Work more to earn more.
This is in summary the logic of the social agreement that has just agreed to sign the unions FO and UNSA, the majority at the RATP.
On August 1, the working conditions of the 18,000 RATP bus and tram drivers were unilaterally modified by the former CEO Catherine Guillouard in order to prepare for the opening to competition, scheduled for January 1, 2025. .
In exchange for an increase in working time of around twenty hours per year, the management had granted an annual increase of 460 euros gross.
Several days of strikes by bus drivers and, above all, an increase in localized 59-minute strikes and an increase in absenteeism then disrupted the network, to the point that a quarter of the scheduled buses had not been running since September.
A rate which rose to 85% in January, after the hiring of 1,500 drivers in 2022, according to figures from the management.
Six days less rest, 40 minutes more per day…
As soon as he took office, the new president Jean Castex made it known that he placed social dialogue at the top of his priorities and just before Christmas, a draft agreement on the working hours of machinists could be finalized.
This new "territorial social framework" (CST), provides for the abolition of six days off per year by 2024, as well as a daily working range of up to 13 hours, instead of 11 hours currently.
Daily working time will also be increased by 40 minutes (120 hours more per year).
"These new conditions will make it possible to increase the number of services, with drivers who will be able to drive during the morning and evening rush hours", confides a source to the RATP.
In return, the machinists will benefit from a salary increase of 372 euros gross per month – the equivalent of a 14th and 15th month, according to FO – and the revaluation of certain bonuses.
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After 2025, if an RATP agent is transferred to a subsidiary of the group or to a competitor (Keolis, Transdev), he will retain these working conditions and his remuneration, the famous “social backpack”.
“In terms of money, Jean Castex let go of what was needed to satisfy colleagues with regard to the deterioration of their working conditions”, recognizes Jean-Christophe Delprat, federal secretary of the FO transport federation.
"The Castex method is simple: listening, pragmatism and give-and-take", agrees the general secretary of Unsa-RATP, Arole Lamasse, whose union, like FO, has already indicated that it will sign the agreement. .
Between them, these unions are in the majority.
The "Castex method" hailed
Even non-signatories like the CGT recognize human qualities in the new CEO, which contrast with his predecessor.
The former Prime Minister multiplies field visits, almost daily to meet the 45,000 agents in Île-de-France.
Jean Castex, “he is someone who is rather pleasant, who goes towards people”, assures Bertrand Hammache, general secretary of the CGT-RATP, while denouncing a generally unfavorable agreement.
The observation is shared by Frédéric Ruiz, president of the CGE-CGC, who nevertheless says he is ready to file a strike notice on behalf of the supervisors, who are largely forgotten by the agreement according to him.
However, he salutes the new boss's ability to listen, "a first step", but which according to him remains "insufficient".
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"The RATP is going through an eminently difficult period", in particular because of the prospect of opening up to competition, continues Frédéric Ruiz.
“This upsets everything, Catherine Guillouard imposed it by forced march and Mr. Castex seems to have come to put a little binder between the different parties, in particular the unions, which Catherine Guillouard superbly ignored”, he adds.
He now says he hopes for “concrete actions”.
The road still looks long to appease the RATP house.
For three months, a conflict in the maintenance workshops has disrupted the circulation of the metros, on lines 10 and 12, as well as the RER A, lengthening the waiting times for users.
On January 13, Jean Castex is also summoned by Valérie Pécresse, the president of Île-de-France Mobilités, for an exceptional council devoted to the restoration of the full traffic offer in the coming months.
