A new day of mobilization to demand the repeal of the pension reform and an increase in salaries is planned for Tuesday, October 1. Schools, transport, public services, who is affected by the blockages?
For the unions, this is act 2 of the battle against pension reform. At the initiative of the CGT, the inter-union as well as several youth organizations are joining the movement and calling for a new day of inter-professional mobilization this Tuesday, October 1, throughout France. In addition to pensions, increasing salaries and pensions, equality between women and men, and financing public services are also on the agenda.
However, it seems that the gathering is struggling to convince, the CGT has identified a little less than 200 places of mobilizations, which is well below the previous days of mobilizations against pension reforms. Several unions have even announced that they will not join the movement, this is notably the case of the CFDT and the CFTC which consider the demonstration premature.
Blocked transport and absent teachers?
Normal traffic for trains but it slows down in schools. Among railway workers, the strike begins on Monday September 30 at 7 p.m. and is due to end on Wednesday October 2, which risks greatly disrupting rail traffic. In Île-de-France, the CGT-RATP filed a strike notice covering the same period. The SNCF, however, wants to be reassuring and has already warned that TGV traffic would be “normal” and “slightly disrupted on certain regional trains (TER, Transilien) as well as certain Intercity connections”.
In schools, on the other hand, mobilization is likely to be greater due to significant tensions linked to pensions, salaries and “to finally obtain positions and the end of the clash of knowledge” – in reference to the education reform which includes the establishment of level groups according to subjects in colleges – announced the CGT. The drop in the number of teachers is also one of the issues of this day of mobilization, while a teacher was missing in 56% of middle and high schools in France during the last school year and at least 3,000 positions were missing. did not find takers in the teaching competitions this year.
Important day for the executive
Although this day of mobilization was announced several weeks ago, the coincidence of the calendar (or not) means that it falls at the same time as Michel Barnier’s general policy speech. The new Prime Minister must present his program and his roadmap to parliamentarians, which could also put a stop to the ambitions of the new government, barely in office, and only a few weeks before the start of debates around the budget for 2025.
The Prime Minister said he was ready to “improve” the pension reform, which strengthens the CGT and places it in a position of strength, according to its general secretary Sophie Binet. “We can obtain its repeal, this is what Michel Barnier’s declaration shows, the balance of power is on our side” declared the number 1 of the CGT at France Info.