Paris (AFP)

After SUD-Rail and the Unsa railway, the powerful CGT-Cheminots put Friday its weight of the first union of the SNCF in the battle against the reform of retirements calling in turn to a "strike renewable" from December 5 .

If the union was already mobilized for this day, he still had to decide whether his action would be confined to this Thursday national interprofessional strike or whether he would embark on an unlimited movement, a threat of disorder in the stations.

Meeting Thursday and Friday, the National Council of the union - its governing body - "decided the filing of a notice of strike renewable by 24-hour period," he announced on Twitter. He "calls the railways to register massively in the strike on December 5 and to participate in the general assemblies to decide the consequences".

"The balance of power can and must be greater than that of 2018," writes CGT-Cheminots. Last year, a long strike by episode two days out of five, launched during three months by the four main unions of the SNCF, had failed to block the vote of the railway reform and the stop in 2020 hiring to the status of railwayman.

According to the union, "the contours of the future pension reform are rejected massively by the railway workers". It demands "the improvement of the current general pension" and "the reopening of the special regime" of railway workers of the SNCF "by extension" to any "railway branch".

Henceforth, he proclaims, "the battle begins" against the project of the universal government pension system by points, which will remove the special regimes, including those of the SNCF and the RATP.

In addition to CGT-Cheminots, the Unsa railway (2nd union at the SNCF) and SUD-Rail (3rd union), FO-Cheminots (5th, unrepresentative) also called for a strike renewable from 5 December. Missing the call the CFDT-Cheminots.

- "Everything is open" -

But the fourth representative union of the SNCF, which claims "a really fair reform", does not exclude to join the movement, with in line of sight on November 22nd. The government must indeed announce by then proposals on the future pension plan for railway workers.

For its part, Unsa railway could lift its call for an indefinite strike if it considers satisfactory government proposals, said last week its secretary general, Didier Mathis. The rule of calculating retirement over the last six months of salary is "the reward of the railway worker, who has accepted wages far below those practiced elsewhere," he said.

The pension debate has increased SNCF's accumulated tensions in recent years due to a succession of reorganizations, piling up on waves of job cuts.

In its call to strike Friday, the CGT-Cheminots judges that the situation in the railroad group is "explosive". The "enormous anger" of the railway workers "imposes changes of direction, the release of means, legislative changes, the inscription of new guarantees in a NCC (National Branch Collective Agreement, Ed) of high level and a response to the claims active railway workers and pensioners, "the union continues, calling for" negotiations on all subjects ".

Accident TER, right of withdrawal cascaded by drivers and controllers throughout France, wildcat strike in maintenance centers, strike controllers in the East ... Several social movements have already agitated the SNCF in recent weeks, significantly disrupting rail traffic.

From December 5, the RATP will also be in strike mode renewable at the call of its three representative unions - Unsa, CGT and CFE-CGC -, followed by three other organizations.

© 2019 AFP