France - Rail workers on strike - January 31, 2026

SUD Rail union held a one-day strike to coincide with the start of annual pay negotiations with railway company SNCF. The unions are looking to put pressure on management at the start of negotiations as they look for further concessions. The new head of SNCF offered workers a € 400 bonus in December and the extension of certain social agreements, following expected annual profits of around € 2 billion for the state-owned rail operator in 2025. SUD-Rail union however says this is insufficient in view of the economic resultsw, and wants wages raised by € 400 per month for all workers, alongside a standardised 13th month bonus. It says this will cost € 1.2 billion, well within the operator’s profit margins.

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For more information, please contact Paul de Beer or Oana Ciuca, De Burcht (Scientific Bureau for the Dutch Trade Union Movement) p.t.debeer@uva.nl or the Head of communications at the ETUI, Mehmet Koksal mkoksal@etui.org. For previous full issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit https://www.etui.org/Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter or consult the archive with all articles in our database at www.cbnarchive.eu. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org.