France's Unions Announce Nationwide Strike On October 18

PARIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th October, 2022) The leading French unions will hold a nationwide strike on October 18, demanding higher wages and protesting against the government's interference in the social movement of oil employees and encroachment on the right to strike, the unions said on Thursday.

Four leading French trade unions, namely the General Confederation of Labor (Confédération Générale du Travail, CGT), the General Confederation of Labor - Workers' Force (Confédération Générale du Travail - Force Ouvrière, FO), the Federation Syndicale Unitaire, and the Solidaires, announced the strike.

"We call on employees to demonstrate for higher wages and protection of the right to organize strikes," the unions said in a joint communique, as quoted by the Franceinfo broadcaster.

According to the statement, the strike is a response to government interference in the social movement of oil employees and encroachment on the right to strike.

French transport unions, including CGT RATP, national rail operator SNCF - SUD-Rai, and CGT-Cheminots, announced their decision to join the strike. Youth organizations, namely Fidl, Unef, MNL, and Vie lycéenne, will also join.

The strike by energy sector employees has been ongoing in France since September 21, when ExxonMobil employees went on strike.

They were joined on September 27 by workers of French energy company TotalEnergies. Last Tuesday, trade unions announced a three-day protest demanding a 10% pay increase as well as the indexation of 2022 wages to match the current record-breaking inflation. An indefinite extension of the strike was later announced by the unions.

The strike, in particular, affected France's largest refinery near the city of Le Havre in Normandy, as well as refineries in the communes of Feizin and Donges, the La Mede bio-processing plant in the commune of Chateauneuf-les-Martigues and the Grand-Puy fuel storage.

On Sunday, the French energy ministry reported that almost 30% of the country's gas stations were experiencing shortages of at least one type of fuel.

On Monday, long queues lined up at gas stations on a major highway near Paris due to the strikes, a Ria Novosti correspondent reported. Some gas stations did not have diesel fuel. Drivers complained that they had to wait in line for hours, blaming the authorities of France and the US for the energy crisis. The strike led to a shortage of fuel at every third gas station in the country.