- For the sixth time since December 5, the intersyndicale (CGT, FO, Solidaires, FSU, CFE-CGC and three youth organizations) called for "a day of massive inter-professional mobilization of strikes and demonstrations". In Paris, between 23,000 and 250,000 people hit the streets on Thursday.
- The mobilization is in its 43rd day, and some strikers have already lost a month and a half of wages.
- To keep up financially, employees on strike created prize pools fueled by donations from individuals. They are also very careful with their expenses, and can count on the support of a union if they are members.
"Force yourself!" ". A two-euro coin slides into the cardboard box that serves as a strike fund for RATP agents, under the smile of Linda Chekalil, bus driver, on strike since December 5. On the 43rd day of mobilization against the pension reform, the demonstrators met by 20 Minutes in the Parisian demonstration this Thursday lead the longest strike of their working life.
If they generally prefer to speak about their arguments against retirement by points, or for a better recognition of the arduousness, they answered our questions on the impact of this strike on their budget and their means to organize themselves financially, in the time.
"I will have zero at the end of the month"
Thanks to the 13th month and the Christmas holidays, the financial impact was somewhat amortized in December for certain employees, such as Jean-Michel, controller at the SNCF, or Patricia, metro driver at the RATP. But “we will have a nice surprise at the end of January,” quips Cécile, 49-year-old Enedis employee. On strike “punctually”, she will lose “at least five days” of wages, like her companion, also on strike. She had anticipated: “At Christmas, I did not give my children a gift. They understood, because they are big, and then they understand that I am on strike for them, for their future retirement. " In addition to the financial impact, she says she is "exhausted" by these strikes.
"I will have zero at the end of the month," said a RATP driver, responsible for the strike fund for line 13 of the Paris metro. Madeleine, a retired teacher, comes to slip in a five-euro note. “The strikers are fighting for everyone. I went on strike for three weeks in 2003, and I know how hard it is, "says the former teacher, while another retiree comes to give a green ticket.
Strike funds and joint sale
Over the course of the event, we come across a number of prize pools in processions in Paris. There are the traditional unions. "The confederation and the federations lend a hand to their members, but it is around a dozen euros per day of strike," explains Cyril Manach, secretary general of the SEMCML pole at Force Ouvrière Transports and Logistics. "But there is no war chest," he said of the strike fund, "so we count on the support of the family, we try to negotiate his bank overdraft ... Some people screw themselves up in shit and take credits. We buy products at the lowest prices at the supermarket, that's a shame. ”
Other organizations make “solidarity” sales, such as the Unitary Trade Union Federation (FSU). "Since December 28, we have been selling sandwiches and drinks and all the proceeds are transferred to the strike fund," says Laëtitia Faivre, teacher and departmental secretary of the FSU. This represents 2,000 euros collected on January 9, during the last mobilization.
Multiplication of prize pools outside unions
The novelty is the proliferation of strike funds outside the unions. Each metro or RER line has its own, each school or hospital ... They are then redistributed to the strikers, according to rules specific to each establishment, number of lost pay days, personal financial situation ... Even if the amounts transferred may be "Symbolic", according to a RATP agent, "it is above all the smile that goes with the ticket that warms the heart". "It boosts me, there are many more donations than I thought, and people ask us to hang on, because they know we are on strike for them", continues William, RER driver, who collects donations for his line.
The case of # strike 2.0 of RER B drivers: a QR code to be scanned with his smartphone redirects to the online kitty # greve16janvier # manif16janvier pic.twitter.com/Lz3ZouBJDL
- Laure Cometti (@la_comete) January 16, 2020"If that allows you to fill up with gas or fill a shopping cart, that's already a lot," says Linda Chekalil, RATP driver. "This is what keeps us going. Money is the sinews of war, ”breathes the bus driver,“ tired but still determined ”. These pots show solidarity between strikers and non-strikers: "Even if people are embarrassed in their movements, donations flow".
A brake for some strikers
Despite this, "colleagues had to start the job again because they could no longer assume the financial burden," says Jean-Michel, a 54-year-old railway worker who is a member of the CGT SNCF. He recorded 30 days of strike, nearly a month and a half of salary. He will dip into his savings to compensate. "I have no children, so it's less complicated than for some of my colleagues."
While a new mobilization is announced on January 24, most of the strikers interviewed intend not to return to work as long as the government maintains its reform. But some are considering other types of mobilizations, which would not involve continuing to lose pay days. Or a punch operation, like Cécile: “there should be a general strike! I'm ready to lose days of wages if we all go on strike. ”
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- Pension reform
- Strike
- Society
- Retirement
- Demonstration