For one week, the workers at a bus depot owned by Keolis, a private company and subsidiary of SNCF (\u201cthe French National Railway Company,\u201d France\u2019s state-owned rail system), have been on strike. 95% of 80 employees stopped working and intend to hold out for as long as necessary. Simply put, they are saying \u201cenough is enough.\u201d The strikers aren\u2019t asking for the moon! Their struggle is centered on basic demands: the reestablishment of profit-sharing bonuses (especially in the context of high inflation which is quickly eroding their purchasing power) and a fight against increasingly untenable working conditions. Amidst this situation, management has been playing hardball and refuses to meet with the strikers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This strike is happening in the context of the opening of transport to private competition in the Ile-de-France region. This opening-up, masterminded by the region’s President, Val\u00e9rie P\u00e9cresse (Les R\u00e9publicains), is predictably creating a race to the bottom. As a result, workers have been hit hard with so-called social dumping, and the widespread neglect of maintenance and investment has lowered the quality of services provided to users (who have become customers). All involved are subject to the abuses of neoliberal precepts under Keolis management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Facing fierce opposition from management, workers are firmly committed to the struggle. The strikers are determined, but their need support and solidarity\u2014especially financial support\u2014is greater than ever. Gestures of concrete solidarity have already multiplied, but support needs to be better structured to help striking comrades stand firm and stand up against a contemptuous management and their tendencies, which are harmful to everyone except the handful of billionaires and shareholders who continue to gobble up almost all the wealth produced in the transport sector and elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We interviewed four Keolis Montesson strikers, all militant activists with Solidares: Amine (South Solidaires union delegate), Demba, Oumi, and Sacko. <\/em><\/strong>Below in a transcript of our conversation where they explain the ins and outs of their struggle.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n By Michael Lenoir, September 20, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n A balance of the current struggle Sacko : Since Keolis stepped in in 2022, we\u2019ve lost a lot\u2026 There\u2019s no more employee incentive program or profit-sharing bonuses. So, we\u2019re just asking for what we had before. No more, no less.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n ML: Before, that\u2019s when you worked for Transdev?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: Yes. For 17 years working under Veolia and later Transdev, I always had employee rewards and profit-sharing bonuses. And since Keolis arrived in 2022 that disappeared. During the first year we got nothing. They said the bonuses were coming, that a new partnership had been created so we had to start over from zero. Now it\u2019s been a year, and they are telling us the figures don\u2019t look good, that they\u2019re in the red and lost almost 3 million euros. So, there\u2019s no employee incentive program, no profit-sharing bonuses. And the plan for next year will be the same. As a result, we\u2019re saying: we\u2019re taking action, we aren\u2019t going to wait\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML : But their numbers are good? They\u2019re lying?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: The figures are good. They\u2019re winning the markets. They\u2019re known globally. The fact that we\u2019re all here today, the fact that there\u2019s been two weeks of this, the manager came before us to tell us why there\u2019s no bonus. And he told all of us: I\u2018ll only give bonuses to people in the top tier, that is, everyone who\u2019s executive and in management. And below that, I\u2019m sorry, but there won\u2019t be anything! And that\u2019s how it\u2019s going to be next year, just for the top tier. And for us, next year\u2019s the same: we get zero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: I forgot to tell you \u2013 they put us through a forced merger with the Argenteuil depot; the 300 drivers there aren\u2019t joining us for the strike. They\u2019re 300 and we\u2019re 80. We asked Argenteuil to join us, but they aren\u2019t. So, we\u2019re the only depot that\u2019s closed today. They forced us to merge. We had to accept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML : That\u2019s also a Keolis depot ?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: Yes. They regrouped us to hurt us. But that depot, they don\u2019t want to join us in the strike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML: To clarify : it\u2019s Keolis who bought this business from Transdev<\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: They made a call for bids. Ile-de-France Mobilit\u00e9s (Val\u00e9rie P\u00e9cresse) created that system. So, they called for bids. Transdev lost the bid and Keolis won because they offered 50% off\u2026 It\u2019s typical. They won, and so here we are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML : So they won the bid by crushing working conditions and pay?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: Exactly. They crushed our profit-sharing and incentive bonuses, which again, aren\u2019t much! We just want to win what we had before. No more, no less. How much do the profit-sharing and incentive bonuses amount to on average? 1,000 euros over an entire year. That\u2019s 1,000 euros multiplied by 400 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML: And plus, they really make a difference now with inflation so high. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: And plus, they say they will give us a 4% raise. And they say that should be enough for us. But with today\u2019s inflation, what difference does 4% make?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML : Of course, that\u2019s well below inflation\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: Whereas the bonus is something we\u2019ve always received. During COVID, the most critical time: there were no buses, no money was coming in, nothing. But we still got our profit-sharing and incentive bonuses. Now they step in and say they\u2019re operating at a loss. They can show us all the figures they want, but we\u2019re not accountants. We can\u2019t really know what they\u2019ve got. After all, Keolis is an SNCF subsidiary! It\u2019s not a small business!