The May holidays are approaching and many French people are preparing to go on a family weekend. Will there be strikes at the SNCF or will trains be able to run normally?
The French work all year round and holidays or short weekends are an opportunity for most to recharge their batteries, disconnect from everyday life and recharge their batteries. In fact, the May bridges will not be long in arriving. Between Labor Day which takes place on Wednesday May 1, Wednesday May 8, Thursday May 9, Ascension Day, and Pentecost Monday which takes place on May 20, every opportunity is good to escape for a few days, organizing short stays with friends, as a couple or with children. But travelers are constantly torn between the pleasure of leaving and the stress of seeing their departure canceled, due to the numerous strikes announced. So, will we be able to leave during the May holidays this year without fearing disruptions at the SNCF?
Last month, the Sud-Rail union had in fact filed a strike notice for the period from April 30 to May 31, 2024, to protest in particular over the arduousness and remuneration at the end of the career of controllers, the work bonus as well as reclassification of agents. The national collective of ASCT (CNA), which brings together thousands of controllers, had already followed the movement last February.
But following a meeting organized on April 10, 2024, the trade union organizations (CGT des Cheminots, Unsa Ferroviaire, CFDT Cheminots) seem satisfied with the measures taken on the end of career with the improvement of “early cessation of activity” and ” end-of-career part-time work” for all railway workers with specific features for controllers. “We discussed it among ourselves, and we believe that the company has finally responded to some of our concerns. We will not call a strike. We are going on standby“, declared Olivier to Le Parisien, one of the leaders of the National Collective of ASCT (CNA), who had called for a protest.
For its part, the Sud-Rail union has not yet announced its position, but is expected to make a decision this Monday, April 22 after discussions with its activists. However, even if a call for a strike were to occur, it should be poorly followed by the controllers. The SCNF this time succeeded in limiting the damage, but for how long? “The company must not imagine that this round table will solve all the problems, comments a union official. This should not bury other topics. Social anger has not subsided“. After the May bridges, the period of the 2024 Olympic Games could, in turn, be threatened…