The Secretary of State for Transport, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, estimated Saturday that the SNCF could impose individual sanctions against railway workers who took part in a social movement, which greatly disrupt the traffic since Friday, in an interview with Parisian .
Drivers and controllers invoked the right of withdrawal after an accident that left 11 injured in the Ardennes, but Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, "in this case, this movement seems organized collectively by unions, including the CGT ". SNCF CEO Guillaume Pepy has announced his intention to go to court to make it known that it was a "surprise" strike. And Jean-Baptiste Djebbari indicated that beyond that, individual sanctions could be pronounced.
"On the one hand, we do not exclude that the SNCF make recognize, before the tribunal de grande instance (TGI), the illegal nature of what is therefore a strike." Moreover, after having put in residence the agents concerned For 'irregular absence', the SNCF does not exclude to sanction them individually.There may be different degrees of sanctions, "said the Secretary of State, after going to the Gare de l'Est with Guillaume Pepy and Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.
Earlier in the day, Guillaume Pepy had himself indicated his intention to "put in residence" the railwaymen who stopped the work and indicated that if they did not execute they could "obviously expose themselves to the disciplinary law".
1.5 million people affected
The movement started Thursday night and continued on Friday and Saturday. The Secretary of State, in agreement with the head of the government and the boss of SNCF, believes that the strike was organized "bypassing the legal framework, since the 2007 law on social dialogue and the continuity of the public service in transport is not respected (social alarm, consultation procedure, etc.). " He estimated that "at least 1.5 million people have been penalized" by this movement, which coincides with the beginning this weekend of holidays of All Saints.
Regarding the accident, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said he asked "the Land Transport Analysis Office (BEATT) to do an independent study, we will draw the consequences in terms of equipment".