Hi Eline, the strike of oil company employees has been going on for weeks now. What are the consequences for the French?
‘At the end of September, the employees of oil companies TotalEnergies and Exxonmobil went on strike. As a result, the supply of fuel, such as petrol and diesel, is halted. It varies by region, but in total the strike affects about 30 percent of the pumps. In some places there is no fuel at all.
‘In Essonne, a department south of Paris, pupils could no longer take the bus to school. Thousands of families had to look for alternative transport. In some places, healthcare personnel fear that they can no longer visit everyone due to hours-long traffic jams for refueling. In Paris you see that the work for some, meal deliverers on scooters and uber drivers for example, comes to a complete standstill without fuel.
How did it come to this?
‘Employees want a higher salary to compensate for inflation. Moreover, they believe that they should also benefit from the enormous profits that the oil companies have made in recent times due to the high prices. Boards did not respond to that demand, but in the meantime TotalEnergies paid out 2.6 billion in extraordinary dividend to shareholders, almost simultaneously with the start of the strikes.
‘It also threatens to be an exciting autumn in France. A few things come together. For example, President Macron is working on pension reforms that are very sensitive. In addition, life has become more expensive due to inflation.
The French trade union CGT called on Thursday to extend the strike to all companies in the energy sector, in order to demand higher wages there too. According to the union, workers at five EDF nuclear power plants would already be on strike on Thursday, as would staff at an Engie gas storage facility.’
How is it possible that the strikes are still not over despite the major consequences?
‘Total’s board only wants to negotiate if the blockades of refineries and depots are stopped. The strikers find this unacceptable. Wednesday evening there seemed to be an opening when the management received the union for a meeting, but that led to nothing.
On Thursday morning, Total presented a one-time bonus proposal of a monthly salary for all staff worldwide, subject to an agreement. On top of that, the proposal has just come to raise salaries by 6 percent next year. The CGT trade union subsequently announced that it would not negotiate through the media.
‘Even at ExxonMobil, it doesn’t look like the employees are going back to work any time soon. Earlier this week, some of the unions concluded an agreement in principle with the company, but not all unions agreed. So the strike will continue there as well.’
In the meantime, the country is partly stuck due to fuel shortages. What is the French government doing?
President Macron gave an interview on French television on Wednesday and also discussed the strikes. He acknowledged that it is a social conflict within companies that have made significant profits. But it is only paid out to shareholders in large amounts. But he also said that this is an issue between employers and employees and that in France such a problem does not always have to go straight to the government.
Although measures are being taken. Prime Minister Borne invoked a law this week that would force some of ExxonMobil’s staff to go to work. This is intended to provide fuel to important safety and health services such as ambulances. Staff at a TotalEnergies depot near Dunkirk will also be required to work, it was announced today.
‘The government can only use this measure to a limited extent; it should only concern a minimum number of employees to keep basic services going. This does not solve the problems for the French yet. Otherwise it would be contrary to the right to strike. Some of the strikers also believe that the right to strike has already been violated and are opposing it.
Isn’t the end in sight yet?
‘Even if an agreement is reached soon, the consequences will continue to have an effect. According to the unions, it will take at least 12 days to restart fuel production. In the meantime, the government can draw on reserves, which already happened last weekend.
‘The extension of the strike to the rest of the energy sector, such as nuclear power stations, could of course also have consequences, although we still have to wait and see. France relies heavily on nuclear energy for electricity production. A large part of the power stations have been shut down for a long time, so that the country now does not export electricity, but has to import it. The strikes come on top of that.’