France, Alternative Libertaire AL #250 - SNCF: A chibanis
against discrimination (fr, it, pt) [machine translation]
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
Former Moroccan workers discriminated by SNCF for years have complained against the
direction of the company, which, unable to deny the facts, is all about the prescription
of the alleged crime. Evidence of cynicism that deserves mobilization for equal rights
between French and foreign employees. ---- From Monday 23 March to Friday, 27 March were
held hearings tiebreaker before the council of Paris industrial tribunal involving over
800 chibanis of Moroccan origin and widows of the workers against the SNCF management.
---- Discrimination in the long term ---- These immigrant workers recruited massively in
the 1970s in Morocco in postcolonial conditions have suffered discrimination for many
years, because of the nationality clause in effect at the SNCF[1].
Such discrimination interests include additional working years in particularly arduous
jobs in terms of working conditions, but not only access to the "status SNCF" did not
allow them to access either medical offices of the company for example, or have an
equivalent career development as their pay structure did not allow a similar career to
other railway workers and railway workers.
Throughout this week hearing, counsel for the SNCF has little deny the facts: it is merely
recalled that the discrimination issue was dated from the contract signing date and the
facts were therefore prescribed...
Few union support
But for the SNCF, which still prohibits access status to employees not having a
nationality of the European Union, difficult to deny that discrimination has continued for
these employees throughout their careers: little or no vocational training to enable them
access to lighter and better jobs, no evolution of the pay system to enable an equivalent
career development at "status".
Although chibanis have chosen to organize independently creating their own association, we
may regret the obvious lack of trade union support except that of the SUD-Rail federation.
However some organizations saw this as a bargain in order to provide media coverage at a
lower cost (Right to difference, House of friends, etc.). The judgment will be delivered
on 21 September, but already we can already expect that the SNCF makes calling a possible
conviction, even making last a procedure initiated for over ten years. An attitude all the
more cynical as dozens of chibanis have already died since the first lawsuits.
Mathieu (AL Saint-Denis)
[1] The RATP has removed a clause similar to its status since 2002.
http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?SNCF-Des-chibanis-contre-la
