French rail union strikes against dismantling of subsidiaries

The French Rail Workers Union has gone on strike in protest of plans to restructure its subsidiary of the rail company SNCF.

The joint labor union under SNCF issued a nationwide mobilization order today (21st) against the company's policy of separating and dismantling its cargo transportation subsidiary.

As a result, 7 out of 10 TERs connecting small and medium-sized cities and 1 out of 2 Antersite running on long-distance arterial routes will operate normally.

In Paris, some routes connecting the city center and the outskirts are expected to be affected.

The union earlier voted to strike after the French government decided to separate its freight forwarding subsidiary into two new companies from January next year, leaving 500 of its 5,000 employees out of work.

Its subsidiary, which has operated as a state monopoly, accounted for 50% of the rail freight market share as of 2022.

However, the European Commission opened an investigation in January last year, saying its SNCF subsidiary enjoys undue economic advantages through state support in the highly competitive freight transport sector.

The French government decided to split the company to avoid the return of 5.3 billion euros of the troubled financial aid, which could lead to bankruptcy.

The union is determined to strike again from the 11th of next month if their demands are not met.