On the eve of the school holidays, the SNCF traffic was very disrupted Friday on the TER network and some lines in the Paris region, drivers and controllers claiming their right to withdraw after an accident that Wednesday several injured, including a train driver.
This work stoppage without notice follows an accident on Wednesday night: a TER linking Charleville-Mézières to Reims hit an exceptional road convoy stuck on a level crossing in Saint-Pierre-sur-Vence, in the Ardennes. The prefecture of the Ardennes indicates that there were "eleven wounded", some of whom were hospitalized. The driver of the TER, injured and shocked, "had to rescue the passengers because it was the only SNCF agent on board!", Lamented in a SUD-Rail statement.
"The right of withdrawal is a right of workers"
SUD-Rail, as well as the CGT-Cheminots, FO-Cheminots and the FGAAC-CFDT, dispute the operating mode "equipment only agent", which allows to run trains without controller (which was the case for the TER accident), evoking safety risks for travelers, while according to the management, "it has existed for decades".
"This strike without notice is totally irregular," TER Branch Director Franck Lacroix said at a press conference. He called for "the resumption of normal service" and announced the consideration of a possible postponement of the implementation of the new rules of authorization to leave trains, challenged by the unions. "The right of withdrawal, it is a right of the workers to say: 'attention, there is something serious', defended the general secretary of the CGT Philippe Martinez.
Right of withdrawal, what does the law say?
The Labor Code makes the exercise of the right of withdrawal subject to the existence of a serious and imminent danger to the health and life of the worker. In this case only, a worker can leave his post and he will not be penalized. Is there a "serious and imminent danger" of driving a single train without the presence of a controller?
According to several jurists interviewed by Europe 1: "no, no serious and imminent danger", especially since the mode of driving "equipment agent alone" has been in place for several years at the SNCF. However, the management of the SNCF does not intend to brandish the threat of punishment.
55% of TERs circulate with "wide disparities by region"
Of course, on the side of some users, a feeling of anger was in order after this surprise movement. At the Gare du Nord, Angélique deplores the lack of communication. "We arrive at the station, the displays are not correct and we have no information on schedules," she grieves.
For her part, Marie, on vacation, relativizes, especially since she believes that this right of withdrawal is legitimate. "They have a good reason because you're not safe, you have to stop several times when you take the train because level crossings are not safe, it's not normal," he says. -she.
In the middle of the afternoon, the SNCF ensured that 55% of the TERs circulated with "large disparities according to the regions": in Occitania, New Aquitaine and Pays de la Loire or Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, the situation was "very disturbed". As for TGV, where the influx was important on this holiday eve, traffic was normal on the north and east routes, but disturbed on the South East (20 trains removed) and on the Atlantic axis.