After the political organizations of September 7, it is up to the unions to organize their social return. In the absence of a united union, the CGT, Solidaires and FSU have launched a call for a strike and demonstration this Tuesday, October 1, to demand the repeal of the pension reform and an increase in salaries. “It is the return match against the pension reform,” said the number one of the CGT, Sophie Binet, last week.
During his first television interview a week ago, the Prime Minister declared himself willing to “improve” the highly controversial reform that raises the retirement age to 64 years. The CGT, the second union in France, had called at the end of August to join the mobilization initiated by the inter-union of retirees to demand in particular “the repeal of the pension reform, the increase of salaries and pensions, equality between women and men, the financing of our public services.
Rejection of the CFDT, FO, CGE-CGC, CFTC and Unsa
The Parisian demonstration, which will leave Place Denfert-Rochereau at 2:00 p.m. in the direction of the Bastille, was initially planned to coincide with the presentation of the budget to the Assembly, which was finally postponed. It will take place just before the Prime Minister’s general policy speech, which will set the course of his policy, while many social issues (unemployment insurance, employment of the elderly, in particular) remain unresolved.
This first mobilization at the beginning of the school year could, however, turn out to be quite weak, confided a union source on condition of anonymity, referring to “the comments on the ground (which) are not good.” In fact, this time the union front is no longer united: unlike last year’s purchasing power mobilization or the united battle against pension reform, the CFDT, FO, CGE-CGC, CFTC and The Unsa refused to join the mobilization this Tuesday. On Sunday, the CGT identified 179 meeting places (for comparison, the union had more than 200 on May 1 and 250 during the last day of mobilization against the pension reform in June).
Minor transportation disruptions
While the CGT and Sud-Rail (Solidaires) call the railway workers to strike, the SNCF announced on Sunday “normal” traffic for the TGV and slight disturbances for some regional trains and Intercités. The strike will begin on Monday at 7 p.m. and will end on Wednesday, October 2, at 8 a.m. The line-by-line forecasts will be communicated this Monday at the end of the day.
In a press release published last Tuesday, the two unions listed their demands: “the end of the rupture of the social contract and the process of subsidizing the railway workers of the FRET and the authorized transports (TER, Transilien and Intercités) subject to competition, a general increase in salaries, the granting of a real thirteenth month for all, the revaluation/redesign of labor bonuses and the recognition of qualifications for all railway workers, the fulfillment of the commitments made regarding employment by 2024 , in order to improve production, meet the needs of the public service, improve the working conditions and daily life of railway workers” or even “the end of savings plans and austerity policy.”
Teacher Absences Expected
Schools are also affected by this call for a strike “for our salaries, our pensions, to finally get jobs and the end of the clash of knowledge,” according to a statement from the CGT Education, while the main union, the FSU, calls also to mobilization and asks for additional resources.
If your child is in elementary school, parents will be notified on Friday in the event of a teacher absence, but teachers are not required to strike in advance in middle and high school. However, schools should be able to inform students and their parents about the scope of this strike, although the call also affects non-teaching staff.
“Energy strike”
Already mobilized during the social episode of the pension reform, the FNME-CGT also called for “an energy strike.” Calls on workers in the electricity and gas sectors to carry out a 24-hour strike starting this Monday at 9 p.m.
Source: BFM TV
