Will the union be the strength? In the absence of sharing the same solutions for the future of pensions, the main union organizations march together this Thursday to express their opposition to the reform desired by the government. And this unit is the first in twelve years. But, what do the unions weigh today? Are they as powerful as in 1995 when the rise to power of their mobilization made Alain Juppé break?
On paper, they have to do with slightly fewer troops. The CFDT, for example, then had almost 870,000 members. Today there are 270,000 fewer. And, according to Dares, the unionization rate of employees, measured by survey, only reached 10.3% in 2019 compared to 10.8% during the mobilization against the Juppé reform.
FO ends the myth of half a million members
If we add the declarations of the ten main unions, the total number of affiliates exceeds 2.4 million, some of whom are retired but are still campaigning and paying membership fees. The CGT thus continues to claim close to 640,000 members, ahead of the CFDT (just over 600,000) and Force Ouvrière, which last June put an end to the myth of half a million members that it used.
In his last speech, the general secretary of FO, Yves Verier, quoted by Les Echos, estimated last summer the number of employees with up-to-date contribution cards at “about 350,000”. All the other unions are way behind. Unsa, the main reformist union with the CFDT, maintains its low water level at 200,000 members.
Asked this Thursday, Benoit Teste places the FSU slightly ahead of the CFE-CGC: 150,000 compared to 148,000 for the employers’ union. The CFTC can count on 140,000 members, ahead of Solidaires (110,000) and Sud (100,000).
Source: BFM TV
