This Thursday, December 21, the railway workers were on strike. The national movement was followed by around 40 to 50% of SNCF staff in Biterrois. They are fighting, among other things, for the future of rail freight. If they are not heard, they will launch a renewable strike starting December 11.
Unease and discontent are growing among SNCF employees. This Thursday, November 21, as part of the national strike movement, launched by the CGT, UNSA railway, Sud rail, the CFDT railway workers and, in Béziers, FO railway workers, 40 to 50% of the 400 Béziers railway workers took action . Enough to disrupt rail traffic in the department, or even in Languedoc-Roussillon, where 91% of train drivers were on strike.
The movement could harden from December 11
In Béziers, the strikers met in a general assembly, mid-morning, near the SNCF workshops. They took stock of a movement which could harden from December 11: “Today's strike is a kind of ultimatum, assures Olivier Falzon, the general secretary of the CGT railway workers union Béziers. If by December 11, the government and SNCF management do not respond to our demands, we will launch another strike which will be renewable.”
Safeguarding rail freight
The first demand concerns the future of SNCF rail freight: “The government is pro-roadassured Olivier Falzon. The number of trucks on the highway continues to increase. However, we must not forget that the leading road carrier is the SNCF. Liquidating freight would also mean reclassifying 500 railway workers. Our demands also relate to the loyalty of passenger traffic. We must stop the process of privatization, the opening to competition.”
The strikers also demand a modernization of the network: “For example, the Béziers-Millau-Neussargue line suffers from underinvestment, the network is aging. The government announces a saving of €187 million. This will have repercussions on the purchase of equipment and the maintenance of ways.”
