School holidays, public holidays, rush hours… what is contained in the bill aimed at regulating the right to strike in transport ?

Senators must vote this Tuesday on the restriction of the right to strike in transport. MAXPPP ILLUSTRATION

A bill is being examined in the Senate this Tuesday, April 9 to limit strikes in transport over certain periods. A proposal which the government opposes and which suggests a heated debate in perspective three months before the Olympic Games.

At the forefront since February, the discussion around the right to strike is back in the Senate this Tuesday, April 9. Senators must consider today  rsquo;today on a bill proposed by Hervé Marseille (Centrist Union) and Philippe Tabarot (LR) aiming to regulate the right to strike in transport.

The text, submitted last February, in full mobilization of SNCF controllers, intends "to protect the French" faced with "excessive and repeated hostage-taking" of users during busy periods.

30 days protected

The senators want to  thus "sanctuary" 30 days per year without strikes, at key times of the year for users such as major vacation departures, public holidays, election weekends as well as "events of major importance on French territory" such as the baccalaureate, the Olympic Games and other major competitions sports.

They also propose suspending the right to strike during peak hours, i.e. from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. in the morning, then between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. in the evening. The idea being to be able to guarantee those who work to be able to count on transport at these times.

In the Committee on Regional Planning and Sustainable Development, where the text was presented and then adopted on Wednesday April 3, parliamentarians reduced the number of days to 30 (compared to 60 in the initial text). maximum annual periods where the right to strike could be suspended. An amendment also provides for a limit of seven consecutive days to the periods during which transport employees would be deprived of their right to strike.

While the initial bill included the airline sector, it was ultimately excluded. The flight crew unions had called a strike on March 15 and 16 in order to to protest against the text, before lifting their notice. The proposal therefore only concerns "land transport".

The government opposes it

The government has already made it known through its Minister for Transport, Patrice Vergriete, that it will oppose this bill.

"There is a problem of constitutionality with this bill, the right to strike is still a constitutional right. And then, there are complementary elements […] Not everyone in our country unfortunately takes vacation. This would then mean neglecting everyday mobility, whereas it’s one of my priorities", said Friday April 5 at the microphone of Sud Radio Patrice Vergriete.

Une proposition de loi au Sénat pour encadrer le droit de grève dans les transports : "Le gouvernement est opposé à ce texte" affirme @P_Vergriete pic.twitter.com/HGDa78abaz

— Sud Radio (@SudRadio) April 5, 2024

A position that the rapporteur of the text, Philippe Tabarot, deplores, affirming that the government has "the unions scared just before the Olympic Games", as reported by France info. The senator acknowledges that he has "little hope" that the text will reach Parliament before this event which will take place from July 26 to August 11.

The unions, for their part, do not intend to release the pressure: several transport centers (at the SNCF but also at the RATP) are talking about the possibility of walking out by this summer, to win the case.