At SNCF and Air France, negotiations are taking place in all directions to avoid the disaster scenario of repeated strikes during the holiday period.
“There will be trains and planesat Christmas, promised the Minister of Transport Clément Beaune: with the approach of the end-of-year holidays, the multiplication of social conflicts in the transport sector nevertheless raises fears of the opposite.
A string of strike notices have been filed in several companies and negotiations between unions and management seem to be stalling. Overview of social movements still unresolved a few days before the Christmas holidays.
At the SNCF: a multiplication of conflicts
Signalmen’s strike, controllers’ strike and now drivers’ strike on the TGV Atlantique axis which serves the West and South-West of the country… At the SNCF, negotiations are taking place all over the place to avoid the disaster scenario of strikes repeatedly during the holiday season.
The latest social movement: that of drivers on the Atlantic TGV axis brings together an inter-union bringing together CGT-Cheminots, Unsa-Ferroviaire, SUD-Rail and CFDT-Cheminots. The latter filed a strike notice last Thursday for the first weekend of the school holidays.
Read alsoPlane, train: will the strikes ruin Christmas?
The unions denounce the shortages of personnel which deteriorate the working conditions of the drivers and criticize the choice of the management to reduce the number of training courses. A meeting was taking place on Tuesday afternoon to try to find a way out of the crisis and avoid massive train cancellations on a holiday departure weekend.
Especially since on the same weekend there is a national strike notice for the signalmen at the call of SUD-Rail, which reiterated Tuesday evening its desire to go all the way after a new meeting with the management. The other unions did not join the movement, so it is difficult to anticipate the disruptions it could cause between Thursday December 15 at 8:00 p.m. and Monday 19 at 8:00 a.m.
But a work stoppage of the signalmen, without whom the trains cannot circulate, can have serious consequences. SNCF Voyageurs ensures that it is still too early to communicate traffic forecasts. On the side of the controllers, whose strike on the first weekend of December had caused the cancellation of nearly two thirds of the TGV and Intercités, the management issued several proposals for ending the crisis.
Read alsoFrançois d’Orcival: “At the SNCF, the right to strike is repeated”
The collective of controllers, which brings together around 3,400 members on Facebook, does not reveal its intentions and has until Thursday to give its answer. In the meantime, notices covering Christmas and New Year weekends have still not been lifted.
SEE ALSO – France, champion of strikes?
In the air: threat to Air France
Despite the holding of 14 meetings since September and negotiations still in progress, the conflict between the management of Air France and part of the unions of hostesses and stewards seems to be bogged down. At this stage, it is difficult to imagine Unac and SNGAF, which together represent just over 50% of cabin crew (PNC), lifting their strike notice which runs from December 22 to January 2. “The strike is maintained“, assured AFP Anne Vildy, secretary general of Unac.
The agreement governing the working conditions of cabin crew came to an end at the end of October and management is negotiating a new one with the unions with the aim of concluding by March. Until then, Unac and SNGAF are calling for the “contractualization of their working conditions» that they consider threatened by the choice to place them under «executive note“, therefore unilaterally modifiable – which the management of the company disputes.
Read alsoAir France: management unable to guarantee Christmas flights
“Air France plans to route all of its customers and does not anticipate any cancellations at this stage“, assures despite everything the tricolor company. Other companies serving overseas territories are also threatened by strike action. This is the case for Corsair from December 16 to 22 and Air Antilles from December 17 to 22.
The only encouraging news: the conflict between the cabin crew and the management of the French subsidiary of easyJet seems to be on the way to being resolved. “We are having encouraging discussions with the unions SNPNC and Unac“, indicated Tuesday the direction of the company. So far, no strike notice has been filed despite the threat to do so.