Eight unions are calling for a strike by the civil service, schools and nurses this Tuesday, March 19. The increase in wages is at the heart of the demands of the mobilized sectors. The movement could be particularly followed by National Education.
The essential
- Eight unions united in inter-union form – the CGT, the CFDT, the CFE-CGC, the Autonomous Federation, Force Ouvrière, the UNSA, Solidaires and the Snes-FSU – are calling on the 5.7 million public sector agents to strike this Tuesday, March 19. The strike also concerns school staff and nurses.
- The unions justify their strike by “the absence of any prospect of general measures to increase remuneration in the public service in a context of still sustained inflation”. They thus demand “negotiations to improve careers and take general measures for salaries, in particular by increasing the index point”. Salary demands taken up by teachers and nurses.
- The inter-union is taking advantage of the strike to speak out against the “knowledge shock” measures wanted by Gabriel Attal and against “the deterioration of working conditions” in National Education. According to the boss of the CGT, the strike of March 19 should be “very followed” in National Education.
- According to the Snes-FSU, at least 120 mobilizations are organized throughout France this Tuesday 19th strike.
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08:20 – A strike to put pressure on the Olympic Games
While public service unions are calling for a strike this Tuesday, they are the same ones who are threatening other mobilizations during the Olympic Games period. On March 7, the general secretary of the CGT, Sophie Binet, announced the filing of a strike notice in the civil service sector from April until August, i.e. the end of the Paris Olympic Games. The lack of social preparation for the Olympic Games with workers who will be mobilized “voluntarily or not” is another criticism of the unions who demand measures to respond to the challenges posed by the Paris Games: “How are we going to accommodate all the workers who will have to come to Ile-de-France? How will we take care of their children while it is school holidays? What bonuses will they get?” listed Sophie Binet. The representative of the CGT Civil Service, Céline Verzeletti, is asking for bonuses commensurate with the efforts required.
08:05 – What should we expect for the March 19 strike?
The eight French unions united as an inter-union are calling for a strike by the civil service and 5.7 million agents this Tuesday. “There will be many strikers”, assured the general secretary of the CGT, Sophie Binet, at the microphone of RMC yesterday: “I say to all the civil servants who perhaps still hesitate: it is very important to be in strike tomorrow to finally be respected by this government which only sees civil servants as costs, while civil servants are our collective wealth.”
The call for a strike was also taken up by the unions in the National Education sector. This sector has already followed several strikes on February 1 and 6. The movement could be “very followed” by school staff according to the boss of the CGT. Finally, nurses are also on strike this Tuesday at the call of the National Union of Liberal Nurses (Sniil) and the collective of liberal nurses. If all sectors respond to the mobilization, the movement could be large-scale.
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If we talk a lot about teachers, teachers will not be the only ones to strike this Tuesday, March 19. In the public service, it is indeed the eight unions – CGT, FO, CFDT, CFE-CGC, FA, FSU, Solidaires and Unsa – which are calling for mobilization. But while around a hundred processions and other gatherings are announced across the country, at this stage it is still difficult to have a quantified idea of the number of strikers expected this Tuesday. The disruptions, however, should be limited, it is understood Release.
The same will be true in the health sector. The CGT, FO, CDFT, SUD and Unsa, the five main hospital public service unions, also invited their troops to the strike movement. “We refuse to endure another blank year without a salary increase or compensation for inflation,” the inter-union press release states. Here again, it is complicated for the moment to have a concrete idea of the mobilization when, in the sector, the demonstrators are often those who do not work on D-day, in order to affect as little as possible services which are often already under tension. .
Finally, several teaching unions therefore called on the profession to demonstrate. According to Snes-FSU, more than 120 demonstrations are planned throughout France. The main one will be held in Paris from 2 p.m. from Place Edmond Rostand (RER Luxembourg). The SUD Éducation Paris union has already requested a renewal of the movement for the coming days. In Loire-Atlantique, the FSU, CGT, FO and CNT unions are calling for a strike on March 20, 21 and 22 “for more resources for public schools”.
Salary increase, but not only
In a context of still sustained inflation, most unions are demanding salary increases. In National Education, there is also talk of more positions to “reduce the number of students per class, ensure replacements and provide specialized teaching when necessary”. As a reminder, the National Education budget will be reduced by 700 million euros as part of the government’s 10 billion euro savings plan.
On the subject of remuneration, the FSU SNUipp, the leading union in nursery and elementary schools, is demanding an increase of 300 euros net monthly for all teachers. For its part, LE Snes-FSU requests an “immediate increase of 10% of the index point”. “It is urgent to open negotiations without delay”, complain in a joint press release, FSI, Unsa Education, SGEN-CFDT, CGT Éduc’action and SUD Éducation.
Gabriel Attal’s “clash of knowledge” criticized
That’s not all. In National Education yet, another measure announced by the government does not leave the unions indifferent, it is the clash of knowledge mentioned by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal last December. The famous “level groups”, listed in the decree published in the Official Journal this Sunday, will be established “according to the needs of the students identified by the teachers”. An initiative that the unions are simply calling for to be abandoned. Sud Éducation regrets a reform of “social sorting and sanctions against students in difficulty” who should benefit from classes with reduced numbers. On February 1, 47% of secondary school teachers went on strike according to Sens-FSU, 20% according to the Ministry of Education.