Benjamin Peter, edited by Yanis Darras 11:09 a.m., January 18, 2023

The private sector will also be mobilized against the pension reform on Thursday.

In Toulouse, one in eight Airbus employees should march through the streets at the call of the unions, to show their opposition to the executive's project.

A first for "at least ten years", underline the delegates of the aeronautics giant. 

Extremely disrupted train and metro lines, absent teachers... The strike movement launched by the unions this Thursday, January 19, to oppose the pension reform, will be particularly followed in the public sector.

But its cousin, the private sector, will not be outdone either.

In Toulouse, for example, one in eight employees of the aircraft manufacturer Airbus should parade in the streets, or nearly 2,500 people, according to the unions.

"To see such a massive participation, you have to go back at least more than ten years ago," explains Guillaume Bonnet, of the CFE-CGC Airbus, at the microphone of Europe 1. 

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Employees who don't understand 

For the union representative, there is no doubt: there will be Airbus people in the streets.

"We really have this feeling that everyone feels touched" by the mobilization, he insists.

So, to transport employees, the intersyndicale sees big and charters 42 buses from the various sites of the aircraft manufacturer.

"We will be around 2,500. And it did not take (say) much to convince. Many employees, from the companion to the manager, have been asking us for several days to find out what the methods of action will be", develops Bertrand Mendez from FO.

Because "today an employee who is 60 or 61, who started early and in particular in difficult jobs and we have some within Airbus, he will have difficulty accepting to work a year or even two years of more", and it is understanding, assures Jacques Garrigues of the CFTC. 

Maintain mobilization

For the latter, the strong mobilization of employees of the aeronautics giant reflects the fact that employees know what they will lose with the reform wanted by the government. 

The buses will also make it possible to bring the employees back to the site to lose as few strike hours as possible.

Because the unions are aware of this, to win, it will be necessary to maintain this mobilization over time.