Salaries, employment, pensions. In a short and intense interview with The Parisianthe secretary general of the CGT, Philippe Martinez, calls for a balance of power with the government on these three subjects, on the eve of the traditional union mobilization on 1er-May.
For him, the priority is to increase all salaries, and in particular to raise the minimum wage to 2,000 euros gross, well beyond 1,645 euros. scheduled from Sunday. Mr. Martinez regrets that in terms of purchasing power, the government insists above all on the system of the bonus paid by the employer and the one-off aids:
The Macron bonus remains at the discretion of employers. And the returns we have tell us that no one has reached the maximum expected. And many employees have not touched anything. We need more binding things. The bonuses put butter in the spinach but they are often spent right away. But the year is twelve months!
“Job quality issue”
As for one-off aid, “all those who are in trouble do not spit on checks”he concedes, but “the problem of purchasing power is perennial: the best help is to increase wages”. In his view, the executive can also “to act, as an employer State, on the index point of civil servants”. After the walkouts at Amazon, Dassault or Thales, “These strikes must become widespread in all sectors to demand wage increases”according to Philippe Martinez.
About the job, “Government complacency is no longer possible”denounces the union leader, who warns about “a development of precariousness and a problem of job quality”. Due to the method of calculation, “we consider that working one day or one week in the month, it lowers the figures [du chômage]. But can you pay your rent and eat properly when you work one week a month? »he asks.
Finally, concerning one of the key measures planned by Emmanuel Macron, “we are not going to talk about retirement at 65”declares quite frankly Philippe Martinez.