The CFDT-Cheminots announced on Monday, as Unsa-Ferroviaire had done on Wednesday, its intention to sign the agreement proposed by the SNCF management to increase wages in 2024. "The consultation of the members and structures of the CFDT-Cheminots is clear: for the signing of this agreement," the union said in a statement. On 8 November, the railway group had proposed a wage increase of 4.6% on average over the year 2024, including a 1.8% general increase.
The company has also pledged to increase low wages so that none of them are below 1.1 times the minimum wage. A value-sharing bonus of €400 is also to be paid to the group's more than 140,000 railway workers. "If the CFDT-Cheminots wanted to go further in terms of wage measures, it is its responsibility to protect employees and to sign for their implementation," said the union, the fourth largest representative organisation at the SNCF.
Unsa-Ferroviaire, the second-largest union, had announced on Wednesday that it would sign the agreement. Together, these so-called reformist unions have 42.67% of the vote against 57.33% for the CGT-Cheminots and SUD-Rail.
SUD-Rail calls for a "powerful mobilization
Opposed to the agreement, SUD-Rail has already announced its desire to "build a powerful mobilisation" on the subject of wages and has called on SNCF management to "reopen negotiations" due to the weakness of their proposals. The CGT-Cheminots, which has just elected its new general secretary Thierry Nier to replace Laurent Brun, described the management's proposals as "indecent and contemptuous in view of the accumulated wage dispute".
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The unions have until the evening of 22 November to sign. Without a majority, the SNCF did not guarantee that the agreement would be implemented in its entirety. Last year, only the CFDT-Cheminots signed the agreement on 2023 wages. Despite the lack of a majority, the SNCF applied the planned measures.
