For one month, the Nice-Digne railway is closed down because of a strike. The joint union asked the State to nominate a conciliator and to open new negotiations.
A one-month strike and no such thing as a hope to see the social conflict that opposes the 120 CGT railwaymen and the CFTA, a branch of Vivendi which exploits the Nice-Digne railway come to an end. The negotiations about the reduction of working hours have acted as detonator within an already explosive social context (a 40 days strike happened last year and, in February, when a railway modernization plan was announced, a 12 days strike was taken).
This time, the situation is all the more deteriorated as the CFTA has started a layoff process against 14 railwaymen accused of having set fire to the way last September 5th. Besides, the High Court of Justice of Nice has to pronounce a decision about an emergency interim ruling commenced by the CFTA on that matter. As a first conciliation approach between both sides has failed last week, the joint union, which deals with the Chemins de fer de Provence, has asked Jean-Claude Gayssot, the Minister of Transport, to nominate a mediator.
Beyond that struggle, the stake is the future of this 'tourist' line which is necessary to open up the high-country. The Train des Pignes, threatened for a long time to die because of a lack of cost effectiveness, is deeply in the red. The joint union which deals with the Chemins de fer de Provence has to fill a gap of about 20 million francs in their finances every year. Most of half the operating budget of a railway which is attended by 300.000 a year (that is to say a subsidy of almost 70 francs by passenger). In the meantime, heavy investments are necessary to renew the old material and to look after the railway. This new conflict, which is blocking the small Train des Pignes, could as well be fatal…