Europe 1 with AFP 2:42 p.m., September 12, 2022

To defend the purchasing power of employees and "fill inflation", the CGT of the energy sector called for a national strike on Tuesday.

The union is calling for "measures commensurate with sliding inflation, which help all workers and not just some of them", according to the federal secretary of the FNME-CGT.

The CGT of the energy sector called for a national strike on Tuesday to defend the purchasing power of employees and "fill inflation", while a meeting on this subject is scheduled for that day between representatives employers and employee representatives.

The union is calling for “measures commensurate with sliding inflation, which help all workers and not just some of them”, Fabrice Coudour, federal secretary of the FNME, told AFP. CGT.

Resumption of the showdown between employers and employees

This day of action is the resumption of a long-term showdown between employers and employees in the sector, whose representative unions have been calling for months for a "catch-up" of the gap between the national base salary and the 'inflation.

All of these unions had rejected in July a proposal to increase the national basic salary by 1%.

“Employers need to make an effort to offset inflation immediately with permanent and identical monthly elements for all employees,” said Fabrice Coudour.

>> READ ALSO

- Energy: why does Brussels propose to cap the price of electricity and Russian gas?

It did not necessarily provide for "hard action" but general assemblies of strikers and work stoppages.

On the gas side, the tone could however be a little more muscular, given the "good progress" obtained by the employees of Storengy, a subsidiary of Engie, after a month of strike and blockages of storage sites this summer, according to Fabrice Coudour.

Several "punch actions" planned

A situation of which the directors of the gas companies are aware, in a context of persistent fears about the country's energy supply before winter, according to Frédéric Ben, head of the gas sector at the FNME-CGT.

They "began to make proposals last week, in order to meet the expectations of employees as to the taking into account of inflation", which would result in increases in the national basic salary, "combined with a Macron bonus, between 500 and 600 euros depending on the company," Frédéric Ben told AFP.

If he plans "punch actions" here and there, especially at GRT-Gaz, Frédéric Ben rules out a priori the risk of cuts: "we don't want to alienate users, we want to keep public opinion with us,” he concluded.