This text is expected since almost two years

With a day of delay on schoolchildren, the rail sector conducted yesterday... social re-entry. At the appeal of six federations of railway workers (CGT, CFDT, CFTC, UNSA, CFE/CGC and FGAAC) which was joined also South-Rail, a few hundred people gathered in the premises of network Ferré France (RFF) in Paris. Motto: in custody against the "social dumping" that stood at the same time, at the headquarters of RFF, a final negotiation session of the joint joint commission on the future collective rail for private companies.

This text is expected since almost two years. With the opening in the rail freight competition in 2007, new private actors (Veolia Cargo, RCTs, Secorail or VFLI, a subsidiary of SNCF) arrived. But without a specific collective agreement can be applied to their employees. "The industry needs standards including security on the network, but also working conditions", provides Serge Bonnaud, Deputy First Secretary General of the FGAAC.

Time press

The social partners Union of public and rail transport (UTP), on the side of employers; CGT, FO, CFTC, CFDT and CFE - CGC, side employees are currently only heard on the field of application of the agreement the SNCF is not concerned and on the methodology. Remains the thorniest subject, namely the Organization of the work. Two points in particular crystallize the issues between the two parties. First, the number of days of rest to employees: UTP offers 104 days, when unions tend to move closer to the maximum of what is practical to SNCF (126 days for 37 hours of work).

Another stumbling stone, the "rest out of residence" for employees not sleeping in them. New entrants who do not have a mesh size of the territory and the means of production comparable to those of the SNCF want to get two days and one extra to negotiate agreement of business day; unions want more than "1 1" days past far from home. "We want to also obtain a minimum of work to better distribute the workload", adds Christian Joncret, the CGT railwaymen Federation.

Time to press for an agreement, which must intervene before September 17, "the unions with then three weeks to endorse it," according to Bruno Gazeau, Delegate General of UTP. Lack of signature, the Government should legislate by Decree. But this date no deadline for the moment of soothing virtue, both the ulterior are present. "It is clear that tomorrow the SNCF will seek to use what is being done in the competition to change the social rules of its freight business," said Christian Joncret. For the moment, the reform of this activity is at a standstill, after the end of may the project of reform of the labour regulations to improve the productivity of staff. Management attempts to revive the movement, by proposing a mechanism for volunteering to test new organizations of work since the beginning of the summer. According to our information, this appeal have so far attracted only some 500 volunteers on the 4,000 officers conduct of cargo.