The CGT, which had rallied to its FO, Solidaires and the FSU cause, could only note, Tuesday, October 18, the limits of its strategy consisting in trying to block the functioning of the economy to tear up increases salary. Even if certain sectors, such as nuclear power plants, regional trains and vocational high schools, were more affected than others, the day of interprofessional mobilization to which Philippe Martinez, the secretary general of the CGT, had not called did not triggered the tidal wave which would have forced Elisabeth borne to convene a “grenelle of wages” without delay.
Based on the majority wage agreement signed on October 14 at Totalnergies by the CFDT and the CFE-CGC, aware of the growing exasperation of users forced to long queues in front of petrol pumps, the Prime Minister, on the contrary, said, lends to new requisitions in the refineries, where the strike was renewed on Tuesday, with, in its sights, the All Saints holidays that start at the end of the week.
This lost bet of the CGT should not lead to minimizing the salary question. Against the backdrop of the recovery of inflation and the announced decrease in purchasing power (INSEE TABLE ON A DECEP OF 1 % in 2022), the defense of the payroll logically installed at the heart of the concerns of the French In a particularly hit economic context: if multinationals and totalnergies benefit from a very comfortable oil rent, many companies, often medium and small, suffer the full force of their energy bill. The extension of the conflict in Ukraine also makes a recession plausible.
contain the feeling of injustice
The necessary negotiations must therefore take place as close as possible to the field, in branches and in companies, by activating the entire palette of available tools: perennial increases and/or bonuses related to the results. The shortages of manpower in many sectors such as hotels, catering or mouthwash place employees in a less unfavorable balance of power than in recent years.
The gear that triggered the conflict in Totalenergies should not be minimized either. He tells the story of a company which, in favor of a circumstance independent of its will, achieves a record profit, readjusts in the process the remuneration of its CEO, serves its shareholders copiously to then be jostled by the unions Who feels like fighting for crumbs. If, at the proclaimed time of sobriety, the leaders of large groups do not realize that they must change their behavior, their responsibility in the worsening of the democratic crisis will weigh heavy.
To contain the feeling of injustice, the state must also take its share. However, the government has blocked by excluding touching on the fiscal weapon and by resting most of its action on public spending. The various energy shields have certainly attenuated the shock of inflation on the French portfolio, but they prove to be expensive and hardly expandable over time, due to the magnitude of the budget deficit and the weight of the debt. The role of taxation as a regulatory tool cannot therefore be excluded from a setback, even if it cannot constitute a solution to all problems. Due to a high compulsory levy rate, the country has a reduced room for maneuver. This should not prevent it from amplifying the fight on the European and global levels, where the taxation of the superprofits remains to be concretized.