On a tent installed on the forecourt of Orléans station, a fluorescent banner announces the color: “Recruitment office”. At the entrance, CGT railway workers are present to collect the CVs of volunteers who would like to come and work at the SNCF. “In the region, 220 jobs are unfilled. We are sorely lacking in manpower, this weighs on our working conditions, rest, holidays. This also has repercussions on the circulation of trains, ”explains Sébastien Nugou, train driver and regional secretary of the CGT railwaymen.
The trade unionists, who are campaigning for better wages, better guarantees and better career development for newcomers, timed their action to coincide with a trip to Orléans by the boss of the SNCF, Jean-Pierre Farandou, who came to visit the works of the new regional train maintenance center in Orléans. To passers-by circulating, they distribute a leaflet with a QR code to scan for those who would like to send their application. “We will send him the CVs, we already have some, and we help people who are interested to write their cover letter”, adds another trade unionist, Jérôme Ludwiczak, driver in Orleans.
The president of the SNCF did not go to meet them but he wanted to be reassuring regarding employment. “There is a period of tension but despite the crisis we recruited 4,000 people last year and 7,000 young people on a work-study program,” he said, “and we are developing sponsorship and co-option. These are certainly jobs with constraints, but at the SNCF there is still a lot of social promotion and we are proud of it. He also promised an improvement in the quality of service, with more modern trains, largely financed by the region, and greater regularity in timetables. Last year, 92.8% of trains were less than five minutes late, compared to 89% in 2018, and the increase is expected to continue.