This Thursday, November 21, 2024, as part of a national day of action, around fifty railway workers gathered at the end of the morning in front of the Perpignan prefecture. Among other things, to demand a moratorium on the “dismantling” of Fret SNCF. They say they are ready to go on a renewable strike from December 11 in the absence of a response.
Will there be trains for Christmas? The question remains. This Thursday, November 21, 2024, all the unions representing the SNCF called on railway workers to go on strike to oppose the dismantling of Fret SNCF and the various threats currently weighing on the rail.
According to the CGT, around 25% of the employees concerned stopped working at the national level this Thursday. But this was only the first step. Because in the absence of a response to their demands, the unions intend to call a renewable strike from December 11. Gathered in a general assembly this Thursday morning in Perpignan, the railway workers of the Pyrénées-Orientales have already declared themselves ready to take the plunge.
At the end of the morning, around fifty of them gathered in front of the prefecture. In Catalonia, more than elsewhere, the future of freight is at the heart of the dispute. For the record, following a dispute with Europe which suspected a “disguised subsidy” to Fret SNCF, the State was forced to split the company into two distinct entities from January 1, 2025 and cede 30% of flows to the private sector.
The “uncertain” future of Fret SNCF railway workers
“In the department, this results in the transfer to the private sector of more than 90% of flows, explains the CGT representative of the Perpignan railway workers Lucas Mas. Most of the employees concerned (around a hundred in the department, Editor’s note) should be transferred to one of the subsidiaries created, but with an uncertain future.” Furthermore, the CGT fears that the dismantling will be accompanied by“at least ten job cuts” in the department.
Building on these arguments, the unions are demanding “a moratorium on the freight issue with the opening of a parliamentary debate”based on the model of that announced around the Mercosur free trade treaty.
The future of passenger transport is also one of the main demands of railway organizations. They fear that the 5 billion savings that the government plans to make in 2025 on allocations to the regions will indirectly impact the financing of TER, allocated to said communities.
