Edward2005

Dated May 12: "French rail workers said they planned to hold rolling strikes every Wednesday and Thursday from next week onward, in the face of what they consider to be poor working conditions."

And it doesn't look like they're going to relent until they get promises for improved pay and working conditions.

"We have filed an advanced notice that is unlimited and renewable, for 48 hours each week over Wednesdays and Thursdays," a CGT spokesperson said, according to L'Express newspaper.

http://www.thelocal.fr/20160512/fren...weekly-strikes

Edward2005

BTT

CarolA

I am now working on my schedule. had planned to go Reims on a Wed, probably need to pick another day

kerouac

For main line trains, I love the strikes because most of the trains are running, you can get on any of them and the SNCF will refund the tickets you bought with a smile.

Whathello

It is good to note that SNCF strikes don't impact Thalys nor Eurostar.

Maybe users should also go on strike for the poor conditions we have on some trains and to ask for lowering the price of the ticket.

PalenQ

Not sure how popular SNCF workers - cheminots - are in France - when my son was young and I spent a lot of time with him on trains and watching train crews work near his home it seemed a gang of cheminots fixing the tracks say would inevitably have one guy actually doing something with the rest standing around puffing on Gauloises - this was always a joke for his family anyway

And I remember him repeating a joke about SNCF workers kids were telling:

3 kids talking about their father's work schedule and when the get home:

1 kid says my papa is a waiter - goes to work at 7am and gets off5pm and is home by 6pm

2nd kid says my father is a teacher - goes to work at 8am gets off at 4pm and is home by 5pm

3rd kids says 'my father works for the SNCF- he goes to work at 7am and gets off work at 4pm and is home by 2pm.

Wonder how the public thinks these days about SNCF workers - I remember a true story - when the 35 hour work week came in it was found that many SNCF workers only worked a 32 hour week!

StCirq

For those of us who often take regional trains, this is indeed a PITA, especially if we're using the trains to get to, say, a doctor's appt. we waited 3 months for, or a meeting at the préfecture.

I don't know what the public in general thinks about SNCF workers, but we live in the cliffs above a regional train line, and the groups of SNCF workers that we see regularly aren't sloughing off - they work really hard as far as we can see.

apersuader65

So it looks as though my train from St. Lazare to Caen on the 25th of May is in the strike timeframe?

Any suggestions for alternatives to changing my car rental from Caen to Paris and driving? Or is this a wait and see thing for that wednesday?

PalenQ

I don't know what the public in general thinks about SNCF workers, but we live in the cliffs above a regional train line, and the groups of SNCF workers that we see regularly aren't sloughing off - they work really hard as far as we can see.>

Hopefully things have changed and cheminots earn their pa

kerouac

I am from an SNCF family. I can tell you about how they repaired the tracks in WW2 while the bombs were still falling. I don't know what other workers were doing.

Whathello

WW2 is 70 years ago. They were among the most active resistant btw - but you know that Kerouac.

My greatfather gave the blueprints of the trainstation to the resistance and from then on ran like a rabbit when there was an alarm.
From what I heard he gave your family some work ;-)

My greatmother from the other side got home a day in 43 or 44 back home quite late, totally covered in dust and quite aghast. Half the street had been leveled by the bombing but she survived, when several dozens civilians died around her.

But again, 70 years ago. A time where 'cheminots' had to take care of the 'loco', feed her with coal, etc. Hard work.
Now, sorry but saying they do hardwork (at least the drivers) when they push on a pedal - even if the responsibility is still there...

But leaving work at 55... wow. Indeed a very hard life.
I will leave at 67 if still around. From wikipedia :
RATP ; âge moyen de départ en retraite 54,8 ans ;
SNCF ; âge moyen de départ en retraite, 54,5 ans

StCirq

I wasn't talking about the drivers who push on a pedal, whathello. I was talking about the myriad SNCF workers, with their myriad trucks and machines who are constantly improving and repairing the local tracks around here. I absolutely couldn't say what they are doing, but most days there are teams of them on the local track lines cleaning, building up the embankments, clearing the tracks, you name it. Maybe the guys who just push the pedals have it easy, but these guys are usually doing at least what looks like serious work.

I won't comment on whether receiving their pension at age 55 is merited or not, because I don't know. I do know that along our very rural train line there are several pensioners living in (very small) railroad crossing houses that have long since been out of use, and they live free and quite well, albeit in tiny houses right on the tracks, and obviously they don't have to do anything anymore because the train no longer stops there. There are at least three of these between our house and Le Bugue, a mere 7 kms away. They are all very nice people, though, and keep up their tiny station houses in a way that would suggest that they are proud of their heritage with the SNCF.

Edward2005

Kerouac - are you saying there's a decent chance a SCNF train scheduled on a threatened strike day will still run?

PalenQ

StCirq:

My son who goes back to France regularly has seen the cheminots by his house and he says they are no longer standing around in a group smoking whilst one guy does anything - guess they were supervisors- but now he sees them and they were all working.

but when I was watching him every summer when he was young we oftensat on an embankment overlooking a real main line with lots of tracks (near Gare des Aubrais Orleans) and we always saw what I described and we rode a lot of trains and always was the same it seemed.

But now he says that's no more.

<I am from an SNCF family. I can tell you about how they repaired the tracks in WW2 while the bombs were still falling.>

Guess they were working to repair the tracks for German occupiers - Allies did most or all of the bombing- and I understand if so - a job is a job vs the consequences of refusing to do so.

PalenQ

Kerouac - are you saying there's a decent chance a SCNF train scheduled on a threatened strike day will still run?>

He did say 'rolling strikes' which means on and off and some trains - I gather yes some or many may run but you may not know that until getting to the station - the ultimate disruption which is their goal.

Edward2005

I'm planning on a Wednesday train from Paris to Brive and from there rent a car to drive the rest of the way to the Dordogne for 4 nights. My options appear to be:

1. Roll the dice and make no changes
2. Leave Paris a day early (Tues) and add the time to the Dordogne
3. Leave Paris 2 days later (Fri) and have only 2 days for the Dordogne, which hardly seems worth the effort.
4. Leave Paris 2 days later, scratch the Dordogne entirely and head to Provence.

I could also drive the entire route Paris to Dordogne on Wednesday, but that's a really long drive and I've already got one of those on the itinerary. Not doing another one. Besides, trying to rent a car in Paris on the day of a rail strike sounds like hell.

Am I missing anything?

PalenQ

Q - if you have a discounted ticket can you change it without penalty,etc in case of a looming strike or do you have to forfeit the ticket? If not folks who bought discounted tickets long ago would find it costly to move the train up a day or so.

kerouac

Every ticket, including the ones that are "non refundable, non exchangeable" becomes fully refundable and fully exchangeable on a strike day.

kerouac

<i>Guess they were working to repair the tracks for German occupiers - Allies did most or all of the bombing- and I understand if so - a job is a job vs the consequences of refusing to do so.</i>

All through the war, the trains carried French passengers and delivered food to French cities. It does not matter who is in control when you are trying to keep your compatriots alive.

My grandmother made countless rail trips to Paris all though the war with suitcases full of potatoes and sausages for her sister's family in Courbevoie. And yes, the apartment in Coubevoie was finally destroyed by British bombs.

Edward2005

It looks like the first of the 48-hour strike is starting off nasty:

"Wednesday's rail strikes, set to run until Friday morning, reduced high-speed and inter-city services by 40 to 50 percent, also heavily disrupting local and suburban commuter lines, the SNCF state railway company said."

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...e/2795636.html