After the mixed success of the mobilization of October 18, the CGT organizes Thursday a new day of action in favor of wages, which promises to be little mobilizing in the middle of school holidays and in the absence of participation from other unions. The Parisian demonstration will leave at 2:00 p.m. from Montparnasse to the Medef headquarters at the Military School. Rallies are also planned in the provinces.
“We wanted there to be no total break during the holidays. But it will be less important than the 18 (October) ”, recognizes with AFP the confederal secretary Céline Verzeletti.
At the height of the strike in the refineries and its consequences on motorists, the mobilization of October 18 had gathered 107,000 demonstrators throughout France according to the police (300,000 according to the union), with strikes in the nuclear and transport sectors.
If the CGT had said it was “quite satisfied” with this day, this mobilization had not led to a broadening of social movements as the organizers had hoped. Since then, the strike has only affected two TotalEnergies sites, and a wage agreement has been reached at EDF. No disruption is expected in transport on Thursday.
Indexation of wages to inflation
The CGT is calling for an increase in the Smic, an indexation of all salaries to inflation and a revaluation of the index point for civil servants, specifies Céline Verzeletti, which Emmanuel Macron dismissed on France 2 on Wednesday evening.
“We want to maintain the pressure, allow employees who are struggling to find themselves at a point of demonstration. In the boxes where there was mobilization, the wage increases were greater,” said the union official.
Unlike the day of October 18, FO, Solidaires and the FSU will not be in the game. The CGT hopes that these organizations will join it for another day of mobilization already announced for November 10. The CFDT, the leading union in France, did not participate in the mobilization of October 18.