In addition to the metro in the capital, transportation to Nice and Strasbourg is stopped. Health and education activities were reduced. (Thomas Samson/AFP)
CGT, one of the largest trade unions in France, He demands that wages be compared with inflation, which was the case in the country until 1983, and that the minimum wage be corrected to €2,000 in total.
Major French trade unions, which are demanding better wages to counteract the decline in purchasing power due to strong inflation and decent working conditions, called for a general moratorium on transport, education, health and postal services across the country, on Thursday (10), with five Paris metro lines and many more closed. Other lines with low traffic.
Workers at RATP, which operates public transport in Paris, are demanding an increase in wages, as well as in the number of workers. The fact that the former French Prime Minister, Jean Castex, took over the presidency of this public company did not help the negotiations, as the General Confederation of Workers (CGT) denounced. Trade unions say about 12 million people travel around the Paris region every day using public transport and get minimal rest.
The CGT union, one of the largest in the country, demands that wages be compared with inflation, which happened in France until 1983, raising the minimum wage to a total of 2,000 euros.
These stops in public transport extended to Nice, Strasbourg and other French cities, where an increase in the cost of living appeared especially since the beginning of the sanctions imposed on Russia, which led to an explosion in the inflation of gas, fuel, energy and foods.
Union leaders have also increased pressure on President Emmanuel Macron as he prepares to revive a controversial pension reform that would raise the official retirement age from 62 to 64 or 65. The government had suspended this review due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
As for the other sectors, health centers have been closed, taking care only of urgent cases, schools without classes, many school canteens are not working, as well as recreational activities in public schools, allowing French parents to take their children later.
Belgium’s National Strike according to wages
Belgian unions staged a nationwide strike on Wednesday to protect the purchasing power of wages, with rail service suspended and supermarkets closed. At the main Brussels-Capital Zaventem Airport, 60% of scheduled flights were canceled due to staff shortages on operational platforms.
Meanwhile, Charleroi Airport (Ryanair’s main hub on the European continent) remained closed, with all departures canceled.
The national strike was called by the country’s largest trade union, the General Federation of Belgian Workers (FGTB), with the support of the Christian Trade Union Confederation (CSC).
In Brussels, only 25% of the railway service was running on Wednesday.
Health professionals prepare for attack in the UK
Meanwhile, in the UK, the Royal College of Nursing (RNC), which represents nearly half a million nurses, is preparing to announce at any moment the first national strike in its 106-year history, to demand better wages and more employment. To give consideration to the demands imposed by Covid-19 that made the service unsustainable.
Other public health workers (such as ambulances, hospital porters, and even cleaning staff) are also involved in RNC counseling that can lead to discontinuation.
The British government said it had contingency plans for a paramedic strike, but the announcement did not allay concerns about the impact of the strike on a sector still struggling to recover from the chaos caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
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