Following demands for salary increases, nearly 90% of SNCF controllers will be on strike this weekend. An announcement which upset Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
A strike action has been announced for this weekend and is expected to significantly disrupt vacationers’ travel. One in two TGVs is hoped for by the boss of SNCF Voyageurs, Christophe Fanichet. This announcement is like déjà vu for many rail users in France, particularly during school holidays. And it did not seem to delight Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
“Striking is a right, working is a duty”
Guest on France Info this Wednesday morning, the tenant of Matignon made his dissatisfaction known by deploring “a form of habit, with each vacation that arrives, of having the announcement of a strike movement”. This controllers’ strike, which could concern “between 70% and 90%” of them, according to the SUD-Rail union, aims to obtain a salary increase.
If the Prime Minister recalled that “the strike is a right”, he deplores this new movement and recalls that “working is a duty”. A way to put pressure on professionals in the sector. The SNCF has already promised an exceptional bonus of 400 euros. The strikers want more and are demanding, among other things, an “increase in the monthly work bonus from 150 to 200 euros”.
An “incomprehensible movement” for the boss of SNCF Voyageurs
48 hours before the start of the movement, there are expected to be numerous disruptions on the rails. “We must allow French people who work all year round and who, for a few days, probably want to be able to reunite with their family, their loved ones, to be able to do so” also indicated Gabriel Attal.
He calls for “the greatest responsibility” from everyone so that these strikes take place in good conditions, without excesses. The CEO of SNCF Voyageurs announced this morning on BFMTV that “priority” would be given to mountain holidays and children traveling alone. He also did not fail to criticize an “incomprehensible movement”, the company’s commitments made in 2022 having been kept.