It has now been 21 days since the bus depots of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine (78) and Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône (95) which serve the Cergy agglomeration have been paralyzed. Indeed, since November 7, more than 90% of bus drivers have been on strike to protest against the marked deterioration of their working conditions.
Drivers denounce an acceleration of this deterioration since they changed employers last January, as part of the opening to competition. The two depots, formerly managed by STIVO and Transdev, are now managed by Francilité Seine-et-Oise, a subsidiary of the Lacroix-Savac group. Fred, FO union representative, describes an untenable situation: “Everything has deteriorated since January 1st and since September, they have changed our service sheets, it has become hellish. A line which, for example, made a journey in twenty minutes must now do so in sixteen”. Drivers are facing extensions of services, a drastic reduction in their time between journeys which prevents them from taking breaks or even an increase in the number of services with interruption, with up to fourteen hours of amplitudes. .
Young drivers are particularly affected by this situation, because current agreements only preserve social benefits for those who signed their contract before January 1, 2024. For example, “young people who return receive 1,450 euros for services from 6 to 8 p.m.”explains Fred. Another example of discrimination: they do not benefit from the thirteenth month before one year of seniority.
Faced with this situation, the strikers, supported by FO and the CGT, are demanding break times, adapted schedules, the revaluation of the bonus for night services, toilets at the terminals or even the renewal of buses which are in a disastrous state.
This strike is a cry of alarm against the devastating effects of opening up to competition in the public transport sector. “The system is done on purpose. This is not a company buyout where we keep the agreements. It’s meant to renegotiate downward working conditions every six years.”denounces Fred once again. While the RATP network is being opened up to competition, it is urgent to become aware of the risks it entails and to oppose it collectively. To support the exemplary fight led by the drivers of Francilien Seine-et-Oise, donate to their strike fund!
