Europe 1 with AFP
modified to
10:54 a.m., October 11, 2022
Several unions on Tuesday renewed strikes at TotalEnergies and Esso-ExxonMobil despite government pressure and a majority wage agreement signed at Esso-ExxonMobil. The CGT and FO decided to renew the strike on Tuesday which affects the two French refineries of the Esso-ExxonMobil group, the day after the signing of an agreement on wages by the CFDT which thus joined the CFE-CGC, while CGT and FO rejected this agreement, the CGT told AFP.
At TotalEnergies, the strikers have also chosen to extend the strike, despite the government’s call to lift the deposit blockages “without delay”, Eric Sellini, CGT coordinator for the group, told AFP. “We are doing everything we can to put an end to this situation,” said government spokesman Olivier Véran the day after an emergency meeting in Matignon, raising the possibility of making requisitions or reopening access. to deposits.
“We will take our responsibilities”
“The government is calling for all the blockages to be lifted without delay. Otherwise, we will take our responsibilities, that is to say, we may have to lift them,” he said. The Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, went further. “There is only one solution: the unblocking of fuel depots and refineries without delay,” he said on franceinfo, calling for negotiations at TotalEnergies to start “today”, Tuesday. “There is no longer any reason for there to be any blockage” at Esso-ExxonMobil, said Olivier Véran.
But if the CFDT and the CFE-CGC are in the majority within the group, the CGT and FO unions, at the origin of the strike movement, represent more than 50% of the personnel of the Fos-sur-Mer refinery. At that of Notre-Dame-de-Gravenchon, the situation is “very balanced between the four trade unions”, CFDT and CFE-CGC representing on the one hand a little more than 50% and the rest being shared between CGT and FO, according to Christophe Aubert, CGT central union representative.
“The strike voted down by a large majority”
The movement was renewed this morning at 6 a.m. “after a proposal from management which is “still on the same proposal as that of September 20 with the exception of the granting of a bonus”, Christophe told AFP. Aubert, according to whom the improvement in the offer made consists essentially of a bonus. At TotalEnergies, “we are still awaiting clarification in terms of negotiations by management” and the employees have therefore “revoted by a large majority” the strike this morning, explained Eric Sellini to AFP.
At the same time, the government is “discussing with Total” so that there can “be an extension over a few days of the rebate” put in place by the group, said Olivier Véran. “The days of blocking access to fuel that we are experiencing will also lead to extensions – this is what we are asking Total – of discounts”, confirmed his colleague in charge of Transport, Clément Beaune, on RMC. This rebate of 20 cents per liter granted by the energy company was supposed to end on November 1.