It was through Paris-Lausannes that Jean-Pierre Farandou, president of the SNCF, arrived shortly before 9:30 a.m. at the Dijon station to meet with representatives of union organizations (OS) from Bourgogne-Franche-Comté , as part of a field trip across France. On leaving the TGV, around fifty railway workers and trade unionists from the CGT, Sud-Rail and UNSA-Ferrérale, greeted him with ironic fervor followed by hoots. At the song of “angry railway workers”, the demonstrators followed Jean-Pierre Farandou to the entrance to the building of the regional directorate of SNCF, which adjoins the forecourt of the station. There, the latter were able to exchange views, strongly, with the president of the SNCF for around twenty minutes around their working conditions deemed increasingly harsh and violent in the context of the group’s restructuring.
–
Jean-Pierre Farandou, president of the #SNCF, was arrested this Friday after leaving the train at the station #Dijon by fifty angry railway workers who have come to denounce their working conditions. https://t.co/tmqiARaMSP pic.twitter.com/oP7dRNmfsa
– The Public Good ????️ (@Lebienpublic) January 31, 2020
–
–
“The impression of being racketeers”
In front of Jean-Pierre Farandou, the railroad workers pointed to growing social unrest within the SNCF. “Security is a disaster, we are at the bottom of the hole,” we launched from the procession, referring, in particular, to the reduction in the number of controllers. “In addition, with the regularization rules in the train that we have to apply, we have the impression of being racketeers, we are asking 50 €, on board, from people who climb from stations where they can not even do more withdraw from a ticket, ”says Alexandre Vogel, controller elected to the TER regional social and economic committee. He continues: “There is a problem of management, of management on the part of the leaders which leads to discomfort, due to the abolition of positions, the uprooting caused by forced mobility”.
–
Bonuses paid to non-strikers
Jean-Pierre Farandou reminded the demonstrators of his desire to be present “on the ground to renew the link with the trade union organizations”. Without convincing. “The field is elsewhere, it is not the regional office, retorts a railway worker affiliated to the CGT, I think you are completely out of touch with the reality of life. The trade unionists expect Jean-Pierre Farandou to initiate further dialogue with the local federations CGT, UNSA and Sud-Rail to address the demands expressed following the filing of a request for immediate concertation (DCI). “We have not seen you since the start of the strike and you are able to distribute bonuses to non-strikers, you understand that behind the debate will be complicated”, adds Patrick Triboulin, federal secretary Sud-Rail, who denounces here “gratuities paid in the most complete illegality (from 300 to 1,500 € on January pay, according to the unions, editor’s note). “And Jean-Pierre Farandou replies:” we have left the possibility for local regions and establishments to allocate exceptional bonuses to certain agents “. He then headed towards the interior of the regional directorate building alongside the representatives of the SOs.
At the end of the discussions, Jean-Christophe Gossart, CGT-Cheminots regional secretary said: “It would seem that the president is ready to discuss at the national level, we were on a free discussion and not within the framework of regional negotiations. We will judge the acts over the next few days, I hope. ”
–
–
