1 out of 4 TER and 1 out of 3 TGV, these are the forecasts announced by Pierre, the voice of the SNCF, who has decided not to follow the movement initiated by the three major unions CGT, Sud Rails, and FO in protest against the “industrial reorganization of freight and its social consequences.” Management wants, in particular, to relax work regulations (working hours, rest periods, night schedules, etc.) to cope with private competitors, whose rates are said to be 20% lower than those of SNCF. They also warn about the dangers to safety and the feared 6,000 job cuts by the end of 2010, out of the current 20,000 in the freight sector.
For Pierre, the die is already cast, “the management doesn’t care about our demands, no matter if we protest, they will always push through.”
In Nice, alongside the railway workers, there were about a thousand demonstrators yesterday according to the organizers, 650 according to the police, which included tax and treasury agents contesting the merger of the two administrations, customs officers, teachers, and undocumented immigrants.
As for the strike at the SNCF, it is being carried over to Wednesday but will only cause minor disruptions. On Tuesday evening, the CGT-railway workers, the third union (out of eight) that called for this renewable strike, reported receiving a letter from management “opening new avenues” for the reorganization of freight.
