Collection of garbage cans and disinfection stopped since Wednesday: the rubbish overflowed near the platforms of the main station of the second city of France. A banner hung on the facade indicated “cleaning on strike because of the SNCF”, noted an AFP journalist on Monday. A movement that comes as Marseille was hit a few weeks ago by a garbage collectors’ strike throughout the city.
“For several months, the climate with the SNCF has been very tense, especially since the award from April 1, 2022 of the cleaning contract for the Aix TGV station to a company which leaves on the floor the nine employees”, details in a leaflet the CAT union of employees of cleaning companies.
The contract for the Aix TGV station was won “under very questionable conditions” by not “respecting” an appendix to the “collective agreement for cleaning companies guaranteeing employees to be taken back with the maintenance of all their achievements “, adds the document.
Ultimatum issued to the SNCF
However, the union representatives fear that the SNCF, when renewing the market for Saint-Charles station in four years, opts, as in Aix, for “an association, management or company not attached to the collective agreement of companies of cleanliness”, which might, according to them, result in “the non-recovery of the 31 full-time employees”, some of whom have been in office for more than 30 years. However, they assure, the SNCF had committed in writing in 2009, to guarantee that “the market would not be awarded to this type of company”.
“If the SNCF does not move by Wednesday, we will spread the movement to other stations”, and in particular to that of Aix TGV, warned Kamel Djeffel, national secretary of CAT cleaning, joined by AFP. The union, which assures that it does not reproach its employer, the Laser cleanliness company, wants the SNCF to confirm the agreement concluded in 2009 and undertakes to guarantee their employment for the nine employees of Aix TGV.
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For her part, Agnès Moutet-Lamy, regional director of the Occitanie and Sud stations of the SNCF claims not to be aware of this 2009 agreement. I am turning to this company that I have put on notice to have the station cleaned because it is starting to get very dirty, ”she told AFP.
