After about six hours of meetings, the CGT negotiators left the discussions between the unions and the management of TotalEnergies around 2 a.m. Friday, October 14, dissatisfied with the salary increase proposals made by the oil group.
These were the first wage negotiations since the CGT launched a strike on September 27 that blocked TotalEnergies’ refineries and fuel depots in France, created a fuel shortage and spread oil to other sectors. . “The proposals on the table are largely insufficient”said Alexis Antonioli, CGT general secretary of the TotalEnergies Normandy platform, denouncing a “masquerade”.
The negotiator implied that the reformist unions (CFE-CGC and CFDT) would, on the other hand, sign an agreement: “We strongly believe that there are trade unions, which did not call for a strike, which will be signatories to this agreement in the hope of putting an end to the movement. » He mentioned a “Exxon-style scenario”the other oil group affected by a strike in its two French refineries, and where the two majority unions have signed an agreement with management, without the CGT.
A general strike scheduled for Tuesday
But, according to them, the strikers of the TotalEnergies sites will not accept during votes on Friday the offer made by TotalEnergies, ie a 5% general increase with a minimum increase of 2,000 euros. The CGT says it has made a counter-proposal, which it has not disclosed. “These unions that would come to sign an agreement at a discount, it will not change anything in the mobilization, it will not change anything in the state of mind and the determination of the strikers”predicted Alexis Antonioli, now hoping “the generalization of the movement. »
The two negotiators from the CGT, the group’s second union, added that “If management ever wants to contact us again, they have our cell phones. » On the CFE-CGC side, coordinator Dominique Convert told Agence France-Presse (AFP) by text message: “We’re not done, but we’re almost done…”
The movement launched by the CGT has in fact already turned into calls for a general strike, and next Tuesday will be a big day of national strike, from transport to civil servants, following the call Thursday from four major unions (CGT, FO , Solidaires, FSU) and several youth organisations. The SNCF and the RATP will be particularly affected by the strike, which adds to an existing movement in nuclear power plants.
The government had pushed hard for these negotiations to begin, and Emmanuel Macron assured that the return to normal would take place “during the coming week”.
Five out of seven refineries shut down
In the Hauts-de-France, Ile-de-France and Center-Val-de-Loire regions, particularly affected by the shortages created by strikes in refineries and fuel depots, motorists continued their quest on Thursday. of gasoline and diesel, chasing tanker refueling and monitoring applications. A shortage that wastes considerable time for professionals who depend on their vehicle: road hauliers, craftsmen, paramedics, etc.
“For four or five days, it’s been a disasterexclaims Françoise Ernst, driving instructor in Paris. We can no longer work. » The truckers are ” on the razor wire “told AFP the secretary general of the Organization of European road transport operators, Jean-Marc Rivera. “I have contracts where I have to take out the trash, where I have to perform cleaning services. And when you don’t have gas and you have a very big tour, it’s a bit complicated “says Elisabeth Mailhes, self-employed in cleaning, who is not paid if she does not honor her contracts.
Only one refinery saw the strike stop on Thursday, that of Fos-sur-Mer belonging to Esso-ExxonMobil, a group where an agreement was reached with certain unions but not the CGT. The strikers of that of Gravenchon-Port-Jérôme, on the other hand, renewed it. Five refineries, out of seven in France, remain shut down, as well as several depots, including a huge one near Dunkirk, belonging to TotalEnergies.
The requisitions “set fire to the powder”
At 5 p.m. Thursday, 29.1% of stations lacked one or more fuels, according to the Ministry of Energy Transition, barely less than the day before (30.8%). In the Centre-Val de Loire, the proportion rises to 44.7%. The opening of negotiations was made after the government requisitions of employees in the Esso-ExxonMobil refinery of Gravenchon in Normandy, and at the Flanders depot of TotalEnergies in Mardyck, near Dunkirk, to reopen the floodgates.
These requisitions have “set fire to the powder”, according to the boss of the CGT, Philippe Martinez, on BFM-TV. In the field, the first requisitioned employees, forced to work under penalty of criminal sanctions, made it possible to release the first stocks of fuel by pipeline (7,000 m3 from the Gravenchon depot in Normandy in twenty-four hours, according to the government) and by road (25 tankers from Dunkirk on Thursday), without incident.
The Nord prefecture argued that the requisitions had been decided because of “public disorder” in gas stations, where the length of the queues, up to two kilometers, has caused friction, and prevents priority professions from accessing the pumps. To speed up the recovery, the government has again authorized tanker trucks to drive this weekend, while heavy goods vehicles are normally prohibited from driving from Saturday 10 p.m. to Sunday 10 p.m.