The Rugby World Cup, which will start in just a few weeks, will it be parasitized by a strike in Ile-de-France transport? Angry, the reception agents in RATP stations decided to file a strike notice for the entire event. They complain about working conditions deemed mediocre, and worry about having to manage large flows of visitors without having the means.
From September 8 to October 28, these employees of the Multimodal Services and Spaces (SEM) department of the Ile-de-France region are indeed afraid of “having to face a significant work overload”, while they are summoned to welcome the public ” in the best conditions”. They will have to provide reception, ticket sales and flow management, in particular for the ten matches at the Stade de France and the fan zone at the Place de la Concorde. But “the influx of hundreds of thousands of additional travelers will not be limited to the Stade de France and the fan zones”, warns FO-RATP. “Faced with this situation”, the majority union within the SEM therefore considers itself “forced to resort to a massive strike to assert (our) rights”.
According to Force Ouvrière, “station agents, machinists, operations supervisors and many others will have to deal with this work overload”. It is necessary to “inform, assist, rescue”, testifies Cyril Manach. On a daily basis, employees must “manage aggressive people, others who are unwell and victims of pickpockets”, lists the FO delegate and station agent. The representative deplores the working conditions which have continued to deteriorate in recent years, while their jobs “have become much more complex than before”. “We have become building superintendents, who are asked to offer a whole host of services to users, but with much fewer staff”, regrets the trade unionist.
Same story with Jean-Christophe Delprat: the FO federal secretary in charge of the RATP wants to “mark the occasion” with this call for a strike, precisely “because there are the Olympic Games behind”. “There is a deep gap between the real life of agents and the wishes of politicians. As employees, we are motivated to participate in this event but we are not ready to do it for free. How much do they put in the bowl to make it work?” he asks.
These difficulties are the consequence of “fifteen years of a policy of budgetary restriction”, which resulted in a significant “shrinking of the staff”, stings Cyril Manach. In total, no less than a thousand agents of the SEM department have thus left their posts in recent years. “Today, we are between 5700 and 5800, against 6800 15 years ago”, he believes he knows. A lack of staff confirmed by Jean-Christophe Delprat.
The reception agents also complain of being victims of an injustice, while their fellow metro and RER drivers have obtained an exceptional bonus of 330 euros in anticipation of the work overload to come. A memorandum of understanding has in fact been signed on this subject between RATP management and the trade unions. “There will also be a fee-for-service bonus of between 17 and 40 additional euros per day worked, depending on the lines. The RATP ensures that it is an important event, and that as such, the drivers must be rewarded, ”continues Cyril Manach. For their part, the receptionists did not obtain anything: “We were received, and we were told that they would do nothing more than usual, that is to say to raise us by 10.80 euros per day worked at the Stade de France”.
Asked about the risk of a strike during the World Cup, the CEO of the Jean Castex group had promised in mid-June “to do everything” so that there were none. “It is the objective. We have some experience, there will not be a higher gauge compared to, for example, the matches of the Six Nations Tournament”, he said during a press conference organized about the organization of the Rugby World Cup. He even said he was “serene” when “a lot of notices have been filed”. The former Prime Minister had assured to see this notice as “an incentive to continue the discussions”. Discussions which are now at a standstill, retort the trade unionists, who have lost all hope of winning their case. And to conclude: “We won’t have anything on our side, the probability that they will take out the wallet at the last moment is very low. Unfortunately, we will have to go all the way.” Rugby fans be warned.
