Around 200,000 people should not be able to travel, out of 800,000 scheduled on trains this weekend, according to the rail group.
Two out of three trains will run this weekend with the controllers’ strike, SNCF management announced on Tuesday. In detail, on Friday, two out of three TGVs should run on the Atlantic and Mediterranean axes, and one in two trains on the North axis; the Paris-Lille shuttle will however be almost normal. Three TGV Est out of four will run. Three Ouigo out of four should also circulate. The Intercités should have normal traffic conditions.
The detail for Saturday and Sunday has not yet been communicated, but the traffic will be about the same as Friday, “with a slightly degraded scenario“, announced Alain Krakovitch, director of TGV-Intercités. According to the railway group, around 200,000 people should not be able to travel, out of 800,000 planned on trains this weekend. Customers will receive information about their train via SMS and email. They are encouraged to advance their departure if possible, and can exchange their tickets for free or get a refund. The SNCF also invites travelers who can to advance their departure, to avoid being penalized by the social movement: there are “120,000 places” left on December 21 and 22, notes the company.
Read alsoSNCF: this collective of controllers which threatens the TGVs at Christmas
The collective of SNCF controllers announced on Monday the maintenance of its strike notice for Christmas and New Year, with the support of Sud Rail and the CGT-Cheminots. The two unions have decided not to call a strike while maintaining their notice in order to give everyone the opportunity to join the movement or not, between December 23 and 26 and from December 30 to January 2, 2023. The controllers wishing to go on strike have until Wednesday evening to inform management of their intention not to work.
The grumbling movement of the controllers, initially carried by a collective called “ASCT National Collective(CNA), was formed outside of any trade union framework and brings together more than 3,500 captains – the official name of controllers – in a Facebook group to demand better recognition of the specificity of this profession.
“We did everything to avoid this strike, we gave every chance to social dialogue“, launched Christophe Fanichet. “We have come up with new, strong and concrete proposals“, he underlined, again asking the controllers not to strike. At the end of a meeting with the collective and unions on December 8, the management thus proposed to increase the “work bonus» captains of 600 euros per year, part of which would be integrated into their salary in 2024, as well as an additional allowance of 600 euros gross per year. Other specific measures concerning advancement have been put on the table in order to facilitate the career development of skippers.
Read alsoSNCF: this collective of controllers which threatens the TGVs at Christmas
A controllers’ strike on the first weekend of December led the SNCF to cancel 60% of its TGV and Intercités trains. Nearly half of the 9,000 captains then went on strike. But the mobilization of professionals falls this time at a particularly delicate moment, during which millions of French people want to join their loved ones. “I can understand that there are demands, but for the Christmas holidays… now is not the time», Launched during a press conference Christophe Fanichet, the CEO of SNCF Voyageurs.