Strike at French national railway to continue through holidays

By Timur Kiraz

GENEVA (AA) - A strike of switch operators at French national railway company SNCF, which began on Thursday, is to continue over the holidays, as announced by four sector unions on Saturday.

SNCF switch operators serve the entire French rail network. Without them, no trains can run. The unions are demanding better recognition of their profession and an improvement in their working conditions.

Among other things, the unions denounced a shortage of staff, which worsens the working conditions of the driving personnel, and criticized a management decision to reduce the number of training sessions.

So far, about 20 French high-speed TGV trains have already been cancelled due to the strikes. As the unions have announced new strikes for Christmas (Dec. 25) and New Year, the French public are bracing for major disruptions during the winter holidays.

According to the SNCF, trains heading for the Atlantic coast will be the worst affected.