In order to fight for wage increases, the employees of the Paris Mass Transport Company (RATP) held a large-scale strike on Friday 18, when the operation of the Paris metro will be seriously affected: 8 subway lines are closed, and 6 subway lines only run during rush hour.
Public transport in Paris was completely suspended on the 18th
The employees of the Paris Mass Transport Company (RATP) held a large-scale strike on Friday 18, and the Paris Metro lines 2, 3bis, 5, 7bis, 8, 10, 11 and 12 were closed all day on the 18th, and the fully automatic lines 1 and 14 were not affected by the strike, but there was a high possibility of congestion.
Express: RER Lines A and B have reduced their running time to 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., reducing capacity to one-half during the morning and evening rush hours and one-third for the rest of the time. Line B must transit at Gare du Nord station.
Tram capacity is about one-third, and the situation varies from line to line; bus capacity is about two-thirds, and some lines are closed, which can be found on the website of The Paris Volkswagen Transport Company.
On the 14th, the leadership of the Paris Volkswagen Transport Company explicitly rejected the demand for a salary increase insisted by the union. The union then called for a strike to protest the company's proposed "0.4 percent" salary increase. However, Volkswagen Paris denied the figure, clarifying that promotion wages rose by 2.7%, senior wages by 1.8%, some grades by 0.5%, and a 0.4% salary increase for all employees, in addition to other dividends.
The picture shows the French people marching and striking. (Image source: AFP data map)
Wage increases in all walks of life are high
In fact, due to the recent severe inflation in France, many industries have demanded wage increases.
Transportation
The French transport industry is currently experiencing serious recruitment difficulties, and the main reasons for the difficulty of truck drivers are unattractive occupations and low wages. It is reported that most of the minimum wage people in the industry are underpaid by the statutory minimum wage SMIC (1603.12 euros gross wage per month). Unions demanded a substantial increase in wages of at least 10 percent.
The Loomis union, a cash truck company, has demanded a monthly wage increase of 95 euros (before tax), but the company has only proposed a monthly increase of 25 euros. In terms of passenger transport, there are 16,000 jobs in France, and the Workers' Force Federation (FO) has previously called for a large-scale strike for bus drivers.
energy
Fabrice Coudour, secretary of EDF's CGT union, noted that wage increases at EDF companies over the past decade have far outpaced price increases. At the same time, the French government has urged EDF companies to sell electricity at low prices to other electricity suppliers to fulfill the previous commitment to "limit the increase in electricity bills to 4% in 2022". In Kudur's view, this is another reason why it is impossible not to strike.
Chemical industry
Employees of Air Liquide have gone on strike since December. Bruno Bouchard, FCE-CFDT's trade unionized industry representative, explained to AFP that this was mainly due to "the wage increases proposed by the company's leadership are completely inconsistent with employee demands, especially compared to inflation." Not to mention that the company is doing very well and the employees have made great efforts during the epidemic."
Mr. Bouchard noted that the Arkema group's staff strike was a success: "The leadership agreed to get back to the negotiating table, and the final wage increase was enough to get employees back to work." ”
Military industry
At Dassault Group, the CGT union and the CFDT union have organized strikes since last November, with a participation rate of 6 percent, the highest since 2000. Dassault Systèmes halted work at several sites, some products were backsized, and not a single aircraft has been produced since December.
The unions demanded a wage increase of at least 4.8 percent, while the company only agreed to a 3.5 to 3.7 percent increase. In addition to Dassault, Safran, which has always been calm, has also struck out to demand a salary increase.
Similarly, production activities at some of the Naval Group's factories were also affected by the CGT strike. The unions demanded a 6% wage increase for all employees, but the group was only willing to raise 3.8%. At Arquus, which produces armored vehicles, the CGT, CFDT and Sud unions also called for a strike to stop production, and eventually the company agreed to raise wages by 2.9% to 3.9%, and raise salaries for all low-wage employees by at least 55 euros.
Commerce, services
While Decathlon, Leroy Merlin and the restaurant and hotel trade unions managed to secure a raise, in the fast food and wholesale industries, unions pulled out of negotiations in anger over "improper" offers from employers.
In addition, in some small businesses, the call for a strike initiated by the trade union is difficult to respond to. "The biggest concern for employees is to keep their jobs, and they are afraid that the strike will make the company worse." Nabil Azzouz, representative of the Workers' Power Federation, explained.
Large supermarkets also have the problem of difficulty in striking. Philippe Allard, a carrefour CGT union representative, noted that employees work staggered hours, making it difficult to act collectively and without incentive to strike. "There are no wages for strikes, and now everyone has to live a good life (with severe inflation), and it is difficult to get 5 euros or 10 euros less."
Public service agencies
Nine unions in public institutions have jointly called for the lifting of the wage index (which has not risen since 2017). Luc Rouban, a scholar of public service issues, pointed out that for civil servants, "the biggest problem is not salary, but working conditions." Although civil servants generally distrust trade unions, with fewer than half of the latest elections participating, "given the recent high inflation, it is indeed a good reason for trade unions (to demand wage increases)". Lupin analyzed.
Luxury industry
In addition to the above industries, some areas that are rarely affected by strikes have also recently seen employee strikes demanding wage increases.
Hundreds of workers of the luxury brand Louis Vuitton Group went on strike on Thursday (10th), with a participation rate of about 5%. The group is proposing a salary increase of 150 euros per month and a reduction in working hours to 33 hours a week.
Franceinfo reports that, in fact, Louis Vuitton employees are treated quite well compared to other companies in the same industry: 13 months' salary, plus profit dividends (generally equivalent to 5-6 months' salary)... However, the LVMH Group benefited a record 12 billion euros last year, and it is no wonder that employees went on strike to demand wage increases. Just a few weeks ago, employees of Sephora, another brand of the LVMH group, went on strike.
Banking, insurance
It's not just the luxury industry that's been swept up by the strike tide. Recently, employees of several insurance companies, including CNP Assurances, Crédit Mutuel Areka, MMA, la Macif and la Matmut, have launched strikes to demand pay increases.
Franceinfo pointed out that in 2021, all major groups will set revenue records: Crédit agricole for 5 billion euros, BNP for 9 billion euros, Total for 14 billion euros... On the other hand, the soaring prices of fuel and food have made employees more anxious.
According to the French Institute of Economics (INSEE), inflation will reach 3% to 3.5% in the first quarter of this year, an increase from the previous forecast of 2.6%.
In the face of this situation, the French government, which is still two months away from the presidential election, has repeatedly called for companies to provide more benefits for employees, including but not limited to wage increases, dividends, and tax-free bonuses.
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(Editor: Gu Yan)