35% of French Railway Operator's Employees to Strike on Sunday - SNCF Official

16:23 GMT, 7 April 2018

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - SNCF Deputy Director General Mathias Vicherat has informed the French citizens about the train traffic disruption due to the planned strike of the railway operator's employees, 35 percent of whom plan to take part in the action against the government-led reform of the sector.

Sputnik

"On Sunday, the declared percentage of strikers will amount to approximately 35 percent. The percentage of strikers relates… to those who are indispensable for train traffic, namely train operators, traffic controllers, and conductors," SNCF Deputy Director General Mathias Vicherat said.

Vicherat stated that due to the strike only 20 percent of long-distance trains (142) will operate on Sunday along with one-third of daily trains.

On April 3, the SNCF workers started a series of strikes against the reforms in the railway sector that might last until the end of June. The reform, in particular, aims to put an end to the special status of railroad workers and to make the SNCF a national enterprise with public capital. The railway workers intend to go on strike weekly and stop working for a total of 36 days.

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In February, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe stated that the future employees of the state-owned SNCF railway company, which currently monopolizes the sector, would no longer be able to require the special status of a railway worker, which gives access to some perks, including early retirement or immunity from layoffs for economic reasons.

The trade unions are intending to continue the strike until June 28, unless the government makes yieldings.