FRENCH union federation Force Ouvriere congratulated workers for their May Day action.
It said: ‘2.3 million young people, employees and retirees marched all over France, making this May 1, 2023 one of the most important in our social history.
‘A hundred trade unionists from the 5 continents joined our Parisian demonstration in support of the French mobilisation. Among them were Esther Lynch, General Secretary of the ETUC and Luc Triangle, General Secretary of the ITUC.
‘This 13th day of strikes against the pension reform demonstrates the determination of the workers to defeat this pension reform. For more than 3 months, records have been broken both by the number of demonstrators and by the number of strikers in the public and private sectors.
‘Despite this, the executive has chained the passages in force: refusal to receive the unions, use of 49-3, immediate promulgation despite the partial censure of the Constitutional Council.
‘The decision of the President of the Republic to maintain his reform despite the quasi-unanimous opposition from the population creates deep mistrust. The inter-union denounces, once again, solemnly, these authoritarian decisions which add to the social crisis a democratic crisis.
‘The intersyndicale has always refused to give in to these provocations and has endeavoured to maintain a peaceful, festive and popular mobilisation despite sometimes serious incidents that we deplore.
‘Pending the decision on the RIP, the inter-union welcomes the bill to repeal the pension reform which will be on the agenda on June 8 in the National Assembly. This bill will allow for the first time the national representation to decide by a vote on the pension reform.
‘We unitely call on our organisations to meet with MPs everywhere to call on them to vote on this bill. In this context, the inter-union calls for more initiatives, including a new day of joint action, strikes and demonstrations on June 6, allowing all employees to be heard by parliamentarians.
‘For the past 6 months, employee trade unions have been making numerous proposals, particularly in terms of financing, to strengthen our pay-as-you-go pension system and make it fairer.
‘The government announced the opening of a cycle of consultations without the object or the framework being precisely fixed. The trade unions will recall their refusal of the pension reform.
‘They will work on common inter-union proposals involving employers, so that the concerns of employees are finally taken into account, in terms of wages, working conditions, occupational health, social democracy, women’s equality – people and the environment in particular.
‘Mistrust is deep and dialogue can only be re-established if the government proves its willingness to finally take into account the proposals of the trade unions.’
Meanwhile, the French trade union federation the CGT asks: ‘When will there be price controls, the abolition of VAT on basic necessities, and wage increases?’
It says: ‘A fall in the price of raw materials by 20% in one year for cereals, 15% for dairy products, 6% for meat … And at the same time, the prices on the labels are soaring …
‘Overall, world prices for basic food products have fallen by 20% in one year according to figures published on 5th May by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).
‘In France, food inflation exceeds 18% in one year in supermarkets, according to UFC Que Choisir.
‘Why such a gap, so detrimental to households?
‘Food represents on average 20% of their total budget, even 30 to 35% for low-income households. With the non-revaluation of wages, it is untenable,’ underlines Jocelyne Hacquemand, secretary of the National Federation agroalimentary and forestry CGT.
‘Faced with soaring prices on the shelves, the government pretends to pull out the fire hose and sends the hot potato back to supermarkets and their industrial suppliers.
‘Their commercial negotiations must take into account the evolution of production costs (energy, transport, raw materials, packaging, etc.), to allow better remuneration for farmers.
‘These measures, have resulted in an overall rise in prices, increasing the bill for consumers.
‘Another problem, when the price of raw materials falls, it is not immediately reflected on the shelves. You have to wait three quarters, or even a year.
The Insolent profits of agribusiness
‘Faced with the rise in struggles for higher wages and purchasing power, Bruno le Maire (Minister of the Economy) and Olivia Grégoire (Trade), at the heels of employers, have no trouble asking the giants to agrifood and distribution buyers to return to the negotiating table so that, before the summer, the fall in the cost of raw materials and energy “be returned to consumers”.’
The CGT continues: ‘In one year, inflation has led to an insolent increase in margins in the agri-food industry to +44.7%: the highest level for 15 years. In the first quarter of 2023, the turnover of the Danone group, for example, increased by 11.6% in value when its sales volume only increased by 0.2%. Same for Unilever …
‘Is the objective of these industrial giants to feed the population or rather to stuff themselves? Can we leave food in the hands of private companies whose sole objective is profit?
‘If the government wants to see food prices fall, it must remove VAT on basic necessities, regulate prices with a multiplier of the price of agricultural materials.
‘And to support purchasing power, implement measures to increase wages with a minimum wage of 2,000 euros.’
As well as calling for wage increases, the CGT slammed the attack on unemployment benefit.
It said: ‘After the unemployment insurance decree, which notably reduces the rights to unemployment insurance by 25% for recipients, the government continues its social disaster by transforming Pole Emploi into France Travail.
A tool to meet the needs of employers
‘Beyond the name change, a new social organisation for job seekers and RSA beneficiaries is in the works. And it is not favourable to them.
‘Under the pretext of organising cooperation between the different actors, France Travail is designed to organise change in the treatment of unemployment.
‘Claimed by the government as a tool to promote full employment, France Travail, an obligatory passage for all workers without a stable contract, will be above all a tool for implementing a policy aimed at meeting the needs of employers.
‘At the risk, for those who do not comply, of being sanctioned. And in defiance of the right of everyone to be accompanied in their job search, and to follow a qualifying training course that interests them.
Coercive measures
‘What should be a real public employment service will only be a tool to reduce the benefits of workers looking for work.
‘The constraints imposed on recipients of Pôle emploi will be extended to recipients of social minima, who will be required to perform between 15 and 20 hours of activities per week to continue to receive their allowances.
‘France Travail will centralise all the data from the various operators, local missions, Apec, Agefiph, etc. and may put them in competition with other operators. The cross-referencing of files (notably with the CNAM) poses an additional risk on the use, or even the privatisation of the most sensitive data, especially for vulnerable audiences, such as those with disabilities.
‘As a platform that imposes a fully digital entry reception, France Travail will destroy the necessary human relations, and will accentuate the digital divide and therefore precariousness.’
‘The CGT refuses what looks like a technocratic and liberal nightmare. It demands a real public service for employment and integration, endowed with the means necessary for serious support and qualifying training,’ says Denis Gravouil, confederal secretary in charge of unemployment insurance.’
