Jean-Pierre Farandou defends himself earlier than the Senate | EUROtoday

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Un “fuse”, a “scapegoat”. This Tuesday, May 7 afternoon, the senators have been moved by the destiny reserved for Jean-Pierre Farandou, the CEO of SNCF, whose mandate won’t be prolonged after the Paris Olympics. The railway employee, who had led the railway firm since 2019, hoped to see his mandate renewed till July 2025, the date on which he would have needed to go away his place as a result of he had reached the age restrict of 68 years.

“At the end of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the President of the National Assembly and the President of the Senate will be informed by the President of the Republic of the name of the envisaged successor of Mr. Jean-Pierre Farandou,” mentioned know the federal government in a press launch revealed on the finish of the morning, a number of hours earlier than the listening to of the CEO of the SNCF by the Committee on Regional Planning and Sustainable Development of the Senate.

A “brutal” choice unanimously denounced by the senators of the fee. “How unfair it is in relation to your more than positive action for five years that you are the fuse of certain people who do not assume their positions and their directives,” declared Senator LR Philippe Tabarot. Jean-Pierre Farandou was summoned a number of days in the past by the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, after the controversy attributable to the signing of an settlement on the tip of his profession.

This settlement offers for the development of the “early cessation of activity” system, already in power for sixteen years on the SNCF. These new measures will enable railway staff to go away 9 months earlier than retirement, with a wage maintained at 75%. For “difficult” professions, this departure might be potential twelve months earlier than, this early retirement being paid at 75%. Finally, the controllers, liable for a strike throughout the winter holidays, obtained the fitting to name it quits eighteen months earlier than their retirement, with a wage maintained at 75%.

The authorities not conscious?

This very beneficiant settlement, which “pleasantly surprised” the Unsa Ferroviaire union, in keeping with its common secretary Didier Mathis, prompted controversy. The Élysée, Matignon, Bercy and even the Ministry of Transport have affirmed Point not having been perfumed. “This agreement on pensions is not satisfactory in my eyes,” added Bruno Le Maire on BFMTV, Thursday May 2. But might the federal government actually ignore the signing of this settlement, SNCF being 100% owned by the State?

This query was on the coronary heart of Jean-Pierre Farandou's listening to this Tuesday afternoon. Without instantly calling into query the phrase of the State, the CEO of SNCF assured that he had all the time put the Ministry of Transport and Matignon within the loop. He additionally underlined that Matignon had inspired firms to “open up a prospect of emerging from the crisis” by launching negotiations on arduousness and end-of-career intervals, after the pension reform. Negotiations on the tip of profession have been talked about in an interview with World, on February 22, he recalled. “Everyone can read The worldI do not understand the accusations of opacity,” he mentioned.

A “reasonable” settlement

“It’s a good agreement which does not circumvent pension reform. Its cost is reasonable and will cost nothing to the taxpayer, nothing to the customer and nothing to the pension funds,” defended Jean-Pierre Farandou, citing the determine of 35 million euros to finance these measures. “I can finance 35 million, I have 1.3 billion in net income,” assured the CEO, recalling his document on the head of the SNCF.

To justify this settlement, the CEO of SNCF additionally recalled the working situations of railway staff. “91,000 railway workers have a difficult job according to regulations, or two thirds of railway workers,” he defined, describing workers who, for some, “work three shifts. They start at 4 a.m. and finish at 12 p.m., then the week after 12 p.m.-8 p.m. and after 8 p.m.-4 a.m. “There is a subject of difficulty,” he insisted.

Jean-Pierre Farandou assured that these measures will enable him to raised “manage the workforce”, because the railway staff who retire with the early termination of exercise system won’t be instantly changed. “Today, controllers must submit their notices six months before their retirement. It takes us a year to train a driver. If we are notified earlier, we will have more time to train them,” he additional defined.


https://www.lepoint.fr/economie/accord-fin-de-carriere-a-la-sncf-jean-pierre-farandou-se-defend-devant-le-senat-07-05-2024-2559691_28.php