Toulouse: Intercités stationary during the Christmas holidays?
A strike notice concerning the Intercités in the south of France was filed from December 16. The unions in particular demand that the controllers be at least two on the trains.
Be careful if you plan to travel by train at the end of December. An inter-union has just filed a strike notice “for work periods from Thursday 7 pm to Monday 8 am renewable from December 16 at 7 pm”. The strike, which concerns around 120 controllers, could last until January 31, 2022.
The trains concerned are located on a Bordeaux-Marseille axis.
For several months, unions have observed “increasingly complicated” working conditions.
“We are short of personnel, or attacks on controllers are on the rise. For example, in October, on the Nîmes-Toulouse line, we counted about ten. With the Covid, people have a lot less patience, and we also have a certain population who board trains to defraud travelers, ”denounces Sylvain Mastrini, of the UNSA Railway.
“At least two controllers per train”
Faced with this observation, the unions demand “that the controllers are not alone on board the trains, but at least two, a first of recognition, as well as the reimbursement of PCR tests for unvaccinated agents”.
“We are understaffed, which poses absenteeism concerns. The strike can last until January 31 and concerns the Christmas holidays, it would be a shame, but we commit to the company to take its responsibilities and give us the means to work properly ”, adds Johann Bedel Navarro, CFDT railway workers.