The management proposed to unions this condition to open salary negotiations. The first requisitions launched by the government at Esso-Exxonmobil began to supply the Ile-de-France dryer stations to dry.
Le Monde with AFP
The situation remains at a standstill in Totalenergies. At the end of a new meeting at the headquarters of the oil giant in La Défense, the striking employees refused, Wednesday October 12 in the evening, a proposal from the management to unlock deliveries early Thursday morning, as a condition at the opening in stride salary negotiations.
“This is a massive categorical refusal, [employees] do not want this requirement to negotiate,” said France-Presse (AFP) Thierry Defresne, CGT secretary of the Totalnergies Europe Committee. A “negative outcome of the night’s discussions” confirmed, for its part, by totalnergies to AFP
Earlier in the day, management had accepted for the first time to receive the CGT. Until now, it required as a prerequisite for blockages to see the second group’s union. 2>
Beginning of requisitions
At the same time, as announced by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, the Ministry of Energy Transition launched the requisition of staff essential to the operation of the fuel deposit of the Exxonmobil refinery of Port-Jérôme, in Seine- Maritime. The decree was notified by the director of the site to four employees, two for Wednesday and two for Thursday, who will be forced to come and reopen the valves, under penalty of criminal sanctions. Philippe Martinez, leader of the CGT, who came to support Exxonmobil employees, denounced a “scandalous decision” and announced the deposit of a summary proceedings on Thursday, to oppose it.
The requisition does not aim for refinery operations and therefore fuel production. It “will make it possible to ensure the shipment of products”, “normally today to the Paris region” by Oleooduc, said on Wednesday a spokesperson for Esso France.
The strikers of the Totalnergies Flanders deposit, near Dunkirk, will be the next to be requisitioned, assured the government.
President Emmanuel Macron has planned a return of normal in the distribution of fuel “at the time of the coming week”, during an interview on France 2 Wednesday evening, also calling for “responsibility” Direction of Totalenergies and the CGT.
Six refineries out of seven on strike
Six of the seven refineries in France were on strike on Wednesday: the four of Totalenergies and the two of Esso-Exxonmobil; Only that of Lavéra, (Petroineos group) is not blocked. In addition, there are the Totalnergies deposits of the Mède (Bouches-du-Rhône) and Flanders, which feed the Hauts-de-France, both stopped. At Esso, an agreement was signed with two majority unions including the CFDT, but not with the CGT. The strike continued in its two refineries. FO, fourth union among the refining employees at Totalenergies, also joined the strike.
For the time being, the shortages continue, despite the promise of improvement of the government. At 5 p.m. Wednesday, 30.8 % of service stations lacked one or more fuels (31.3 % Tuesday), according to the Ministry of Energy Transition. A worse proportion in Hauts-de-France, in Ile-de-France and Center-Val-de-Loire.
The cause of the conflict: wages. The CGT, which launched the strike on September 27 at Totalenergies, claims 10 % increase for 2022, against the 3.5 % obtained at the start of the year, in order to compensate for inflation and to take advantage of the exceptional profits of the group .