Refineries, transport, police… Renewed strike call against pension reform – Liberation

If it’s hard to anticipate the extent of the mobilizations on the first day, January 19, the union front against the bill proposed by Elisabeth Borne on Tuesday was broad. Even more than in 2019.

Will the conflict that started against the 2022 version of pension reform be stronger than in 2019? The inter-union confederation set the tone at the end of the project presentation on Tuesday by Elisabeth Borne: for the first time since 2010, eight representatives of trade union organizations at the national level called for strikes starting January 19. Logically, this social alliance comes down to federations and corporations. Sectors announced one by one to join the movement, most adding wage and sectoral demands to those demanding withdrawal “pension counter-reform”. In a context where a large part of French society has declared itself against a postponement of the retirement age to 64 years. Released considering sector-by-sector strike calls. This article will be updated as mobilization announcements are made.

The refiner threatens to close the floodgates

He had disrupted the fall with his scintillating attack on the refinery. CGT Pétrole promised to get back on the move, with a precise schedule: two days of strikes for national demonstrations on 19 and 26 January, then from 6 February a “renewable strike with, if necessary, discontinuation of the distillery installation”, according to a press release from CGT. The call will result “flow drop” and “stop sending”, says Eric Sellini, national union coordinator for TotalEnergies. For 26 January, the CGT called for a 48-hour strike, then 72 hours on 6 February. The level of mobilization will make it possible to know whether the scourge of fuel shortages has returned to service stations in France.

At SNCF, the rails are stuck

After a resounding strike of signalmen and overseers on Christmas, outside the framework of any trade union, it was the railroad workers’ turn to start fighting again. This time it was the trade unions (CGT Cheminots, Unsa Ferroviaire, CFDT Cheminots and SUD Rail), who called for a stoppage of work on 19 January, specifically for negotiations related to “difficulty and contemplating the end of a career”. “This reform will hit all the railroad workers hard, regretted in an inter-union press release. Those who started work earlier, those in more demanding jobs, whose longer careers put them at greater risk of disability, and whose life expectancy is lower than the rest of the population, will be especially affected. It will also exacerbate gender inequality. And the railroad workers pointed out that January 19th is just “first day” mobilization. Not the last.

In RATP, everything will stay in the dock?

Now headed by Jean Castex, the Paris transport authority has fallen into a deep social and organizational crisis. And the pension reform proposed by this government, which also attacks the special RATP regime, will add another piece in the machine. After the call for confederation unity, the inter-unions are also very broad: CGT-RATP, FO Groupe RATP, Unsa Groupe RATP and CFE-CGC Groupe RATP. “Requirements for opening pension rights [à la RATP] a far cry from the fantasies described by members of the government on television and from editorialist discourse transformed into economically and socially damaging neoliberal policies. punish inter-union in its press release. In view of this call and the SNCF, the transport network in Ile-de-France will be greatly affected, given the social conflicts of 2019.

Several professions in the field of mobile aviation

As well as rail, air could be affected by Thursday’s strike. If the powerful SNCTA has not been called upon to join the movement, other organizations are part of a broad interprofessional union. Starting with SNPNC-FO, leading flight attendants and flight attendants’ unions, particularly at Air France, are particularly concerned about their predicament. by his side, “USACcgt called DGAC personnel to strike from day one the action was announced. On January 19 by all central trade unions. So everyone is concerned, everyone is mobilized ”. Unlike rail, it is too early to assess the impact this might have on air traffic.

In energy, the union promises to hit hard

Emboldened by their victorious social collapse, energy agents will again attack pension reform. They are also very concerned: a special regime for the electricity and gas industry is of concern to the government. But FNME-CGT and CFE Energie, two of the leading unions in the sector, like their Force Ouvrière counterparts have warned that they don’t want to hear about the end of their particular regime or a postponement of the retirement age in general. scheme. And the grandfather clause, which would have involved a general scheme for newcomers only, was flatly rejected by the unions at the branch. They had already given an appointment on January 19 but FNME-CGT had appointments in parallel “targeted action” to government members and elected officials.

The State Civil Apparatus does not want to hear about the postponement of the retirement age

This is as rare as the confederation. On Wednesday, a union that brings together all public service union representatives (CGT, FO, CFDT, Unsa, FSU, Solidaires, CFE-CGC and FA-FP) called for a strike on 19 January. He denounced the reforms “unfair and unnecessary” : “The implied improvements in the rights of male and female agents through the introduction of gradual retirement in certain cases, the preservation of the rights associated with active service and their subsequent portability, are in no way able to compensate for the reduction in the retirement age. retirement rights or extension of the contribution period. More action days should follow.

The police met the government on the street

This is probably one of the strikes that worries the government the most. “The union bloc joined the movement and called to join the procession under the banner of the CFE-CGC National Police Alliance and the Unsa Police Fasmi on 19 January”, commit in a press release the two major unions of the profession. FSMI-FO also called for a strike. For months they’ve been warning executives that if “counts for the last six months are obtained, no doubt the police worked two years longer”. In 2019, police also went on strike, before backing out after their special regime was maintained a week after it started moving.

The Quai d’Orsay rumbled again

Already blistered in 2022 by several reforms affecting their corporations, the inter-unions (CFTC, CGT, FSU, Solidaires, Asam – affiliated with Unsa – and APMAE) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs joined the strike on 19 January. “Notice was given on Wednesday evening. This is the first time that the very large labor union of the Quai has joined with a national slogan ”, he said, before specifying that “CFDT did not appear on the notice filed Wednesday night but should join the movement immediately or at least call a strike as well”. Foreign Ministry officials are very concerned that the government will abolish the system “three or six months bonus per year” enjoyed by officials who have served outside Europe.

Teachers want to repeat the 2019 mobilization

Even if no inter-union press release is issued, National Education should be specially mobilized by 19 January. Social anger is already very sensitive in this sector. Borne reforms were also superimposed on grievances. Snes-FSU, the first in the sector, which also organized mobilization on January 17, punished “brutal and unjust act”, but not only : “Deteriorating working conditions, overstaffing, vigorous reforms are increasing the difficulty of work, especially late in the career. Education staff, whose wages are kept at grossly inadequate levels, have had to work longer hours and have their already too low pensions cut once again, in the context of inflation. All other representative unions (Unsa, Fnec FP-FO, Sgen – CFDT, CGT Educ’action and Snalc) also called for marches on 19 January.

Unions of higher education and research joined the movement

In the university world, inter-union is also wide. Very broad: no less than 23 trade union organizations called for a strike on 19 January, from Unef to Unsa via Fage. Here too, general and sectoral criticisms intertwine: “These reforms will hit all ESR staff directly, and more specifically the most critical ones who are already in dire straits (low pay, incomplete careers, generalized vacations most often not paid a month, etc.”) And the syndicate for wanting to register the movement “in time”. In addition, the Alternative student union joined with high school student unions and political party youth organizations to call for participation in the January 21 march organized with France insoumise, Génération.s and NPA.

Update at 13:10: strike call updates in the aviation sector

Update at 19:26: added a call for youth organizations to line up on January 21.