FEBRUARY 7 STRIKE. A third day of mobilization is scheduled for Tuesday against the pension reform. Several sectors are ready to disengage for the strike of February 7, which ones?
[Mis à jour le 6 février 2023 à 8h07] The unions do not intend to let go of the ballast on the pension reform. The third day of mobilization and strike is preparing for Tuesday, January 7, a date which, coincidence or not, refers to the article of the bill which “provides for the postponement of the retirement age from 62 to 64 years “, recalled Philippe Martinez, secretary general of the CGT, on February 3 in the columns of the Dauphine Libere. Because if on the political level, Elisabeth Borne has returned to certain points of the pension reform, there is no question for the government of backing down on the postponement of the retirement age.
Faced with this “indispensable” reform according to the Prime Minister and deeply unfair in the eyes of the inter-union, the eight main French federations (CGT, CFDT, FO, CFE-CGC, CFTC, Unsa, FSU and Solidaires) are calling for the continuation and amplify the social movements and the strike of February 7. “If the government and the President of the Republic do not hear or do not see what is happening, inevitably, it will be necessary to move up a gear”, moreover warned the boss of the CGT, increasing on the airwaves of France Blue February 3: “It is the government that obliges us. […] We believe that the strikes must get tougher because otherwise the government will not listen to reason.” For his part, Laurent Berger, secretary general of the CFDT, said he was “concerned” by the government’s lack of listening. in the face of mobilizations: “As the school holidays are about to begin, there is a big stake this week. The other issue is opinion. The polls also confirm the rejection of this reform,” he added. Several sectors responded to the call for a strike on February 7. Concretely, what disturbances should we expect?
All of the SCNF’s trade union organizations (CGT, Unsa, SUD-Rail and CFDT) called for a strike against the pension reform on 7 February. On the other hand, if the CGT and SUD-Rail called to continue the strike movement until February 8, the Unsa and the CFDT did not follow them. The mobilization of the railway unions is therefore uncertain concerning February 8, but SNCF traffic should be strongly affected the day before. This call to strike falls during school holidays in zone A and risks disrupting certain routes. SNCF will publish, as usual, its traffic forecasts 48 hours before the start of the strike movement, i.e. no later than Sunday evening. The previous strikes of January 19 and 31 accounted for 46% and 36.5% of striking railway workers respectively. In addition, the SNCF unions have not yet made any announcement regarding a new mobilization on February 11.
The RATP inter-union called for a strike on February 7 and 11. In a communicated common, the CGT, FO, CFE-CGC and Unsa called for mobilization to say “no to the reform”, because the special pension scheme for RATP agents is heavily threatened by it. The metro, RER, bus and tram lines are therefore likely to be affected, as was the case on January 19 and 31. Disruptions will be announced, as with the SNCF, at least 48 hours in advance. They will therefore be known no later than Sunday evening for February 7.
After calling for a 72-hour strike in the refineries, the CGT finally opted for a 48-hour mobilization on February 7 and 8. Originally, the CGT had planned to stop production in the refineries during these strike days. But, for the moment, it is necessary to ”test [grèves] renewable” in order to “know if the employees are ready” for such a stop, told AFP Thierry Defresne, CGT secretary of the TotalEnergies Europe committee. On February 7 and 8, “what we will offer them for 48 hours , it’s ‘nothing goes in, nothing comes out’, as usual”, specified Thierry Defresne, adding that “the only impact on the work tool, it will be reductions in production flow but not a stop”.
The CGT Ports and Docks Federation is also calling for a 48-hour strike on Tuesday 7 and Wednesday 8 February. Tuesday January 31, the movement had been particularly followed, in particular in Le Havre where the CGT had identified 100% among the dockers of the port of the city.
The FNME-CGT (National Federation of Mines and Energy-CGT) has also called for a two-day strike on February 7 and 8 in companies in the electricity and gas industries. The strike movement had been less followed on January 31 than during the first day of mobilization at EDF, with 40.3% of strikers against 44.5% on January 19. During these strikes, striking employees in the energy sector multiplied the “Robin Hood” operations. Some production cuts had been announced, but the employees mainly distributed free electricity to certain establishments such as hospitals, schools or HLM housing. An initiative supported by the unions but also by certain political figures, like the communist Fabien Roussel.
Although zone A is on vacation on February 7, the primary school union, the Snuipp-FSU has called for an “amplification” of the protest movement. “The inter-union calls on the entire population to mobilize through strikes and even more massive demonstrations on Tuesday February 7 and then Saturday February 11 to say no to this reform” specifies the communicated of the union. The Snuipp-FSU recommends “multiplying actions, initiatives, meetings or general assemblies throughout the territory, in companies and services, in places of study, including through strikes”. Primary school teachers (nursery and primary) have the obligation to notify pupils and families at least 48 hours in advance of their participation in the strike movement. Colleges and high schools do not have the obligation to declare themselves.
The Union Syndicale de l’Aviation Civile-CGT, the leading union in civil aviation, said in a communicated that she would join the protest movement. “The Usac-CGT demands the maintenance of the current conditions of retirement for all the agents of the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC)”, explained the union, which called “all the staff of the DGAC and the National School of Civil Aviation to go on massive strike and participate in the demonstrations” this Tuesday, February 7. Details on the flight disruption are not yet known.
The two main ski lift unions, CGT and FO, filed an unlimited strike notice which began on January 31. Tuesday, February 7, this strike of seasonal skiers is likely to affect holidaymakers above all. According BFM TV, a strike is planned “about 1:30 am in all ski resorts, and this, during school holidays”. Some shops will be closed and the ski lifts will not operate during this time. The Minister of Tourism, Olivia Grégoire, called for “respect for the economic players in the mountains who are fighting like lions to continue to attract tourists and develop their offers” and “for respect for tourists’ holidays”, reported TF1.