Industrial action hits SNCF

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After poor financial results in 2003, France's SNCF national rail company presented a draft budget for 2004 which provides for a pay rise of only 1% and 3,500 job losses. The plans are opposed by a number of trade unions, which called a strike in protest on 21 January 2004.

The French National Railway Company (Société nationale des chemins de fer français, SNCF) experienced a difficult year in 2003, and is set to post a loss of EUR 300 million for the tax year. During the second quarter of 2003, the management adopted a plan (entitled Plan Starter) aimed at saving EUR 100 million by the end of 2003, particularly in order to make up for the losses attributed by management to industrial action and strikes that occurred in spring 2003 (FR0304106F). Louis Gallois, the president of SNCF, estimates these losses at EUR 250 million.

SNCF's industrial relations climate has also worsened noticeably. Disciplinary action was taken against striking workers after the industrial action in spring 2003, especially in the wake of occupations of railway lines. Management began talks with the unions on the prevention of disputes, based on a model adopted a few years ago by the Paris Transport Authority (Régie autonome des transports parisiens, RATP). The government played a forceful enabling role in the talks, with the Minister of Transport, Gilles de Robien, meeting rail trade unions in September 2003 in order to express his view that negotiations to set out the methods by which a guaranteed level of service could be provided seemed a better option than the introduction of legislation on the issue.

An agreement on the 'improvement of social dialogue and the prevention of disputes' was finally reached by SNCF and three trade unions (out of the eight in the sector with representative status) - the French Confederation of Professional and Managerial Staff-General Confederation of Professional and Managerial Staff (Confédération française de l'encadrement-Confédération générale des cadres, CFE-CGC), the National Union of SNCF Senior Managers (Syndicat national des cadres supérieurs de la SNCF, SNCS) and the National Federation of Independent Unions (Union nationale des syndicats autonomes, UNSA) - with a total of around 12%-13% of the vote at the most recent workplace elections of employee representatives at SNCF. After vacillating over the issue, the French Christian Workers’ Confederation (Confédération française des travailleurs chrétiens, CFTC), ultimately decided not to sign up to the agreement.

The SNCF’s draft budget for 2004, providing among other matters for an overall pay rise worth just 1% over the year and the axing of 3,500 jobs in 2004, made the industrial relations climate more fraught. It provoked a 24-hour strike on 21 January 2004 called by: the General Confederation of Labour (Confédération générale du travail, CGT), the best supported union in the industry; the General Confederation of Labour-Force Ouvrière (Confédération générale du travail-Force Ouvrière, CGT-FO); the Independent General Train Drivers’ Federation (Fédération générale autonome des agents de conduite, FGAAC); and Solidarity, Unity, Democracy (Solidaires unitaires et démocratiques, SUD).

The French Democratic Confederation of Labour (Confédération française démocratique du travail, CFDT), CFTC and the three unions that signed up the agreement on the prevention of disputes (CFE-CGC, SNCS and UNSA) refused to join the action.

According to the management, the strike on 21 January was adhered to by 26.5% of SNCF staff, while the unions involved put this figure at 32%. There was much disruption to rail services in the suburbs of Paris and the regional express trains network was also heavily affected by the strike.

For the government, the Minister of Transport stated that the provision of minimum services during disputes in public transport was now 'a priority'.

The SNCF central works council discussed the company's 2004 draft budget on 26 January 2004. The unions represented at the meeting all rejected it. CFTC joined the inter-union coordinating committee (involving CGT, CGT-FO, FGAAC and SUD) to discuss their response to this budget, while UNSA and CFDT - although opposed to the budget - have for the moment decided not to join the committee. Tactical considerations are at play in the various stances adopted by the unions, with a view to the workplace elections to be held at SNCF on 25 March 2004.

The 2004 budget was ultimately adopted by the company board on 28 January 2004.