Motorists on edge, political pressure… TotalEnergies offered Sunday to bring forward its annual wage negotiations to October, responding to the outstretched hand of the CGT, provided that the blockages end in refineries and fuel depots, while Esso-ExxonMobil plans to bring the unions together on Monday. At 3 p.m. Sunday, 29.7% of service stations in France lacked at least one fuel (compared to 21% on Saturday), said the Ministry of Energy Transition.
At TotalEnergies, negotiations from October instead of November “will make it possible to define how employees can benefit, before the end of the year, from the exceptional results generated by TotalEnergies, while also taking into account inflation for the year 2022. “, assures the group, which manages nearly a third of the service stations in France.
The CGT demands a 10% increase
Since the start of the movement ten days ago, the CGT has been demanding a 10% increase in wages – 7% for inflation, 3% for the sharing of wealth – the energy giant having garnered 10 $.6 billion profit in the first half of 2022.
“We are going to study the proposals closely and meet tomorrow morning with the various sites to decide on the continuation of the movement”, reacted to AFP Eric Sellini, CGT coordinator at TotalEnergies, regretting that the management did not have direct exchange with the union. The Minister for Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, welcomed the announcement by TotalEnergies, believing that the conflict should “end”.
Salary Discussions
For its part, the management of Esso-ExxonMobil in France announced Sunday evening in a press release its intention to bring together Monday “the four trade union organizations representing the staff”. The group, whose two refineries in France are shut down, says it is “convinced (that) the quality of the social dialogue engaged and uninterrupted with the organizations representing the staff will make it possible to quickly end the conflict”.
Salary discussions started at Esso France on September 20. The proposal currently on the table has only been approved by the CFE-CGC. The French branch of the American group called on Sunday for an end to the strike. Pressure from government officials had increased in recent days on the two groups and the strikers to negotiate.
“I would like to reaffirm the government’s very firm appeal to the leaders and trade unions of TotalEnergies and Esso: a solution must be found without delay within the framework of social dialogue (…) The French must not suffer the consequences any longer of a social movement,” said Ms. Pannier-Runacher.
Refueling in Belgium
Agnès Pannier-Runacher urged “all our fellow citizens not to stock up”, some service stations being stormed with 30% to 35% additional consumption.
As of Sunday, many of them were still dealing with breakups. “I’m a taxi driver, I haven’t been able to work for two days,” lamented Thierry, 60, who was getting impatient after three hours of waiting for a delivery at the Esso station on boulevard de la Villette in Paris. .
In service stations, the situation got even worse on Sunday in Hauts-de-France, where 54.8% of them were encountering difficulties, and in Ile-de-France, where 44.9% were in trouble. rupture on at least one fuel.
The government, which has indeed drawn on the country’s strategic reserves and increased fuel imports to deal with the crisis, recalled that tank trucks had been authorized to circulate all weekend.