SNCF STRIKE. A strike by SNCF controllers is seriously disrupting TGV, Intercités and international train traffic until Sunday, December 4, 2022. Strike notices have already been filed for Christmas and New Year weekends.
[Mis à jour le 4 décembre 2022 à 16h10] The strike by SNCF controllers continues to greatly disrupt TGV and Intercités traffic this Sunday, December 4, 2022. Indeed, 4 out of 10 TGVs and Intercités are running on average this Sunday. The disruptions also affect Ouigo and international train traffic. However, the TER, Transilien and RER are running normally. Traffic should gradually resume from Monday, December 5, according to forecasts from the railway company. Travelers whose journeys are affected by this strike movement have been notified by SMS or email. They can benefit from a full refund of their ticket, or a free exchange on trains that are not affected by the strike, until December 8 inclusive.
More than 80% of SNCF controllers are on strike this weekend of Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 December. A movement organized by the controllers in order to obtain a status similar to that of train drivers, but also a salary increase. The CGT, Sud-Rail and the CFDT all three called for a “unitary strike” on Wednesday, December 7, during the mandatory annual negotiations (NAO) of the SNCF which relate to wages. However, this movement should not be of the same magnitude as that affecting the French rail network this weekend. “It will be followed, but at a different level than this weekend”, indicated Fabien Villedieu, SUD-Rail union representative, on franceinfo. The union representative estimates that the movement of December 7 should not last more than one day.
If, by the end of the year, the controllers and the unions do not succeed in winning their case, new strikes could hit the French rail transport network during the Christmas holidays, a period when many French people take the train. Indeed, if the strike movement this weekend did not start from the SNCF unions, but from a collective of controllers, four unions have since given their support to the movement: Unsa, SUD-Rail, CFDT and FO locally. Information reported by franceinfo.
The four unions have filed strike notices for the weekends of Friday December 23 to Monday December 26 and from Friday December 30 to Monday January 2, with the aim of putting pressure on the negotiations with the SNCF. Saturday, December 3, the Minister of Transport Clément Beaune nevertheless wanted to put this scenario of paralysis of transport for the end of year celebrations into perspective. “I can’t bring myself to have things written down,” he said, calling for “collective responsibility”, according to comments reported by BFM TV. Find the forecast for this Sunday below, and what we know about the next strike dates.
Social movement: train traffic will be severely disrupted from December 2 to 5 on TGV INOUI, OUIGO and INTERCITES trains. Check the train timetables before going to the station.
— SNCF (@SNCF) November 30, 2022
The TGV and Intercités are very disrupted until Sunday inclusive, with 60% of the trains canceled. The TER, RER and Transiliens are not affected by this strike by SNCF controllers. Here are the predictions line by line:
- TGV disruptions : from December 3 to 4, 2022, plan 1 train out of 4 on the Ouigo and the TGV Atlantique, 1 train out of 3 on the TGV Est and Sud-Est and 1 train out of 2 on the TGV Nord.
- Intercity disruptions : from 3 to 4 December 2022, 1 Intercités out of 2 is in circulation and no night train is running. Consult this page for real-time information.
- International train disruptions : from 3 to 4 December 2022, no train in circulation on the France-Spain link, 1 train out of 3 on the France-Italy and France-Switzerland links, 1 train out of 2 on the France-Germany link. Normal traffic on Eurostar and Thalys.
- TER disturbances : some regions are suffering from disruptions that are not related to this strike. More information on the TER website. To monitor general regional train traffic disruptions, this page will be useful to you.
- RER disruptions : no disruption announced.
- Transilien disruptions: no disruption announced. For the Transilien network, there is a dedicated platform to follow the next traffic disruptions or you can call 0 805 90 36 35.
Controllers are asking for salary increases, an improvement in career development and greater recognition of the specificities of the function. Fabien Villedieu, SUD-Rail union representative, guest on European 1 Thursday, December 1, denounced the conditions of employment at the SNCF, where resignations are increasing. “If the soup is so good, people wouldn’t leave,” he blasted. While they practice a difficult job, they are nevertheless the showcase of the SNCF to travellers. The management of SNCF Voyageurs regrets for its part a maintained strike “while concrete and important measures have been proposed to the trade unions at the end of several weeks of negotiations”.
Rare fact at the SNCF: the unions are not at the origin of the strike movement of the controllers. “This movement does not start from unions, but from a collective of controllers created spontaneously”, indicated Rénald Szpitalnik, elected representative of the SUD-Rail union and controller at the Gare de Lyon in Paris, during an interview for West France. Unsa, SUD-Rail, CFDT and FO locally then supported the movement. This controllers’ strike comes just before the next mandatory annual negotiations (NAO) with the management of the SNCF, Wednesday, December 7. The CGT, SUD-Rail and the CFDT have already called for a “unitary strike” that day, as reported franceinfo. Asked by the media, Fabien Villedieu, SUD-Rail union representative, however, believes that this movement should not last more than a day, and that it will be followed at a lower level than this weekend.
The concern is mainly about the possibility of new strikes during the holiday season. Unsa, SUD-Rail, CFDT and FO have filed a strike notice for the weekends from Friday December 23 to Monday December 26 and from Friday December 30 to Monday January 2. It is for the unions and the controllers to put pressure on the leaders of the SNCF within the framework of the negotiations. Clément Beaune, Minister of Transport, wanted to put this prospect of strikes at the end of the year into perspective, on Saturday 3 December. “I can’t bring myself to have things written down,” he said, according to comments reported by BFM TV. Clément Beaune also called for “collective responsibility” to avoid new strikes at the end of the year, believing that there “must be a discussion”. And there will be a discussion, since the SUD-Rail and CFDT unions announced via a press release the holding of a “specific round table on Thursday, December 8” on the situation of the controllers.