After a massive strike by the captains - the official name of the controllers - and the cancellation of 60% of the TGV and Intercités this weekend, the SNCF is already preparing for a new day of mobilization on Wednesday.

This time, all the staff of the public group are called to stop work by the CGT-Cheminots, SUD-Rail and the CFDT-Cheminots, in order to influence the mandatory annual negotiations (NAO) which open this day- the.

According to the first forecasts published Monday evening, the conflict will mainly affect TERs in several regions (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Grand Est, Occitanie and PACA) and certain lines in Ile-de-France (C, D , E and N).

SNCF Voyageurs is also planning cancellations on certain TGVs or Intercités, in particular on the Paris-Lyon TGV axis as well as for TGVs south of Bordeaux.

The stake of the negotiations: the revaluation of wages for the year 2023 while inflation still reached 6.2% over one year in November and that the public group is facing the explosion of energy costs, while being forced to limit the increase in ticket prices.

"The SNCF will announce, at the end of the year, record results", advance SUD-Rail which calls for a substantial increase in wages.

In the first half, SNCF announced a net profit of 928 million euros, against a loss of 780 million over the same period in 2021.

SUD-Rail therefore asks for an additional 400 euros gross per month for everyone, when Unsa wants a 5% increase in wages.

A train arrives at Matabiau station in Toulouse, on December 2, 2022, during a strike by SNCF controllers © Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP

These negotiations take place in a tense period with the approach of the end of year celebrations with the conflict of the controllers which already poses the threat of a strike over the weekend of Christmas and that of the New Year.

The collective behind the anger movement will be received by management on Thursday with the Unsa, SUD-Rail and CFDT unions.

Controllers and dispatchers

"We are going there in the spirit of finding solutions," Nicolas Limon, one of the founders of the National Collective ASCT (CNA), which brings together nearly 3,000 controllers on a dedicated Facebook page, told AFP.

"Our line of sight is to lift the notices," he reassured.

"We will not be difficult, but we want serious things and no smoke," insists Mr. Limon, who considers it a priority to take into account the bonuses of the captains in the calculation of retirement and career development faster and less "opaque".

For the moment, the management has proposed an increase in the work bonus of 600 euros per year, "which is equivalent to around 40 euros net monthly" and is considered insufficient, according to the secretary general of Unsa-Ferroviaire, Didier Mathis.

Mr. Mathis still wants to be optimistic about a possible outcome to the conflict: "The case is rather well underway," he says.

But the controllers are not the only ones to agitate the threat of a strike at the end of the year.

The traffic controllers filed a notice from December 15 to 19, the first weekend of the holidays.

Travelers pass the control gates to catch their train on the first day of a strike by SNCF controllers, December 2, 2022 at the Gare de Lyon, in Paris © STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP

"We are in a pattern of failure of social dialogue", annoys Erik Meyer, federal secretary SUD-Rail.

"We had a first sequence with a strike threat on May 25. It had been lifted because the box had undertaken to put things in place, but it did not keep its commitments", he explains. .

Switchmen complain of a chronic understaffing and of too low remuneration in relation to their responsibilities.

They must be received by management on Friday to also find common ground and avoid a strike during the holidays.

"Between the understaffing at SNCF Réseau (on which the signalmen depend, editor's note), inflation and the pension reform that is coming, all put end to end, the situation is starting to be socially tense", deplores Didier Mathis.

Last year, a strike had already disrupted Friday Christmas holiday departures on the TGV South-East axis before it was lifted at the last moment for the rest of the weekend thanks to the granting of a premium for drivers and controllers.

© 2022 AFP