For the CGT union it is not enough, since what it demands is a salary increase of 10%. The French government has threatened to forcibly mobilize more striking refinery workers and, in turn, has called on the company to raise wages.
The workers’ strike at six refineries in France, which is causing the shortage of gas stations, for the moment remains unsolved.
The business TotalEnergies has announced this morning that it is going to attribute an exceptional bonus to its workers around the world equivalent to one month’s salary.
The labor union strike organizerCGT) has highlighted that it is not enough, since what he is asking for is a salary increase of 10% to compensate for the loss of purchasing power due to inflation and for the staff to benefit from part of the exceptional benefits that the company is obtaining.
The French Government, meanwhile, tries to put pressure on both parties. On the one hand, it has asked the CGT to lift the blockades at the refineries with the threat of expanding the forced mobilization of workers at another fuel depot in Dunkirk. On the other hand, he has indicated, as Pannier Runacher herself and the Economy Minister, Bruno Le Maire, have done this morning, that TotalEnergies has to give up on wages and it has to do so now.
The general secretary of the CGT, Philippe Martínez, accused the Government this morning of “adding more fuel to the fire” with the first measures of forced mobilization of four workers from the warehouses of the Port Jérôme refinery in Normandy, which became effective yesterday, Wednesday. After Martínez spoke, it became known that five workers on strike in the TotalEnergies warehouse in Dunkirk (Normandy) have been ordered to return to work.
President Emmanuel Macron, said yesterday in an interview on France 2 television, that the conflict must be resolved by the company and the unions at the negotiating table. Macron, who also warned that there will be more forced mobilizations of workers if the situation is not unblocked, said he hopes that the return to normality at the gas stations will arrive during the next week.
According to government figures, 30% of gas stations in the country lack fuel, especially in the Paris regions and in the Hauts de France region, bordering Belgium, where the percentage is 40%.
Source: Eitb
I’m Tifany Hawkins, a professional journalist with years of experience in news reporting. I currently work for a prominent news website and write articles for 24NewsReporters as an author. My primary focus is on economy-related stories, though I am also experienced in several other areas of journalism.