France: "Employment" Bill - After the government coup, the inter-union coordiation call for the amplification of mobilisations

Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Humanite.fr
CGT, FO, FSU, Solidaires, UNEF, UNL, FIDL call workers, youth, and students to strikes and demonstrations on May 17 and 19.

Draft Employment Law: Amplify the mobilization against the denial of democracy! Communique of the inter-union coordination.

While wage earners, young people, private sector employees, and retirees mobilised for more than two months for the withdrawal of the labor bill and to obtain new rights, and while public opinion remains overwhelmingly opposed to the text of the bill, the government decided to force it through using Clause 49.3[1]. Unacceptable!

These mobilisations forced the government to propose amendments[2] to the bill that would minimise its impacts. But this is not enough!

A labour code for business which undermines the "hierarchy of norms" which provides protection and equality, endures in the bill. Scandalous!

Several professional sectors continue to develop actions and strikes (railway, road transport, energy, chemicals, construction, Paris airport, etc.), which are supported by dynamic elements in pursuit of amplifying and expanding the balance of forces.

This reinforces the need to amplify the mobilisations already planned throughout the country for May 12.

From all this, the trade unions CGT, FO, FSU, Solidaires and youth organisations, UNEF, UNL and FIDL invite their structures to hold general meetings with the wage earners to discuss the forms of actions and strikes and for their renewal.

They call their organisations to build two new days of strikes and demonstrations for Tuesday, May 17 and Thursday, 19 May.

In addition, they do not depart from any initiatives for the coming weeks, including a national demonstration.

To assert their proposals they decide to go together to the President of the Republic to be received urgently.

A new meeting of trade unions will be held early next week to decide on new mobilisations.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Refers to Article 49-3 of the French Constitution, "commitment of responsibility" it allows the government to pass a bill without a vote unless a vote of no confidence is successful against the government with 48 hours of bill being pushed through.
2 More than 5000 amendments were made to the bill when it was introduced into parliament, the text of the bill had also undergone significant changes during the process of it being accepted by the council of ministers - these changes had been aimed at splitting more conservative forces away from the more militant unions and to undermine mobilisations.

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France: Strike to Defend Pensions September 10

Inter-Union National Action on Pensions, Tuesday, September 10

Communication from the Trade Union Solidaires
July 5, 2013

Walking in the footsteps of its predecessors, the government wants to impose a new challenge to pension rights. They intend to move quickly to take advantage of the summer to make it a "dialogue" with the unions, and release the bill in September.

As the Solidarity Trade Union reaffirmed Friday, July 5 to the Prime Minister, the new attack on social rights is unacceptable, on the contrary they need to cancel the previous counter reforms - the financial resources are available. The lengthening of the contribution and qualifying periods, the flagship projects of both managements and the government will lead to later retirements and lower pensions for all!

The Trade Union Solidaires is part of the united initiative of trade unions who reject any social decline.

The Trade Union has proposed an inter-union national mobilisation by early September, aimed at building a broad front.

It will be on Tuesday, September 10, and has been the called jointly by the CGT, FO, Solidaires and the FSU.

The Board of the Pensions, the Moreau report, and the government, all highlight the need for 20 billion euros for 2020. But in 25 years, by lengthening the contribution period, the decline in the retirement age, the introduction of the discount, the indexation of pensions relative to wages, increasing the number of years taken into account for the reference wage, and the additional lower yield, € 40 billion will have already been taken out of the pockets of workers (as employed, unemployed or retired). That's it: not one quarter more, not a euro less!

We call for strengthening the united collectives that are being built in communities and build, from the united appeal of CGT, FO, Solidaires, FSU, an expanding movement against social regression.

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France: Workers mobilise Against Vote on Pension Bill

Lisbeth Latham

As expected France’s National Assembly, on September 15, passed the Pensions Bill that will reduce workers access to pensions. The National Assembly debate and vote was met with small protests and other actions by workers. With the Bill set to go to the Senate, France’s unions are looking to expand the campaign to defend workers’ pension rights.

The Bill was passed by 329 to 233, reflecting the large majority which the Union for a Popular Movement of President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prime Minister Francois Fillon have in the National Assembly. If the Bill is passed by the Senate it will increase the minimum age at which workers can retire from 60 to 62 years and increase the period that workers must work to qualify for the full pension from 40 to 41.5 years.


During the session, thousands of activists protested Place de la Concorde — across the Seine River from the Assembly – calling on the government to scrap the legislation. Other protests were held across France. These protests followed protests and strikes involving close to 3 million workers on September 7.

On September 9, the coalition of seven union confederations that is leading the campaign had issued an open letter to the President, Government, and Parliamentarians. In the letter they argued that bill would increase inequalities within French society, without addressing the long term challenges facing France and that workers should not be made to pay the price of a financial and economic crisis which they were not responsible for.

Following the September 7 mobilisations unions called a national strike to coincide with start of the Senate debate. The Senate debate has postponed until October 5, the strike will go ahead, with the Union Coalition calling on September 16, for workers to strengthen the mobilisation which had been called for September 23. A further meeting of Confederations is scheduled for September 24 to set the next stages in the struggle.

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