French Railway Workers Continue Strike Until Monday

A railroad worker wears a vest that reads: SNFC Reform Strike.

Published 17 February 2024

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Striking unions believe that the deal to end the crisis negotiated in late 2022, when a Christmas weekend strike left 200,000 travelers stranded, is slow to be implemented.

The strike of the SNCF (French railways) controllers for a wage increase continues on Saturday, during the winter holidays, which has left only one in two TGV in circulation.

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The measure of strength of the workers affects a total of 150,000 passengers, according to the complaints of the company that recalled in a statement that rail traffic is "seriously disturbed" from Thursday at 20:00 and until Monday at 8:00, warned the SNCF.

Striking unions believe that the deal to end the crisis negotiated in late 2022, when a Christmas weekend strike left 200,000 travelers stranded, is slow to be implemented.

Jean-Pierre Farandou ne découvre pas aujourd’hui que les contrôleurs sont en colère.
Quand la direction ne répond pas aux revendications, la dernière étape pour les salariés c’est la grève.
Le ministre des transports @P_Vergriete doit exiger que le patron de la #SNCF revienne à… pic.twitter.com/S89LTeXl8F
— Thomas Portes (@Portes_Thomas) February 17, 2024

The post reads:

Jean-Pierre Farandou does not discover today that the controllers are angry. When management does not respond to demands, the last step for employees is a strike. The Minister of Transport @P_Vergriete must demand that the boss of #SNCF return to the negotiating table to respond to the legitimate demands of employees.

Unions such as the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) and Sud Rail called for the strike more than eight thousand controllers, a decision that generates controversy by the time it occurs, and on the other hand the Prime Minister Gabriel Attal pointed out that although going on strike is a right, working is a duty, deploring the fact that it is often used at sensitive times for the French.

Also, the strike forced the cancellation of half of the high-speed trains in France and affected connections with other European countries, in the middle of a weekend of winter school holidays.