<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML : They\u2019re lying\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: To us, yes. We\u2019re ready to go back to work tomorrow. We\u2019re losing wages and what we\u2019re asking for is next to nothing. Financially, it\u2019s been hard on all of us. Without solidarity, we\u2019re dead. That\u2019s why we set up a solidarity fund, to help our coworkers who are really struggling. To help them fight. For\u2026 again, just for crumbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML : And so\u2026 They\u2019re taking away your crumbs.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: Exactly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Demba: If they\u2019re capable of taking away even our crumbs, this can\u2019t go on!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Deterioration of working conditions, another point of dissatisfaction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n ML: So, among your demands are the profit-sharing and incentive bonuses. But you are also demanding changes to working conditions too. Can you say a little more about that?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Demba: Working conditions have deteriorated. Already, in terms of vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: When Keolis took over, they were supposed to come in with new vehicles. But no, this didn\u2019t happen. We\u2019ve still got the old vehicles, which are in a state of disrepair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Demba: 700,000 km !<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: Since Keolis came, zero new vehicles. Whereas with Transdev, every year we had new vehicles come in (and got rid of old ones). And look, we\u2019ve got no new ones for two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Demba: Conclusion : for two years they\u2019ve worked on getting drivers to reduce travel time. That means more stress for workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML: You mean, you have to make the same trips in less time ?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: Exactly. To satisfy our clients\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML : But how do you do it, then? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: We don\u2019t. We drive at 30kph. Lots of city speed limits have dropped from 50 to 30kph. We tell each other: Take it easy! Don\u2019t get into accidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Demba: And then they made an external company<\/a>[EL1]<\/a> .<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: They took things. They cut things out ! They took the controllers we had and put them in another company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML : Keolis subsidiaries ?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Demba: They created a number of positions. To some extent to police us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML : Positions, how ?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Demba: Security positions, on the central level. Supervisory. With cameras. They watch everything we do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML : Got it. When you drive your bus, are you being surveilled?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Oumi: They know exactly where you are, at which stop\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: They send us messages\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oumi: If we\u2019re a second early, they harass us with \u201cplease be regular\u201d messages. But you have to realize that we have a network with stops where we can\u2019t be regular. Downtown in Montesson, Chatou, in other places, we can\u2019t be regular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML : What does regular mean?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Oumi: Be regular, that means be at the stop and wait\u2026 This causes traffic jams, accidents. So, they\u2019re putting pressure on us too, on that front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML: To travel the same routes in less time ?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: Yes. It wasn\u2019t like this before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oumi: They have been putting an impossible amount of pressure on us! On travel times, too. They\u2019ve shaved impossible minutes off our times\u2026And then we\u2019re also under pressure from our clients who want to catch their trains on time. We\u2019ve got pressure on both sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: There\u2019s one thing Keolis won\u2019t give you figures about. It\u2019s the number of work-related accidents, which have increased. Work-related accidents have increased enormously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML: What kind of accidents?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: Back injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oumi: A lot of back injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: Assaults<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML: From passengers ?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Oumi: Yes, unsatisfied customers, who lash out because we\u2019re late\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: Stress. And we have lots of accidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oumi: And management doesn\u2019t want to hear anything about it, they don\u2019t want to face the problems employees are having.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: There\u2019s no social dialogue with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oumi: The only dialogue we have, the only means of communication with our operations manager, is a pitiful little notebook she gave us where we write down what\u2019s going wrong. They pass the little notebook on to the manager who reads it, sitting peacefully in her office. But she\u2019ll never see us in person, no way! Her office is completely closed off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML: And how long has it been like this?