The demonstrators left the scene without damage, without clashes or shoving.
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