He won't let go. For the past four years, Karim, who joined RATP in 2005, has fought an uncompromising battle against the Régie. "I want to find my job and my pride," insists this ex-machinist based at the Pavillons Sous-Bois bus center (Seine-Saint-Denis). He has already won two rounds before the Paris industrial tribunal in 2018 and before the Paris Court of Appeal in February 2020. But, unemployed, he now points to the RSA.
On October 21, 2015, shortly after 11 p.m., while driving his bus on line 147, Karim was the victim of a violent assault in Sevran, in the Beaudottes district. An irascible passenger punches him in the face. "I set off the quiet alarm to warn my employer," he said. To do this, simply press the button which allows the RATP to listen to what is happening on the bus.
"The video was transmitted to the employer in violation of the secrecy of the investigation"
But that evening, the radio malfunctions and no sound reaches the operators of the control room. The security PC decides to call it on the bus's on-board telephone. RATP representatives travel to Sevran to secure the vehicle and then go to the police station where the attacker has just been arrested. He also acknowledged the facts.
Eight months after the incident, on June 2, 2016, the officer was dismissed for serious misconduct. On an image captured by the video of the bus that day, we would see the machinist calling on his personal phone, which is disputed by the interested party. RATP considered that it had “not respected its public service mission” and that it had damaged “the image of the company”. She reproached him specifically for "abandoning his driving position while the bus was in motion with passengers, insults on a traveler, use of a mobile phone while driving".
"These facts are not called into question by the decisions of the industrial tribunal and the court of appeal" now adds the management of the management.
"His word has never been heard"
The RATP also accused him of not having activated the alarm. However, the driver will produce the RATP “alarm No. 393” sheet, which attests to this: “I was able to recover this personal data not without difficulty,” says Karim. It says that I activated the alarm at 11:02:20 . In addition I produced the daily report of the RATP network protection and security group in which their intervention is mentioned. He explains: “On the video, I don't use my own phone but the RATP handset. "
"There was a mistake," adds Mr. Thierry Renard, his lawyer. The video was also transmitted by the investigator to the employer in violation of the secrecy of the investigation, he said. My client was convicted on the basis of this one police report. His word was never heard. "
"This case is emblematic of the abuse of permanent powers and the slippage of human resources at the RATP," says the lawyer. He underlines that this case is not a unique case: "There is not a day at the Paris industrial tribunal where we do not judge a RATP file". He defends 70 of these cases himself.
Seine-Saint-Denis Newsletter
Every morning, the news of your department seen by Le ParisienI'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to allow you to receive our news and commercial offers. Find out more
His client obtained a first victory in 2018 before the Paris industrial tribunal which recognized that there was no serious misconduct. Then the case goes to appeal. In February 2020, the Court delivered its judgment. It confirms the decision of the industrial tribunal and goes even beyond.
"Harassment and discrimination" according to the Court of Appeal
It adds other complaints against the RATP by retaining "the reality of harassment and discrimination which characterizes a faulty performance of the employment contract by the employer" and condemns the Régie to pay 25,000 euros to his former employee. The Court of Appeal dismissed the RATP and ordered it to "reimburse unemployment benefits". For all damages, the company must pay 55,000 euros in damages to the complainant. An amount far beyond the 12,000 euros granted by the industrial tribunal.
But the court of appeal is not competent to request the reinstatement of the employee. The bus driver will therefore go to the Court of Cassation. "In article 49 of the RATP employees' statute, dismissal is a final penalty unless new elements arise," explains Karim, agitating the two successive decisions of the two courts.
For its part, the RATP is also sharpening its legal arguments. She also lodged an appeal in cassation. The driver “looked for a procedural flaw, particularly with regard to limitation periods. What the RATP disputes ”, ensures the direction of the management.
In any case, the former machinist will still need long months of patience: the Court of Cassation has not yet put the case on the agenda.
