The Sud-Rail union has filed a strike notice from November 5 to 12 for employees of Transdev, the new operator of the Marseille-Nice TER line. Four months after the service’s launch, the agents are reporting wages deemed too low and difficult working conditions.
The promise of a “new lease on life” for the rail link between Marseille and Nice is turning into a social crisis. Having begun service on June 29, Transdev, the first private operator to compete with SNCF on this regional line, is facing a strike notice filed by the Sud-Rail union. The work stoppage is set to start on Wednesday, November 5 at 7 p.m. and end on November 12 at 8 a.m.
In a statement released on social media, the union refers to “advances deemed too weak” and “too many refusals” from the management of Transdev Rail Sud Inter-métropoles (TRSI). It believes that “the company is facing a social crisis and an urgent wage dispute.” Sud-Rail is asking the management to provide “concrete and immediate answers” to its demands.
The heart of the conflict concerns wages and working conditions. In a letter addressed to the management, union delegate Frédéric Michel alerts on the wage losses experienced by several employees. “Some railroad workers, who come from another Transdev subsidiary, have suffered losses of 400 to 600 euros compared to what they were earning before,” he specifies. According to him, “in terms of working conditions, there are regularly imposed and unpaid overtime hours, 12-hour work periods… Employees can no longer take it. There have been resignations, and there will be more.”
Contacted, the Transdev management has not responded to requests, nor has the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region, the organizing authority of the TER network.
Recurrent Social Tensions
For several employees, the discontent runs deep. The line’s employees describe “very low wages, incoherent and exhausting schedules,” and working conditions they deem “deplorable.” They add: “rests are minimal, and drivers who have just been hired earn 2,000 euros per month, compared to 2,400, 2,500 euros at SNCF. Some people have already resigned because they end up working quite monstrous hours for minimal wages. The schedule of some ground staff is irregular. They may work in the morning, then start again at night the next day, for example.”
This mobilization occurs in a tense context for the Transdev group. The company won the 2021 bid launched by the Region to operate the Marseille-Nice line. However, in mid-October, it failed to secure a second lot, awarded to an SNCF subsidiary.
The first operational assessments, published in mid-August, had already raised criticism. The train punctuality rate, from late June to mid-August, was 84%. The Public Railway Safety Establishment also reported an incident after passing a “square,” a red signal in railway jargon.
The announced strike on the TER line is not an isolated case. In October, other Transdev employees had already stopped working in Bouches-du-Rhône. They demanded more clarity on the calls for tenders regarding the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis lines.
In this department, tensions persist. Employees at the Éguilles depot could be called to strike again on November 3 by the FO union. They denounce the uncertainty related to the loss of their market, now awarded to the company Suma. Legal proceedings initiated by Transdev delay the schedule and keep the staff in suspense.
A Tension-Filled Opening to Competition
Four months after the historic opening to competition of the Marseille-Nice TER line, the promise of a more efficient service is clashing with social reality. Transdev agents denounce a model based on cost-cutting, to the detriment of wages and quality of life at work.
This first strike, which is expected to be “widely followed” according to the agents, could further undermine the credibility of the competitive model desired by the Region. Upcoming negotiations will determine if Transdev can ease the climate and restore trust among its employees. Meanwhile, the users are likely to find themselves caught in the turmoil as well.
