The wearing of the mask in transport will be compulsory. At SNCF, this announcement that Prime Minister Édouard Philippe should make on Tuesday, when presenting his deconfinement plan to the National Assembly, is almost no longer in doubt. "It is very likely that in narrow spaces with very high traffic frequentation the mask is mandatory", also repeats for several days the Secretary of State for Transport, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari.
A measure called for by all unions to reduce the risk of contamination, but that will not be enough to calm the concerns of 140,000 rail workers.
Lots of questions around the masks
Centerpiece of the deconfinement plan in transport, the wearing of a mask is for the government as for the railway company, the alpha and the omega supposed to settle for the most part the thorny question of distancing. The famous distance of one meter on one side and the other of the person almost impossible to hold in stations, on platforms, in trains ... "Several countries have already imposed the wearing of masks, we would not be the only ones to do so is protection that has shown to be effective, ”argues the railway company. But who will supply them? SNCF is already struggling to do this for its agents. What types of masks? Who is going to check that people are wearing them? So many questions that the executive has yet to answer.
For the unions, however, the masks do not settle everything to be ready on May 11 to get trains up to 50% TGV, or even more, of their capacity, against 6% to 10% currently operating. The challenge is to arrive, in a little less than fifteen days, to ensure a transport plan in perfect health and safety conditions, for passengers and agents alike.
Huge maintenance work before resumption
"Masks are a prerequisite, but it's also a bit of a tree that hides the forest," explains Didier Mathis, secretary general of Unsa Rail. The SNCF must also start this week meetings by "contact" trades such as controllers, tellers, drivers, but also for dispatchers, maintenance workers on rails or in workshops ... to refine its emergency recovery plan and sanitary measures.
A mountain of subjects is on the table today. First, you have to prepare the trains like the rails, to put them back into circulation: more than 90% of the fleet has been parked since confinement. This requires maintenance, upkeep and verification operations. Then, a lot of railway workers have not worked for a month. Only 15,000 remained in the field (out of 140,000 agents who are on short-term unemployment, sick leave or teleworking). All will have to relearn reflexes and especially barrier gestures.
Railway workers ready to exercise their right of withdrawal
"Nothing is ready, it is premature" denounce several union leaders in unison. "It is total fog," adds Didier Mathis of Unsa Rail. Among their biggest concerns: the ability to accommodate as many people in stations, on platforms, on boarding. “How are we going to manage this influx and the distance? Everyone flees to this question in meetings with management, ”says Eric Meyer, federal secretary of Sud Rail.
Another big challenge awaits SNCF, that of disinfecting trains on each trip. Today the trains are cleaned every evening after service. From May 11, each train must be disinfected after each trip to ensure the health protection of passengers and agents.
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All unions have warned: at the slightest deviation from the health protections of agents and the public, the right of withdrawal will be triggered. "The rail workers will not organize the massacre because they do not want to contaminate people, they do not want to be contaminated or contaminate their families," warned Laurent Brun, head of the first union of the SNCF.
