Under fire from critics as a third of service stations are affected by fuel shortages, the government has decided to take back control. Before the National Assembly on Tuesday, Elisabeth Borne announced the requisition of personnel for the release of the fuel depots of the Esso-Exxonmobil group. On the other hand, the employees of the TotalEnergies refineries, also on strike, are for the moment unscathed.
The Prime Minister justified this difference in treatment by the fact that a majority agreement had been found, signed by the CFE-CGC and the CFDT, on salaries at Esso-ExxonMobil. “Some of the organizations, despite this agreement, want to continue with the movement and continue with the blockade, we cannot accept it,” said the head of government.
“Social dialogue is moving forward, once the majority has emerged. They are not minimum agreements. Management announcements are significant. For this reason, I asked the prefects to undertake, as permitted by law, the procedure for requisitioning the personnel essential for the operation of the warehouses of this company,” he added.
Wait for the negotiation in TotalEnergies
On the contrary, in TotalEnergies, no discussion has yet started to end the conflict. For this reason, the government wants to give negotiations a chance: “The reformist unions have requested the opening of negotiations. The management has responded favorably. I hope that the other representative unions take advantage of this outstretched hand,” explained Elisabeth Borne. “Otherwise, the government will act again to unblock the situation,” she warned, however.
Earlier in the day, Olivier Véran, the government spokesman, had already emphasized differentiating the situation at ExxonMobil, where, he said, “there is no longer a reason” for the blockade after the agreement between the management and the unions on Monday. , and in TotalEnergies, where negotiations have not yet started.
“We are still awaiting details in terms of negotiations from management,” said Eric Sellini, CGT coordinator for TotalEnergies. His union is demanding a 10% salary increase by 2022, with the energy giant having obtained $10.6 billion in profits in the first half of 2022, compared to the 3.5% negotiated at the beginning of the year.
Source: BFM TV
