French rail unions agree not to call Christmas strikes
Following a meeting on Tuesday, unions representing French rail workers have agreed not to call strikes during the Christmas and New Year holiday period.
French rail unions have agreed not to walk off during the Christmas-New Year's holiday period, despite previous threats for possible industrial action by the SUD Rail union.
During an inter-union meeting on Tuesday, the three other influential rail unions (CGT Cheminots, Unsa Ferroviaire and CFDT Cheminots) agreed not to call for strikes at the end of December, French daily Le Parisien reported.
In response, Sud Rail backed down. The head of the union, Julien Troccaz, explained the choice, saying that "we opted not to be the organisation that would weaken the creation of a powerful united movement".
Two of the largest unions, CFDT and UNSA, have already signed a pay deal with management that would increase the salaries of about 140,000 workers by 4.6 percent in 2024, according to Franceinfo.
As for CGT Cheminots, who did not sign the agreement, mobilisation would wait until the new year. The head of the union, Thierry Nier, said that "the pay issue is not over yet".
In terms of the breakdown of union representation at French national rail services (SNCF), the CGT union represents the largest proportion of workers at SNCF (French national rail service) - about 32.44 percent, according to votes in 2022. After CGT, UNSA came in second place (with 22.10 percent), Sud Rail in third (with 18.67 percent) and CFDT in fourth (with 15.94 percent).
It remains possible that there could be some spontaneous strike action at the end of December, but large-scale strikes called upon by unions will not take place.
The strikes seen at Christmas in 2022 were carried out by signallers outside of typical union channels. According to analysis by Franceinfo, it is impossible to rule out another strike by signalmen this year.
Earlier in November, regional strikes from signalmen, including one in Normandy, saw large numbers walk out.
READ MORE: 5 things to know if you're in France during a strike
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French rail unions have agreed not to walk off during the Christmas-New Year's holiday period, despite previous threats for possible industrial action by the SUD Rail union.
During an inter-union meeting on Tuesday, the three other influential rail unions (CGT Cheminots, Unsa Ferroviaire and CFDT Cheminots) agreed not to call for strikes at the end of December, French daily Le Parisien reported.
In response, Sud Rail backed down. The head of the union, Julien Troccaz, explained the choice, saying that "we opted not to be the organisation that would weaken the creation of a powerful united movement".
Two of the largest unions, CFDT and UNSA, have already signed a pay deal with management that would increase the salaries of about 140,000 workers by 4.6 percent in 2024, according to Franceinfo.
As for CGT Cheminots, who did not sign the agreement, mobilisation would wait until the new year. The head of the union, Thierry Nier, said that "the pay issue is not over yet".
In terms of the breakdown of union representation at French national rail services (SNCF), the CGT union represents the largest proportion of workers at SNCF (French national rail service) - about 32.44 percent, according to votes in 2022. After CGT, UNSA came in second place (with 22.10 percent), Sud Rail in third (with 18.67 percent) and CFDT in fourth (with 15.94 percent).
It remains possible that there could be some spontaneous strike action at the end of December, but large-scale strikes called upon by unions will not take place.
The strikes seen at Christmas in 2022 were carried out by signallers outside of typical union channels. According to analysis by Franceinfo, it is impossible to rule out another strike by signalmen this year.
Earlier in November, regional strikes from signalmen, including one in Normandy, saw large numbers walk out.
READ MORE: 5 things to know if you're in France during a strike
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