Strike in France: the question of wages and requisitions at the heart of the mobilization
Demonstrators march during a rally as part of a national day of workers' strike to press for wage increases and an end to the planned pension reform, in Paris, on September 29, 2022. AFP - STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN
Text by: RFI Follow
4 mins
Forty-eight hours after the "March against the high cost of living" of the left parties, the CGT and FO unions in particular, call on employees from all sectors to strike and demonstrate this Tuesday for wages and against requisitions.
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The announcement of this day of interprofessional mobilization was made Thursday by the CGT, FO, Solidaires, the FSU and the youth organizations Fidl, MNL, Unef and High School Life.
The question of wages will be at the heart of the mobilization.
Because inflation weighs seriously on the wallets of the French.
In September, it reached 6.5% over one year.
The rise in food products reached almost 10%.
An untenable situation for the French, especially since wages are not increasing.
“
What we are asking for is 500 euros more per month, compared to inflation which has been galloping for some time
”, explains RFI Anthony Auguste, railway worker in Paris and Sud-Rail delegate.
"
At the SNCF, the last significant increase took place in 2014, while the cost of living did not stop
," he insists.
Faced with this dissatisfaction, several companies have announced exceptional bonuses in recent weeks.
But these increases are considered insufficient.
The CGT is demanding a 10% increase to support the purchasing power of employees.
This day of strike takes place in the extension of the actions of the employees of the oil industry, and in reaction to the government's decision to resort to the weapon of requisitions to facilitate the distribution of fuel, an approach which, according to the secretary general of the CGT Philippe Martinez, "
set fire to the powder
".
The government has no intention of abandoning it.
Affirming that "
the time for negotiation had passed
", the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire called on BFM TV to "
liberate fuel depots and refineries
".
According to the Ministry of Energy Transition, the Feyzin (Rhône) depot was to be requisitioned this Monday from 2 p.m., in addition to that of Mardyck (Flanders).
►
To listen also: Strike in the refineries: "Each trade union organization must win battles to weigh in the landscape"
Force Ouvrière, which had not participated in the previous day of interprofessional mobilization at the call of the CGT, on September 29, this time took the plunge.
“
The requisition is unacceptable and it is never the right solution
”, explained its secretary general Frédéric Souillot on Public Senate.
Other areas of discontent: the upcoming tightening of unemployment benefit rules and the pension reform expected by the end of the year.
"
Hit hard
"
"
It's really the moment we've been waiting for.
We don't know what we're getting into, but what we're sure of is that to establish a sufficient balance of power, you have to hit hard
, "says Anthony Auguste, from Sud-Rail, banking on a movement that will last.
Union officials and the government will be particularly attentive to the number of strikers, particularly in strategic sectors – transport, energy, etc. – and to any calls for a renewable strike that they could decide on, for example in the railway sector.
This day will also be an opportunity to highlight less visible sectors, such as the food industry or the "
forgotten Ségur
" of the medico-social sector, according to Philippe Martinez.
If the day of September 29 had seen around "
a million employees
" stop work, the confederal secretary of the CGT Céline Verzeletti hopes this time "
two or three times more
".
“
It will go up crescendo
”, she wants to believe.
In the civil service, the strike notice covers the period from October 18 to 31, which she says is unusual.
The
"March against the high cost" led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon on Sunday in Paris
bodes well for the future, she thinks.
The demonstration brought together 140,000 participants according to the organizers, 30,000 according to a police source and 29,500 according to a count by the cabinet Occurrence for a media collective.
The former presidential candidate hailed a "
tremendous success
" and the emergence of a "
new Popular Front
".
After having considered it, the CGT had decided not to participate in this March, saying it preferred demands on “
salaries
” rather than on “ cost of
living
”.
We hope that "
we rather favor social mobilizations and the broadest unity of trade union organizations
", said Philippe Martinez on Monday, ardently defending "
the independence of trade union organizations vis-à-vis politicians
".
This day of mobilization should lead to a disruption of regional trains, with one TER and one Intercity train out of two on average, as well as on the Ile-de-France networks.
However, this strike will only marginally affect TGV traffic and hardly any Paris metro.
(
And with
AFP)
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