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RMTnews :: june 2005 18 S trikes of underground, tram and bus workers in major Italian cities are expected to be followed by a 24-hour national rail strike on June 23. The three italian rail unions are protesting against proposals for restructuring involving possible job losses, safety issues following a recent serious rail crash and attempts to change negatively the collective agreement. French rail unions strike for jobs and public services T he French rail system was brought to an almost complete standstill on June 2 as the main unions waged a 24- hour strike against EU-driven privatisation plans and in defence of jobs. A last-minute offer by French Rail (SNCF) to create 300-500 jobs was not enough to call off the action. The strike, the third this year, coincided with the appointment of a new transport minister following France’s decisive rejection of the EU Constitution. "We cannot accept SNCF’s plan to reduce the workforce by 12,000 in the next three years", said Didier Le Reste, general secretary of the powerful CGT rail union, which played a major role in campaigning against the neoliberal EU constitution. He also slammed the fact that the first private freight trains are circulating in France following the EU’s opening of international rail freight to competition. Meanwhile, the SNCF chairman said that its unexpectedly high profits of about £80 million in 2004 would enable it to go beyond its one per cent wage rise offer for 2005. Three French operators employ half seafarers S eafrance, Brittany Ferries and SNCM together employ about 4,000 officers and ratings - more than half of French seafarers, a new report reveals. Seafrance, a 100 per cent subsidiary of state controlled French Rail SNCF, operates only on the fiercely competitive Dover-Calais route. The Seafrance Berlioz, the sixth and latest addition to its fleet, is the fastest and most modern of all Channel ferries. Brittany Ferries’ eight vessels serve seven routes to England, Ireland and Spain. Freight levels in 2004 rose by eight per cent while its passenger traffic fell 3.6 per cent to 2.53 million. It expects a better 2005 following P&O’s withdrawal of several routes on which the two companies competed. State-owned SNCM, which operates routes to Corsica and North Africa, last year recorded one of its worst years with a 20 per cent fall in passengers. The unions fear that almost 10 per cent of SNCM’s 2,400 jobs could go and possible privatisation at the end of the summer season. T he EU’s Information and Consultation Directive, due to come into UK law, gives the right by 2007 to workers in workplaces of more than 100 employees to be informed about a company’s economic situation, and informed and consulted about management decisions likely to result in substantial changes in work organisation or contractual relations. However, employers may withhold information where they think it will seriously harm the undertaking - or ask for it to be kept confidential. A major drawback is that the law could undermine existing agreed information and consultation procedures. It is unclear as to whether the legislation applies to public sector bodies, an issue that may have to be decided by the EU’s own European Court of Justice. NEW EU CONSULTATION DIRECTIVE MAY UNDERMINE EXISTING RIGHTS R atings and officers at Marseilles-based SNCM have ended a 17-day strike after following assurances that RIF, the controversial new international French register’ will not apply to SNCM vessels. They also obtained suspension of state-owned SNCM’s "restructuring" plan that includes 210 redundancies in a total 2,400 workforce. The maritime unions voted by a large majority to resume work after the Mediterranean operator’s management pledged not to take disciplinary action against the strikers. But further action is on the agenda as SNCM management says its job cuts plan is merely suspended and will go ahead at a later date - probably after the summer season. The unions continue to fear that the government is determined to privatise all or parts of SNCM. Italy rail and city transport strikes mount SNCM STRIKERS RETURN BUT CONFLICT COULD RESURFACE INTERNATIONAL NEWS NON: Young French people celebrate in Paris on Sunday, May 29, after early projections revealed that the "no" side had won a decisive victory in a referendum on the European Union constitution. The French result was swiftly followed by an even more decisive Dutch rejection of the anti-democratic privateers’ charter just days later. The results should have dealt a killer blow to attempts to ratify the constitution. However, leading eurofederalists have demanded that the polls are ignored and the process should carry on regardless. French and Dutch reject EU Constitution