Moroccan staff win discrimination case against SNCF

French rail operator SNCF has been ordered to pay €150m in damages for discriminating against more than 800 Moroccan staff. The 832 Moroccans, who were hired as private contractors in the 1970s, were denied “railway worker” status and the accordant benefits, a court found. Nearly all of them were awarded damages by the court, with […]

French rail operator SNCF has been ordered to pay €150m in damages for discriminating against more than 800 Moroccan staff.
The 832 Moroccans, who were hired as private contractors in the 1970s, were denied “railway worker” status and the accordant benefits, a court found.
Nearly all of them were awarded damages by the court, with the settlements ranging between €150,000 and €230,000.
Many of them waited more than a decade for the outcome of the case.
The industrial court, which specialises in workplace conflicts, said that SNCF was guilty of “discrimination in the execution of work contracts” and “in the rights to retirement”.
The plaintiffs argued that their careers had been stunted and they had received lower pensions than their French counterparts.
Even those who later received French nationality and were awarded permanent contracts complained their careers had been deliberately curtailed.
There were shouts of joy in the courtroom when the verdict was read out. Ahmed Katim, who was hired as a contractor in 1972, burst into tears, describing the ruling as “restoring dignity to Moroccans”.
Abdelhadi Fedfane, 66, who was hired as a contractor in 1974, retired in 2010 “broken from head to toe” after decades working outside, on the tracks, repairing wagons.
“We trained the youngsters, but we remained mere assistants. It broke our morale,” he said.
Lawyers for SNCF made no immediate comment on the result. Each plaintiff will be individually informed of their result and the rail company will have a month to appeal.