Strike, Central government, France

Eight public service trade unions – CFDT, CFE-CGC, CGT, FA, FO, FSU, Solidaires and UNSA – met on 24 January and issued a joint communique condemning the absence of any measures to increase public service pay, particularly in context of sustained inflation. The unions are calling for immediate negotiations to address issues around careers and salaries and have rejected President Emmanual Macron’s talk of better recognizing "merit" as a tactic to avoid the urgent need to improve pay and conditions. The unions have set 19 March as a national day of action, including strikes and other protests

Eight public service federations – CFDT, CFE-CGC, CGT, FA, FO, FSU, Solidaires and UNSA – have issued a joint statement on the need for urgent action to improve pay for civil servants and public sector employees. The unions argue that the five index-point increase for public sector workers implemented this year was already foreseen in 2023 and that no further increase is planned for 2024. The government has given no indication that any negotiations will take place to cover 2024 and in the light of this the unions were due to meet this month to consider what action to take, with the prospect of

The health unions CGT Santé et Action Sociale, FO Santé and UNSA Santé et Sociaux organised protests and strike action on 16 November in support of a range of demands for better pay and conditions, action on staffing and other issues. The unions are demanding measures to improve training and recruitment; a general pay rise; gender equality; increased funding for facilities and staff and a halt to all closures of establishments, services and beds. Better early retirement pension provision for arduous work and withdrawal of the new law on pensions were also part of the demands. EPSU sent a

The trade union movement, including the CGT, CFDT, FO, UNSA and CGC-CFE, are maintaining their unified opposition to the government’s pensions reforms. They are now building for protest and strike action on 6 June ahead of 8 June when a draft bill to abolish the reforms will be voted on in the National Assembly. The unions reaffirmed their determination to get the reforms withdrawn following bilateral meetings with the government. They have also set up a website to make it easier for people to write to their MPs to get them to support the vote on the 8th.

The trade union and student-led campaign against the government’s pension reforms and increase in pension age from 62 to 64 is building up for the next protest on 6 June. The main unions, including the CGT, CFDT, FO, UNSA and CFE-CGC, coordinated demonstrations across the country on 1 May – the 13th national day of action – with an estimated 2.3 million taking part. The 6 June action is timed just before a vote in the national assembly on 8 June on a proposed law that would repeal the pensions legislation. This will effectively be the first time that MPs will be able to vote on the issue as

All the main trade union confederations – including CGT, CFDT, FO, UNSA and CFE-CGC – are maintaining their campaigns of strikes and protests against the government’s pension reforms and its key proposal to increase the pension age from 62 to 64. The fifth day of action was due to take place on 16 February with a sixth planned for 7 March and the threat of all-out strike action. The joint trade union and student movement campaign sent a message to all MPs arguing that they should reject the plans, challenging all the government’s main arguments about the need for reform and in particular the

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

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

As of 1 July, the index point used to calculate public sector salaries was increased by 3.5%. This is the first increase in the index since 2010 and while welcomed by trade unions, they underline the fact that the increase neither compensates for current inflation nor begins to compensate for long periods when the index has been frozen. The CGT has called for an increase of 10% while FO points out that there is a long-term fall in purchasing power of 25% that needs to be addressed. Both the CFDT and UNSA see the increase as inadequate but a first step.