How long will the mobilization of SNCF employees be able to last in the face of the government project on pensions? The issue will soon be debated by the four main railway unions, which have scheduled a meeting between them for the end of this week. Not without having received in the meantime the instructions of the inter-union at the level of their respective confederations. And from Thursday, a hundred “unitary” general assemblies should be held in different railway sites, to discuss the rest.
One thing is already obvious: the “SNCF social body” is less mobilized than during the long conflict of winter 2019/2020, during the previous attempt to reform pensions. Very quickly, the rate of strikers at the SNCF fell from 39% on March 7 – the first day of the renewable notice – to around 10% at the end of last week, according to an informed source. Before rising to some 15% this Wednesday, March 15, one of the “highlights” retained by the unions according to the parliamentary calendar.
Drivers more strikers
If the disturbances are much stronger in terms of traffic and cancellations of trains, it is because the conflict is much more followed among the drivers, essential to make the trains run (43% of strikers this Wednesday, according to a union source quoted by AFP) and with inspectors (23%), mandatory on board trains. Hence on the ground, Wednesday, a reduction of 40% in the number of daily TGVs compared to normal, and 60% for regional TERs. These cancellations will be less from Thursday, March 16.
But the rest has not yet been settled, and will largely depend on the legislative process in Parliament. “It is impossible for the movement to end in a fishtail. And it would be very misunderstood by the base for union unity to crack at this precise moment, ”according to Sébastien Mariani, deputy general secretary of the CFDT Cheminots. This union has planned to consult its members on Thursday and Friday.
Support the visibility of the movement
Faced with a relatively low mobilization rate among railway workers, on a subject concerning all French employees, it calls instead for support for national “movement visibility”, without however remaining on a format identical to that planned since March 7.
But for other organizations, the latest developments in the Assembly do not change anything. “For us, union unity has been present from the start, we have interfederal links, there is no soft underbelly,” said Julien Troccaz, of SUD-Rail. “We still have a very high rate of strikers,” he said, disagreeing with the figures circulating, and noting “a real anger, which is increasing day by day”.
As of January 10, the date of the concrete announcement of the pension reform by Elisabeth Borne, the Ministry of Transport mandated Jean-Pierre Farandou, the CEO of SNCF, like his RATP counterpart Jean Castex, to hold internal discussions beyond the framework of retirement (career development, levels, remuneration, etc.). But the current questions of employees on the subject of pensions make this mission very delicate.