France
After three months of protests and 12 days of national demonstrations, strikes and other actions, trade unions are maintaining their campaign against the pension changes that have now become law. The trade unions, including CGT, CFDT, FO, UNSA and CFE-CGC, want the annual 1 May demonstrations to show the continuing high level of opposition among workers, students and other groups against the increase of the pension age from 62 to 64 and other changes.
Trade unions in many sectors took strike action and joined protests across the country on 5 December against proposals to reform the pensions system. There is widespread concern that the reforms will lead to later retirement to get decent pensions or retirement on lower benefits. Workers in the transport and education sectors are particularly concerned but the actions, including an 800,000-strong demonstration in Paris attracted wide support. Further action took place on 6 December and is planned for the coming weeks.
All the main trade union confederations – including CGT, CFDT, FO, UNSA and CFE-CGC – with the support of student organisations, organised a second day of strike action and protests on 31 January against changes to the pension system. There was again massive support in over 250 demonstrations across the country matching the first day of protests on 19 January. The trade unions are calling on the government to withdraw the planned reforms and especially the proposal to increase the pension age from 62 to 64. They argue that the vast majority of the population is opposed and the unions are
The three main trade union confederations organised a national demonstration in Brussels on 16 May in protest at government plans to reform the pensions system. The estimated 70000-strong march was nearly three times the size of a similar demonstration in December, showing the strength of opposition to government policy which includes raising the pension age from 65 to 67. Some of the key demands include a minimum pension that delivers an adequate standard of living, gradual alignment of private and public sector pensions and proper account taken of arduous jobs and sickness and injury in
