After the persecution of several FNME-CGT trade union leaders, including the General Secretary Sebastien Menesplier, CGT and other French unions gathered in front of Montmorency gendarmerie, where Menesplier was summoned, on 6 September.
After six weeks of strike action the CGT trade union has secured a monthly increase of €200 for workers in the GRDF gas distribution company. The first increases will be implemented in January with increases ranging from a minimum of €50 up to and €87. The CGT is concerned about any attempt to intimidate strikers and has warned GRDF's management against any action that could be taken against striking employees, whether in terms of disciplinary
In the main (IEG) electricity and gas sector negotiations the CGT, CFDT and FO unions have agreed a 2.3% increase on the basic national salary for 2023 with a minimum guaranteed increase of €1040 for the year (€80 on the monthly salary over 13 months), along with individualised increases worth 1%. The CFE-CGC union refused to sign arguing that the increase was inadequate. The negotiations followed mobilisations by the unions earlier in the autumn demanding pay negotiations to address the cost of living crisis and the increases come in addition to the extra bonuses paid this year in response to
Trade unions in several sectors have planned action this autumn over jobs, pay and pensions. The CGT has called for protests and strikes across France on 29 September in response to the cost-of-living crisis with calls to increase pay, a minimum wage of €2000 a month and moves towards a 32-hour working week. Meanwhile, energy unions, including FNME-CGT, FO-FNEM and CFE Énergies have rejected the latest pay offer from the electricity employers and are planning action on 6 October. In the care sector, FO mobilised workers in residential elderly care on 27 September to demand recognition of
The energy federations of the CGT, CFDT, FO and CFE-CGC report widespread and strong support for their strike action on 2 June. The unions want energy sector employers to agree to immediate negotiations over pay. The unions regard the 0.3% pay increase implemented in January of this year as completely unacceptable and that an immediate increase of 4.5% is needed to help compensate for increased prices but negotiations are also needed to address several years of below-inflation pay rises. The unions issued a joint statement indicating the strength of feeling among workers and the unions’ clear
Trade unions in the energy sector are planning strike action on Thursday 2 June over the erosion of purchasing power of their members. In a joint statement, they criticise the employers in the sector for failing to agree a timetable to negotiate and for applying an increase of only 0.3% on the basic national salary in January this year when inflation was already at 4.5%. The unions also highlight the fact that energy sector pay has not kept pace with inflation over many years and they are demanding an immediate increase of 4.5%.
On 18 January unions (UNSA, FO and CFDT) representing technical and administrative staff in health and social care organised national strike action over pay, with union leaders meeting representatives of the health ministry on the following day. The unions are angry that commitments to review pay were not met by the end of 2021 and that a meeting of unions and employers planned for January was further postponed. The unions are concerned that a range of professions working in health, eldercare and disabled care in the public and private sectors have yet to benefit from the major “Ségur”
On 13 July all nine trade union federations in the public service signed a new agreement on telework covering the whole of the public sector. The framework agreement requires employers across the three pillars of the public sector – local authorities, ministries and hospital services – to begin negotiations to implement the agreement at local level by 31 December this year. The agreement covers all the key issues relating to the voluntary nature and reversibility of telework, health and safety, gender equality, data security and privacy and working time and the right to disconnect. The
Trade unions representing workers in the public finance directorate (DGFiP) will be taking strike action on 10 May in protest at the continuing restructuring of the organisation and to defend workers’ rights and working conditions. The unions say that 30000 jobs have been cut since 2008 and a long-running process of restructuring has been carried out with digitalisation a key driver. They want a hold on restructuring and relocation and are concerned that the digital transformation and other changes are having a negative impact not just on the workforce but also on the quality of service. The
In February this year, the Supreme Court in the UK ruled that Uber, the driving, and delivery platform, should treat its drivers as workers and not as self-employed. This follows a trend across Europe where courts in several countries have forced digital platforms to revise the employment relationship with the workers providing their services. Platform work is changing the economic and social landscape, revolutionising the way services are delivered while raising major questions about social and labour rights.
