Co-operation before competition

Jean Yves Petit of the French transport union FGTE-CFDT shares his views on why French railway workers, like many of their peers in Europe, are strongly opposed to the impending liberalisation of European rail freight services

The CFDT and all French railway worker trade unions are against the liberalisation of railways being initiated by the European Commission – with the approval of the neo-liberal governments of the various member states of the European Union.

We do not want to see this kind of competition between railway companies. We think it will result in deregulation at work, reduced safety standards and lack of investment in the renewal, modernisation and construction of new railway infrastructure.

Competition implies lowering the costs of transport to make economies, while, at the same time, the shareholders of any privatised company want short-term profits. In the end, this will lead to a reduction in railway staff and worsening public services.

Railways are already competing with other modes of transport, including road transport. In that sector, the external costs – such as for environment, infrastructure and health and safety – are significant but are not borne by the companies, and social rules are very badly applied.

French trade unions want to see more co-operation between railway companies running passenger services, such as Eurostar (SNCF, Eurostar UK, SNCB), Thalys (SNCF, SNCB) and freight transport services. The most recent example of co-operation is the agreement signed in September 2002 by Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) and the SNCF, to facilitate the transit of freight trains between a German and a French marshalling yard. We think that co-operation allows the development of the railways while preserving a transport option and good quality social standards. It also allows major investments to go ahead, such as the purchase of trains that can run on different rail networks and that can, therefore, be used in France, Belgium and Germany.

Along with the ETF, we are offering alternative solutions to the European Social Dialogue Committee and European institutions, within the framework of the debate on the second “railway package” in the European Parliament.

At the European Social Dialogue Committee, a European Commission body, we, through the ETF, are negotiating with the European employers’ organisation about the implementation of trans-border inter-operability. This is in view of the opening of the market for international freight traffic on 15 March 2003. We are dealing with three matters:

• A European licence for train drivers
• Working conditions (working time, rest etc) of train personnel, conductors and guards
• Skills required to ensure trans-border inter-operability.

The ETF is doing an enormous amount of work in European institutions to stop the development and acceleration of liberalisation of the railways and to propose amendments to European Commission texts, with a view to ensuring workers’ representation at the European level and workers’ rights, and also a high level of safety on the railways.

In France, the trade unions are making their position known to the government, deputies and political parties, and are beginning to mobilise railway workers. The trade unions want to ensure that if there are going to be new railway companies other than the SNCF, these should implement safety rules and working conditions identical to those currently in force in the SNCF.

Trade Union unity in France and the efforts of the ETF offer a better alternative to deregulation. Perhaps we could start by putting the globalisation of solidarity, which was supported by all unions at the ITF Congress, to practical use.

Jean Yves Petit is National Secretary of the FGTE-CFDT and a workers’ member of the European Social Dialogue Committee, which is debating the liberalisation of rail freight services in Europe. 

The ETF position In both the completion of the legal framework and the harmonisation of social provisions, the ETF and its affiliated unions must participate fully and without any restrictions. The ETF rejects a second rank treatment compared with other sector representatives in the form of consultation instead of participation. Without the employees in the railway sector, it is impossible to realise a European internal railway market. This applies particularly to the establishment of a European Railway Agency, in which the ETF clearly demands representation on the administrative board and equal participation in its activities. From ETF position paper on the second railway package presented by the European Commission, April 2002