French union calls 'general strike' for June
"For our pensions, our jobs and our salaries", the French union, CGT, wrote in
their call
for workers across sectors in France to walk out Thursday, June 5th.
The sector-wide strike is intended to target both the public and the private sector and demand higher wages and a lower cost of living, as well as to continue to show opposition to the 2023 pension reform, which raised France's retirement age from 62 to 64.
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It's worth noting, however, that only the CGT union has issued this call - the rest of France's eight union federations are not joining the action, with the result that disruption is likely to be limited.
However it is likely that there will be protests in several cities across France, while public transport services could be disrupted. You can see the map of protests planned
here
.
Train travel
In a
press release
sent on Tuesday, the CGT-Cheminots, which is the largest union representing train drivers, has called for "all railway workers" in France to strike on June 5th, as new negotiations with management at SNCF (French national rail service) begin on June 4th.
It is also possible that the Sud Rail union could join strike action on June 5th, which could lead to greater disruption for travellers.
However, the Sud Rail union has so far told the French press that they would not be participating and instead are planning "less predictable actions", in order to avoid management relying on volunteer reserve workers, as they did to keep trains running during the May strikes.
Meanwhile, the ASCT collective, which is supported by Sud Rail and represents conductors (ticket inspectors), has also said they did not plan to join in strike action on June 5th, regional news outlet
Sud Ouest
reported.
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Either way, French rail workers must declare their plans to strike 48 hours in advance, so a strike timetable would be available on Tuesday, June 3rd.
In comparison, the strikes at the start of May were not nearly as disruptive as initially expected, with the main impacts felt on local and regional trains, particularly those in the Paris area.
Public transport
The CGT union also represents workers in other sectors, including the RATP (Paris public transport). The CGT branch for RATP workers is also
calling
on workers to walk out on June 5th, though it remains to be seen how many participate.
In Nice, the public transportation network has also
warned
that trams and buses will not run on June 5th due to strike action.
What about other strike dates?
According to previous reports, CGT had called for strikes on June 4th, but the latest announcements by the union have focused solely on June 5th.
The union has also called for train drivers to walk out on June 11th.
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