The President of the Republic and his government have ignored the exceptional scale of the one-day strike and the united, industry-wide mobilisation of 18 October.

The government is spreading the story in the media in an attempt to give credence to the idea that it’s ready to listen to trade unions and give their proposals a fair hearing.

What is it exactly?

Since the launch of special pensions reform plans by the President of the Republic on Sept’ 18 the government has declared their framework is non-negotiable. That’s to say that the almost 100 hours of face-to-face discussions which Labour Minister, Xavier Bertrand likes to talk about, were used primarily to divide the unions. That’s the government’s great ambition!

That's why the trade union organisations involved in the reform are demanding a GOVERNMENT/UNION round table.

Why does the government claim to champion transparency when it refuses to agree to a real ROUND TABLE?

Is it afraid that its reform might appear in broad daylight for what it really is? Namely a device that results in a reduction in real terms of the level of pensions already paid due to the weakness of railworkers' pensions? This was precisely what was massively rejected by the rail workers strike on October 18!

With the reform of special schemes, the government is creating double jeopardy for railway workers:
- By a system of a (graduated) discount, which would decrease pensions by 25% for the same working life contributions,
- By pensions indexing on prices instead of wages (this same measure applied to the General scheme has led in 15 years to a gap of 20% between the increase in active workers’ purchasing power and retirees at the latter’s expense).

How could the government say that these provisions, which would create a fall in the level of pension payments are measures of fairness? We are for fairness in retirement starting at the top!

That’s why we are opposed to playing off the elderly against the young with a reform that entails introduction of two or even three tier standards placing generations of railworkers at risk of a precarious future.

It is our choice!
What kind of society do we want?

Other choices are necessary and feasible for sustaining special schemes, improving the General Pension scheme and that of the Civil Service and ensuring the future of the social solidarity, Pay-as-you-go Pension system.

Our special scheme is justified by the continuity of Public Service. It must also be remembered that railworkers’ special pension rights are in no way funded by taxpayers or insured by the general scheme. It is funded by railworkers themselves with a Contributions rate to pension 12 points higher than that of the general scheme.

Secondly, the increase in purchasing power and full employment are essential to sustain and upgrade Pay-as-you-go Pension schemes. With the creation of a million jobs that’s 12 billion additional euros for funding pensions.

For true equality, we must put an end to the policies that are robbing the welfare state of additional revenue. These include exempting stock options from social contributions (3 billion euros a year of which 1 billion is for pensions), incentive and free share schemes, payroll saving …

The Court of Auditors has estimated at 10 billion euros shortfall for the general welfare generated by these devices.

Convergence of interests

Nobody’s fooled, the government is attacking special schemes the better to impose new cutbacks on the rights of the general pension system for all employees.

The proof of this, the National Commission on Guaranteeing Pensions announced on 29 October last year, the increase from 40 to 41 years contributions for all employees in the private and the public sectors between 2009 and 2012. The Prime Minister is already warning that this will not suffice and that we need to think quickly about a new perspective of 42 or 43 years contributions as MEDEF (the French Employers federation) is demanding. This is an extension of contributions without end!

You as users of transport and SNCF, are also faced with the social issue posing questions about Environmental and Spatial Planning, the Public Service future of the SNCF railway, and in particular the threat to rail freight.

The government and SNCF management must stop the break-up of rail freight, which constitutes an economic, environmental and social nonsense, which means the opposite of the government’s published policies in the area of the environmental railway. The Plan to close 262 stations to freight traffic in single wagon loads must be abandoned. Resources must be given to the Public Service SNCF to maintain and develop the Infrastructure, stations and jobs.

For all these reasons,..

Railworkers will be on strike From Tuesday, November 13 to 20 h 00, For a renewable 24-hour period

Pensions, Rail freight, Public Service, Jobs and Wages will be at the heart of our demands.

MOBILISING TODAY
TO OPPOSE SMASHING-UP SPECIAL PENSION SCHEMES,
MEANS REJECTING NEW SOCIAL CUTBACKS FOR ALL WORKERS TOMORROW

Paris, November 6, 2007