Government spokesman Gabriel Attal criticized “a form of reflex strike” at RATP and SNCF during school holidays. This Friday promises to be difficult in Parisian transport due to a call for mobilization at the RATP for wages.
“I admit that I do not understand these strikes (….), there is a form of reflex strike that I do not understand”, he insisted on BFMTV and RMC, recalling that “it has already been the case in December during the holidays with a strike by part of the SNCF”.
He lamented the timing of Friday’s strike at the RATP, when the French “aspire to go on vacation” and can “return to their workplace” after two years of pandemic.
“Things have been put on the table”
To the strikers who say they are not heard by the management on salaries, Gabriel Attal argued that “there is a social dialogue” and that “things have been put on the table by the SNCF and the RATP”, with “Strong measures for wages”.
He argued that “an average salary increase of 2.7% (in 2022 as proposed by RATP management, editor’s note), is higher than what many French people see” on their payslips , and that “a significant part of the employees will have an increase greater than that, because they have seniority or more exposed functions”.
But according to the unions, the general management of the public company has proposed for the current year an increase of 0.4% “to sprinkle in various social measures”.
Six metro lines closed
Gabriel Attal also recalled that during the Covid epidemic, bonuses were paid, “between 300 and 600 euros to the SNCF” and “1,000 euros for the RATP”.
“We must give dialogue a chance, continue to discuss rather than impact the French who wish to be able to live as normally as possible, even more after the two years we have just lived”, further urged Gabriel Attal.
Six metro lines were completely closed on Friday morning, two which were to be finally partially open, traffic provided only at peak hours on four others, and reduced on the RATP parts of RER A and B.