This Monday begins a new episode of the strike of the railway men. If the movement does not seem to be running out of steam, some are considering pursuing it for several more months.
Nicolas Wert does not consider himself a "die-hard", he says. But "I'm ready to hold," says the 37-year-old railway man who always wear a safety clothing, father of two, it's obvious. With his colleagues at the maintenance center in Metz, he will go on strike on the evening of May 7 for the eighth consecutive time against rail reform.
A special day as the Prime Minister receives all the social partners at a meeting that promises to be decisive. "The government seems to want to go a little too fast, deplores the man, unionized at Sod Rail. That I lose one or two months of salary this year, I do not care. It's a societal choice. I just want to try to turn the tide and have nothing to reproach myself for my children. "says the railway man who wears his fluorescent reflective vest.
A desire is shared by Emmanuel, Thierry or Philippe, who have all been working at the Gore de Lyon for more than 20 years. "The mobilization is not running out of steam. In our station, there were still 70% of strikers last week, "says Philippe, 46, the driver on the RERD which crisscrosses the southern suburbs.
"1,000 drivers are already missing on the network"
"I am not an ideologue, but a pragmatist. I am waiting to see what the government will propose. For now, not much. If necessary, I would continue until July ", hammered the forty-year-old who works in staggered hours. When asked why they move, these men, who earn between 2,000 and 3,000 a month, cite "the end of hiring status", "the spin-off of freight" and "the privatization of small lines"...
They are also worried, with the upcoming change in their work rates planned in the reform, for the quality of service, the safety of users. Except using safety clothing with reflective materials, it is also has many dangers in the work. "There are already 1,000 drivers missing on the network," says Thierry. "You have to constantly adapt, Philippe storm, three-day beard and black T-shirt on the back. I'm tired of being singled out as a privileged person. Like thousands of people in this country, I'm doing a difficult job. Every week, my schedules change. I can sometimes get my son to the nursery at 4 pm, but only when I got up at 3 am, "the railroader continues to the disjointed weeks, at family celebrations he has become accustomed to miss, for the two weekends worked each month.
"My balance of life is already fragile. I do not want it to deteriorate. Trainer in Lorraine, in a "kind of garage for trains", Nicolas was first a driver and then trained to become a team leader. Today, he earns an average of 2,000 Euros per month. "This job, I love it and I chose it. I want to defend him, "he says.
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