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Oumi: Since Keolis. Since the first of January 2022. We gave them a month and thought maybe<\/em> there was a reason to still believe in them. But as time went by, we realized that they were doing it all backwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Historical context of the company and relations between its associated trade unions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n ML: What is the relationship between Keolis and Transdev etc., and between the depots?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Amine: For two years we\u2019ve been mixed and matched with a business that used to belong to the Transdev group. To explain the history a bit, we were Transdev before we were Keolis before the bids on the public service delegations held by Ile-de-France Mobilit\u00e9s. So, for the past two years, we\u2019ve had this merger. So now we\u2019re called DSP33, KABS network (Keolis Argenteuil Boucle de Seine). In other words, there are two depots: one in Montesson and one in Argenteuil. Two different depots joined together, and which function very poorly today. When we were Transdev, we were involved in urban, intercity, and tourism services. We had all three businesses in the passenger transport sector. And it worked more or less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since the Paris regional transport companies were privatized, we\u2019ve lost a lot. Since then, we\u2019ve been shuffled left and right. We held new union elections to represent our workforce, which now numbers 400. And today we have different labels. Without naming them, there are five or six. Today at South Solidaires, we\u2019re real militants because we\u2019re fighting against wage losses. We\u2019re also fighting for better working conditions, which are very poor. And above all, we\u2019re fighting for our bonuses, which haven\u2019t been paid for two years. I mean the profit-sharing and incentive bonuses. These bonuses are an important added value for all employees, who we know are struggling to make ends meet given the precarious nature of their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML: Please tell us more about the relationship between Solidaires and other unions, and between the Montesson and Argenteuil d\u00e9p\u00f4ts.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Amine: Our Argenteuil coworkers haven\u2019t joined us, and neither have other unions and trade union organizations who don\u2019t think it\u2019s a good idea to fight beside us. So today, there\u2019s one depot out of two that\u2019s closed. This depot has 95% of the strikers. We\u2019ve been on strike in the Montesson depot for over six days. Management has left us to fend for ourselves, while they are providing the minimum school services on the other side in Argenteuil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML: In fact, unions other than Solidaires are concentrated in Argenteuil, where there are just over 300 employees.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Amine: They are about 300 people, but you have to realize that there are a lot of temporary workers today, somewhere between 60 and 80. The employees there aren\u2019t aware of everything that\u2019s going on, because on a democratic level, the other trade unions don\u2019t share information and facts. This is because they know that the Argenteuil depot had bigger profit-sharing bonuses than we did. Theirs is worth 2000 euro or more, while ours was only a 500 euro bonus. And so today the employees are calling me left and right to learn what\u2019s going on. They\u2019re afraid to take action because they\u2019re under pressure from both management and the unions. That\u2019s where we are at today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML: Who are the other trade union organizations ?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Amine: CGT, FO, UNSA, and the executive union. They are telling the drivers that going on strike is pointless because there\u2019s no way management will bring back bonuses while the numbers are bad \u2013 even though that\u2019s blatantly false. And today, we\u2019re asking for a gesture from the company. A financial gesture, of course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML: And these other trade union organizations at Argenteuil, they lost their bonuses of over 2000 euros?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Amine: They had bigger profit-sharing and incentive bonuses which were over 2000 euros, and there have been no demands from the unions, and the drivers are being held hostage because they\u2019re not giving them this information. They have also been holding secret meetings with management. We leave these meetings because we disagree with management. They stay and don\u2019t tell the employees what they need to know, so the employees are left in the dark. We\u2019re the ones who give them information. And today, they\u2019re cornered, because they voted for trade unions that play into management\u2019s hands, and they\u2019re paying a colossal price for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML: Despite everything, having spoken to several people here, I sense there is a real determination to win<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amine: Yes, because we\u2019ve started to get organized. It\u2019s the contempt of management and the support of other colleagues that drives us on and gives us hope. Because, as I said before, they\u2019re trying to suffocate us. And on the contrary, we\u2019re all together \u2013 maybe there\u2019s a lot of us, maybe there isn\u2019t. But we\u2019re standing in solidarity together, hand in hand. And I hope that we\u2019ll hold out for a long time. Come help us. Everyone who can help us, come and support us. Come and eat with us. We share the little we have. Come help, we need you today. The alarm\u2019s going off, it\u2019s an SOS call, please do your part to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How to fight company management during the strike <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n ML: Since the strike began, management hasn\u2019t told you anything? They\u2019re holed up in Argenteuil\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Oumi: As you can see for yourself, everything\u2019s been shut down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML: And they\u2019re the ones who shut it down?