France, Belgium
Unions plan joint actions on 8 and 19 March
Eight trade union organisations (CFDT, CFE-CGC, CGT, CFTC, FO, FSU, Solidaires and UNSA) are coordinating their call for gender equality on 8 March – International Women’s Day – with actions planned across the country. The unions note the persistent gender pay gap in both public and private sectors and the concentration of women in low-paying sectors. They are calling for the revaluation of jobs in sectors dominated by women, transparency over pay and sanctions against employers that discriminate, massive investment in public services and action to tackle violence and harassment. An eight
Joint mobilisation by public service unions on 19 March
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
Public service unions unite in demands over pay
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
Health unions take action over pay, conditions and funding
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
Childcare workers protest in the streets of Paris
October 19 saw hundreds of childcare workers march through the streets of Paris. The National Day of Action was called by several trade unions and other associations under the coalition 'pas de bébé à la consigne' (no toddler in a locker).
Unions step up campaign on rights to strike and protest
The three main trade union confederations – ACV/CSC, ABVV/FGTB and ACLVB/CGSLB – are taking further steps to defend trade union rights and particularly the rights to strike and protest. They will be joining other civil society and campaigning organisations on 5 October in a national demonstration against the Van Quickenborne law which will make it increasingly difficult to organise protests. The unions have already challenged attacks on trade union rights and particularly legal action taken against trade union strikers and protestors in the recent long-running Delhaize dispute in the retail
Joint union protest over pay, pensions and austerity
Eight trade union organisations, including the five main confederations – CGT, CFDT, FO, UNSA and CFE-CGC – have come together to organise a national demonstration on 13 October over the cost-of-living and the threat of austerity. The key demands will be around increases to the national minimum wage and pay rises in collective agreements and the unions will continue their protests against the pension reforms which came into effect on 1 September. The unions are also looking at measures to reduce the gender pay gap and increased funding for public services.
EPSU stands with French unions against the government’s repression
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.
European Federations back union in defence of activists
The European trade union federations, EPSU and industriAll Europe, have written to the French government to strongly condemn the prosecutions of leaders and activists in the FNME-CGT energy trade union. The federations argue that the legal actions are politically motivated, with a view to suppress trade union opposition to government policy. On 6 September, Sébastien Menesplier, the General Secretary of FNME-CGT will be summoned to the gendarmerie in Montmorency in connection with energy workers’ protests against the recent pension reforms. As EPSU and industriAll Europe argue, these were
Workers get pay boost at care multinational
Independent unions at the scandal-hit care multinational Orpea, have managed to make positive gains in annual negotiations. The CGT reports that the situation has now changed significantly since the position of the in-house union was challenged with the CGT, CFDT and FO winning their case against the company for rigging workplace elections. The CGT says that pay increases this year for non-management staff range from 3% to 7% depending on length of service while management staff get 1%-4% again depending on length of service and whether they benefited from salary adjustments in 2022 or 2023
Protests continue against pension reforms
On 6 June trade union organisations, including CGT, CFDT, FO, UNSA and CFE-CGC, along with student groups, again mobilised significant numbers in protests and strikes around the country to try to block the government’s pension reforms. An estimated 900000 people took part in demonstrations in what was the 14th national day of action and marking six months of protests. The focus of the action on 6 June was to put pressure on MPs to vote for a resolution in the national assembly that would revoke the proposal to increase the pension age from 62 to 64. The joint trade union committee is due to