The government and the head of the train at the edge of divorce – Le Figaro

VIDEO – Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Transport has reprimanded Guillaume Pepy whose future at the head of the company appears more uncertain. The SNCF president expressed interest in the suspension of the strike in the name of “solidarity” with French

In the long list of bosses large companies vilified by the government, it will now add Guillaume Pepy, head of SNCF since February 2008. the railway company is 100% owned by the state. A fact that the Secretary of State for Transport, Alain Vidal, did not fail to recall that Friday morning the officer: “The Minister (of Transport) who is responsible. It is the government that decides, “he said on RTL. A tune that the group difficult to accept. “It is surprising to see the government take control of social negotiations,” does one slides Le Figaro on the side of the company.

But the palm of vexation comes probably Manuel Valls who used his communication skills to remember who’s boss: “There can be no problem with the government and Mr Pepy because M.Pepy can not have problems with the government, “said the Prime Minister in an interview with regional daily newspapers Ebra group. And Secretary of State for Transport to drive the point: “There is no possibility of disagreement between Guillaume Pepy and the government.”

Behind this conflict, a different view of the crisis. Where the direction of the station considers that further economies to improve competitiveness of the company over its competitors, the government decided not to touch the organization of working time to appease the social climate. “Leading the train is far from an easy task because of policy inconsistencies in the state requesting everything and its opposite. The state has beautiful game having allowed Guillaume Pepy only manage crises and to criticize today. The strategist State is in tatters. This is the company conducting social negotiations, “said Gilles Dansart, publishing director Mobilettre.

“The divorce between Guillaume Pepy and the government is not far”

While looms the ultimate negotiation meeting Monday, the president of SNCF told AFP on Friday he hoped the suspension of the strike in the public company in the name of “solidarity” with the French who suffer the consequences including the weather. Referring to the “catastrophic” flooding on the railway network, especially in the Ile-de-France, damage that will count in his tens of millions of euros, Mr. Pepy, asked about possible resignation due to differences with the government, said: “I am at my post with the teams, and thoroughly”

Still, the future of Martine Aubry former director of cabinet at the head of the SNCF. seems to write dashed. “The divorce between Guillaume Pepy and the government is not far, Justice Gilles Dansart. But the government has he the strength of the resign? “. According to this specialist in rail, both sides have some responsibility: “The State, for not having taken into account alerts on the railway system after accidents or operating performance of the train that is particularly based on changing social conditions and the internal organization of the company. But Guillaume Pepy, whose managerial responsibility is engaged on several industrial weaknesses including rising costs as it announced 1.5 billion savings “.

“All our neighbors have reformed. In France, no “

abuses that never fail to arouse the concern of … railway. In a petition published on the website change.org and signed by just under 2,000 people in three days, they are appealing to the government. They recall the urgency of “All our neighbors have reformed. In France, no. Our competitors already have lower labor costs by 20% to ours. With the draft collective agreement, this gap would be reduced to 9%. But experts are clear: beyond 6%, this is not viable. Today, our costs continue to rise, by almost 3% per year. Among them, over 60% are made up of payroll. ”

As many economies that the group should have realized to lighten become a huge debt. Since the late 1990s, it has grown from just under 30 billion to just over $ 50 billion (of which 42.2 billion for SNCF network). What caused the sudden departure of the head of SNCF Network Jacques Rapoport, who refused to endorse the headlong rush of the French rail. According to former financial director of the RATP, SNCF will invest one billion euros per year to modernize the rail system. Hence the need to Guillaume Pepy to see the state take charge of part of the debt of the company. That, if an agreement between the two parties was found, is not expected to improve public finances … “This short-term solution will finish to take the end of the strike. But it will not change everything. A law on rail reform and the overhaul of the social system are essential, “concluded Gilles Dansart.