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: They\u2019re the ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oumi: The depot is being guarded day and night. The depot is completely empty. No management. No member of management is present right now. So, we\u2019re on our own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Demba: And the dialogue between us and management has been shut down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oumi: The dialogue has been completely shut down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Demba: And the worst thing is that they\u2019re pitting coworkers against each other. Right now, workers who aren\u2019t on strike are being sent to the Argenteuil depot to do school transportation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oumi: As drivers, we\u2019re ready to go back to work tomorrow. But right now, we\u2019re dealing with\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML: What are your conditions for going back to work?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: Our bonuses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oumi: Negotiations with management. But look, you can clearly see there\u2019s nobody there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: And even upper management at Keolis, they have gone on TV to tell us we won\u2019t get our bonuses, and that they\u2019re sorry. There\u2019s one woman, whose name I don\u2019t know, who said on channel France 3 that they\u2019re sorry but there won\u2019t be any bonuses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML: So they\u2019re waiting for everything to blow over?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oumi: Exactly. They want to push us to the edge, but they don\u2019t know how determined we are. We\u2019re ready to strike for a month, and if necessary, even longer. That doesn\u2019t scare us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: And we need support. Passengers, associations\u2026 a bit of everything. Today, we need everyone, and we\u2019re just fighting for our rights. Nothing more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oumi: We\u2019re not asking for anything more. Not a new bonus, not a raise\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML: Just what you had before?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacko: That\u2019s it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML: Management\u2019s strategy is to wait it out, to leave you isolated here. What are your calls to action? There is a need for money I imagine. And what can we do, regarding management, concerning passenger dissatisfaction in particular? What can we come up with?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Amine: That\u2019s it, they\u2019re waiting for us to rot like you said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s been a little over a week since we went on strike. It\u2019s true, when it comes to money, we don\u2019t have a lot. We opened a Leetchi fundraising site that has less than 300 euros in it. We don\u2019t have a lot of support right now. We\u2019ve got the press coming in, the media. But apart from them, we\u2019re waiting for more support from people on the outside \u2013 trade unions, lawyers, jurists, anything, anyone. Besides that, we also need to go to the Argenteuil site to fight and advocate for ourselves. Because we can\u2019t just leave here. Because if we leave here, we\u2019ll be showing our powerlessness, and passengers will see the strike is useless, and our boss will start choking us. Because one of the bosses told us in an off-the-record meeting, \u2018\u2019My goal is to make you guys suffocate.\u2019\u2019 So, I try to be clear and give as much information as possible to employees, and today, management is based in Argenteuil and has been bringing non-striking employees from Montesson and transferring them to Argenteuil to provide school transport services. Because, incidentally, they\u2019re obliged to provide a minimum level of services, including school services. We have non-striking colleagues, very few of them, seven in all. Our managers and fellow employees have joined us on strike, and we have a 95% strike rate. In other words, out of 400 people in the company, there\u2019s around 25% on strike. But for the depot on its own, we\u2019re at around 95%. We\u2019re just waiting for support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ML: And you haven\u2019t gotten support from Argenteuil employees, independently from the trade union, messages\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Amine: No, we have messages from some drivers who are afraid, who support us \u2013 not anonymously, but they don\u2019t want their names to get out, etc. As for the Leetchi fund, we\u2019ve had a few donations from coworkers\u2014we\u2019ll name them \u2013 notably from the CGT RATP Malakoff and Nanterre who helped us out. We\u2019ve also had some help from South Solidaires, including Solidaires Paris Nord railway workers who have contributed to the support fund. But it\u2019s always small, it only helps for one day. Today, we\u2019re losing wages. More than a week per employee, and that\u2019s enormous. And there are employees in very precarious situations, single-parent families, single women with under-age children, guys living in hostels. We\u2019re in a really shitty situation, and our workers are going to crack under the pressure after a while, and that\u2019s what management wants to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For one week, the workers at a bus depot owned by Keolis, a private company and subsidiary of SNCF (\u201cthe French National Railway Company,\u201d France\u2019s state-owned rail system), have been on strike. 95% of 80 employees stopped working and intend to hold out for as long as necessary. Simply put, they are saying \u201cenough is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":73377,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"litci_post_political_author":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3505,3504],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-france","category-working-class"],"yoast_head":"\n
The number one cause of the strike is the abolition of the employee incentive program and profit sharing bonuses.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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