It was half a century ago. In 1973, during its annual congress, the CFDT decided to create the first confederal strike fund, financed with part of the contributions paid by its members. Your model? The Confederation of Christian Unions, which has a century-old war chest to financially support its members when they go on strike. A specificity that even today ensures a certain success, since it presents itself as the main Belgian union.
A pioneer in France, the CFDT remains today the only trade union organization in the country that has faithfully followed this model. Because if spontaneous, local or national strike funds have existed for a long time, as well as those established preventively by the union of this or that professional branch, the principle of a more extensive and financially well-provided solidarity cannot be improvised.
“One day a union called me to ask me how we set up a strike fund. I replied that it took time, a lot of time,” says Jean-Michel Rousseau, head of the National Union Action Fund (CNAS) in charge in particular. of the payment of what the CFDT calls the “strike benefit”.
“We do not support the strikes of others”
Half a century after its creation, the first union of private sector employees thus has 141 million euros that can only be used to financially help its members who have followed a call for a home strike. “We do not support the strikes of others”, insists Jean-Michel Rousseau, who assures that the beginning of this financial aid to striking members almost ruined the CFDT twice.
Like the pension reserve fund, this confederate strike fund does not sleep in a checking account. It is placed in the markets. “This is an eco-responsible investment, controlled by audit,” specifies the head of the CNAS. But why is this war chest so important? Because the CFDT has set the bar high enough to compensate for the loss of wages generated by several days of strike.
7.70 euros per hour
Any member who has started contributing more than 6 months ago is entitled to compensation, the amount of which now amounts to 7.70 euros per hour (amount reassessed once a year depending on the evolution of wages), provided that they have been more than 7 hours on strike. New members must settle for half of this sum and, to prevent opportunistic behavior, a member registered at the start of a conflict is not entitled to anything.
If fully used, the €141 million strike fund would provide financial support to some 600,000 union members for the equivalent of a 35-hour work week.
Source: BFM TV
