STRIKE 31 JANUARY. After the success of the mobilization on Thursday January 19, the unions have announced a new day of strike on Tuesday January 31.
“The mobilization is important”, conceded this Thursday evening the Minister of Labor, Olivier Dussopt, on the RTL antenna. Indeed, the French have mobilized in numbers to show their opposition to the pension reform, and in particular to the decline in the legal retirement age, which should be pushed back to 64 years. According to figures provided by the Ministry of the Interior, there were 1.12 million pounding the pavement in France, including 80,000 in Paris. For its part, the CGT estimates that more than two million people gathered throughout the territory, and 400,000 in the capital alone. Anyway, this is a first victory for the unions, whose call to strike was particularly followed, in particular by private sector employees, this Thursday, January 19.
Already, the trade unions have announced a new day of mobilization on Tuesday 31 January. This initiative is supported by many political leaders such as the boss of the French Communist Party, Fabien Roussel: “If we have to achieve massive, strong strikes in all sectors of activity in our country because that the government is stubborn, well, we will come to that”, he affirmed on the antenna of RTL, Friday January 20, 2023. And to hammer: “One thing is certain, we will be there again on January 31 to face the government and its reform.” The other left-wing parties have also renewed their support and their commitment to the mobilization.
While the members of the National Rally were conspicuous by their absence from the streets to oppose the pension reform on Thursday January 19, the situation could well be quite different on Tuesday January 31, as Sébastien Chenu said: “I’ve never ruled anything out. I’m not afraid of anything. I’ve already demonstrated. Me, what I want is for the government to back down. So we’re going to fight where we are , to the National Assembly, with the arguments and the possibilities that are ours, that is to say those of the parliamentary game. The idea is not to obstruct. We have too little time of debate to obstruct. [L’objectif] it’s to crack the varnish”, explained the MEP this Friday on the set of France 2.
In addition, Sébastien Chenu believes that “on the 31st, the French will be even more numerous”. He calls for discussion: “The idea is not to block the debate, but to move the lines.” And to reaffirm the position of the National Rally: “We consider that, when we started working early, we often started working hard, and therefore we must leave earlier. (…) The system is not in place. But we have to find 10 billion a year, so there are levers to activate: the birth rate, productivity, the reindustrialisation of the country… Exactly the opposite of what Emmanuel Macron has done since he was elected. “
While the next strike day has been set for January 31, 2023, the CGT railway workers do not rule out organizing other social movements. On Friday January 20, on the air of RMC, Laurent Brun, secretary general of the CGT Cheminots federation, affirmed that this possibility will be on the agenda of the discussions of the SNCF unions organized this afternoon: “We will discuss it this afternoon. The dates determined by the inter-union are key times. But outside of these times, we call on employees to multiply actions in their companies. It can be strikes, walkouts. there are different ways to weigh.”
According to Laurent Brun, the single day of January 31 cannot be enough to bend the government on the pension reform: “We know very well that the government will not give in with a single day. We want all sectors of the economy continue to be mobilized. This is extremely important. Obviously, a single day will not be enough.” In addition, the CGT railway workers want to remain mobilized to fight against “previous reforms”.