If you plan to attend the All Hands, you may worry that we have trouble getting there due to a national strike movement called by French national railways’ unions, on June 10th.
You may even hear French railway workers are lazy and privileged people who stop working as soon as they can at the drop of a hat, therefore leading France into complete transportation chaos.
Well, this cannot be more wrong.
We’ve talked with SNCF Connect employees, members of Solidaires Informatique, who helped us to understand and get more context about what happens in the SNCF Group.
Over the past months, 13 railway workers committed suicide, according to CGT-Cheminots union in Le Monde newspaper. Such a human catastrophe has not been seen for long. And it must be addressed.
This strike calls out worsening working conditions caused by repeated reorganizations and the dismantlement of the Group into numerous subsidiaries, unilaterally led by management and harming workers’ mental and physical health.
After weeks of consultation with no concrete results, workers have had enough.
According to the French public transportation service quality authority (AQST), France is one of the worst European countries regarding railways investments. Under-investment is responsible for 80% of traffic disruptions, strikes for less than 10% (AQST 2019 report).
Investment per capita in railways (AQST 2024):
- France: 21€ per year
- Spain: 70€ per year
- Germany: 115€ per year
In the context of structural under-investment in public railways’ infrastructure, rolling stock and traffic management, and of opening to competition not contributing to the network maintenance, this mobilization aims at preserving French transportation public service.
Solidaires Informatique Back Market stands with SNCF workers and is supportive of their claims.
So, when you get onboard your train (or your bus 😉) to the All Hands, remember: it’s a bit more complex than a matter of capricious, privileged workers.