Harsh union action – Q: Strikes extended – calls for higher wages

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After weeks of industrial action at major French refineries, unions stepped up strikes on Tuesday in a fight for higher wages. In addition to filling stations, public areas such as schools and transport are now also affected. Despite the first deal reached on Friday, the left-wing trade union CGT called for work stoppages at oil and gas company TotalEnergies for the fourth week in a row.

The agreed wage increase of seven percent plus bonus is not enough given the inflation and the huge profits of the group, the agency says.

Running out of fuel
French government spokesman Olivier Veran announced that more staff would be brought in during the day to supply the gas stations, where fuel is now running out. “There will be as many demands as is deemed necessary… Blocking refineries once we have reached an agreement on wages is not a normal situation,” Veran said.

Tensions are high
With tensions mounting in the eurozone’s second-largest economy, strikes have already spilled over into other parts of the energy sector, including nuclear giant EDF, where maintenance works critical to Europe’s electricity supply will be postponed.

The operator of the French railway line SNCF announced that local transport has fallen by 50 percent. But there are no major disruptions to long-distance traffic. Eurostar said some trains between London and Paris had been canceled due to the strike.

Small progress
The first refineries had made agreements with the unions last week. So the strike at ExxonMobile was suspended. The French government has recently threatened to intervene in the collective agreement dispute. The strike paralyzed more than 60 percent of refinery capacity in France. Negotiations between TotalEnergies and the CGT have stalled recently.

Source: Krone

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