Controllers at SNCF have averted a strike during the May bridges thanks to an agreement with management regarding the end of careers for railway workers. The four representative unions of SNCF, including CGT-Cheminots, Unsa-Ferroviaire, and CFDT-Cheminots, signed the agreement last week, with Sud-Rail announcing its intention to follow suit on Monday after consulting with its members.
The agreement includes improvements to the early retirement system for railway workers, particularly those who have held physically demanding positions. Drivers will be able to begin “early cessation of activity” 30 months before retirement with 15 months worked paid at 100% and 15 months not worked paid at 75%. For controllers, the system is even more favorable, with a cessation of activity spread over 36 months, including 18 months not worked paid at 75%.
The agreement helps to partially offset the negative effects of the pension reform, according to Sud-Rail federal secretary Erik Meyer. The union members overwhelmingly voted in favor of the signature, leading Sud-Rail to decide not to call a strike in May as previously threatened. The informal collective of controllers also indicated that they would not mobilize.
The agreement on end-of-careers is significant within SNCF, with all social partners signing on an important subject. The CFDT-Cheminots noted that this agreement marks the first act of the social progress platform proposed by Jean-Pierre Farandou in response to the controllers’ strike. Other provisions in the agreement include end-of-career part-time work paid 10% more than time actually worked and the creation of an additional seniority level to improve the remuneration of railway workers at the end of their career.
