The eight main workers’ unions and five movements representing youth called to parade and strike on Thursday, January 19, against the text of the government, which had not been seen for a very long time.
by Bertrand Bissuel and Thibaud Métais
For the second time since his arrival in power, in 2017, Emmanuel Macron comes up against a very strong challenge on the pension file. After the demonstrations – at the end of 2019 and early 2020 – against his universal pension regime project, ultimately abandoned, it is the increase at 64 years of the legal departure age which raises opposite winds of a rare intensity. The eight main workers’ unions and five movements representing youth called to parade and strike on Thursday, January 19, against the reform unveiled nine days earlier by the government.
This first national day of action promised to be very followed, with a number of people on the street that can approach “the million”, as indicated on Wednesday evening on TMC, Laurent Berger, the secretary general of the CFDT. “We are in a very high level of mobilization,” said Philippe Martinez, the leader of the CGT, shortly before entering the fray. Even the executive anticipates a large-scale movement: “It will be a galley Thursday,” admitted Clément Beaune, the Minister Delegate for Transport.
such a large and welded union front had not been seen for a very long time. In 2010, all employee organizations had beaten the pavement against another pension reform – postponing the age of rights from 60 to 62 years. But FO, at the time, did not “sign the common press releases” and positioned itself away from the heads of the processions, as Jean-Claude Mailly recalls, then number one of the Confederation.
On May 22, 2018, the nine representative organizations in the public service – including the CGT and the CFDT – had participated in a common initiative, with MM. Berger and Martinez appearing side by side in Paris, but it was circumscribed to issues of the public service which did not concern the business world.
engage the battle promptly
Finally, on December 17, 2019, the eight most powerful unions had demonstrated against the universal pension regime and the idea of creating a “pivotal age” (higher than legal age) to have a pension at full rate; But the CFDT, the CFTC and the UNSA had made a separate band and were not, subsequently, went down to the street against the project.
The date of Thursday January 19 was not chosen at random. The inter -union wanted to engage the battle promptly so as not to be taken short by a legislative procedure carried out beating drum. The measures being included in a bill for amending social security financing (PLFRSS), parliamentary debates will be able to take place relatively quickly: twenty days at most in the National Assembly, the final adoption of the text being programmed for the end March. Employee organizations therefore seek to anchor the dispute before the start of discussions in Parliament.
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