Despite the wage agreement, the strike continues at TotalEnergies

You have not finished queuing at gas stations. The striking employees of TotalEnergies finally renewed their movement on Friday on all the sites of the oil group, despite the signing of an agreement on wage increases concluded overnight with two majority unions. The strike was renewed for a few hours or even a few days on the five sites of the group, at the bio-refinery of La Mède (Bouches-du-Rhône), the refineries of Feyzin (Rhône), Donges (Loire-Atlantique), of Normandy, the largest in France, located near Le Havre, as well as the fuel depot in Flanders (North).

Some sites thus intend to continue the movement until they join the day of interprofessional “mobilization and strike” on Tuesday to which the CGT, FO, Solidaires and the FSU have called. On the other hand, the strike was lifted successively Thursday and Friday in the only two refineries of the Esso-ExxonMobil group in France, in Fos-sur-Mer (Bouches-du-Rhône) then in Gravenchon, in Normandy after the conclusion of a pay deal on Tuesday.

28.5% of service stations in difficulty

At 1 p.m. Friday, after the requisitions of personnel made by order of the government, the number of service stations encountering supply difficulties had fallen slightly, to 28.5% against 29.2% Thursday evening, according to the Ministry of Health. energetic transition. The situation has improved in Hauts-de-France, the region which was most affected by fuel shortages, and in Ile-de-France, but it remains tense, still according to the ministry, in particular in the Center- Val-de-Loire with 42.2% of service stations in difficulty.

Several appeals have been filed by the CGT against the requisitioning of personnel before the administrative courts. That of Rouen was rejected on Friday morning and that of Lille must decide by 10 p.m. At TotalEnergies, after evening negotiations invited for the first time since the start of the strike on September 27 under pressure from the government, the wage compromise was signed at midday by the CFDT and the CFE-CGC, majority.

Determination

The two unions declared themselves in favor of the management’s proposal: an increase for 2023 of 7% from November (including 5% guaranteed for non-executives) and 3,000 to 6,000 euros in bonus. The CGT, for its part, is demanding a 10% increase, corresponding to “inflation, plus the sharing of wealth, since Total is doing well and shareholders have been served for a long time”, Philippe Martinez recalled on France Info on Friday. number one in the union.

Emmanuel Macron had assured Wednesday evening that the return to normal would take place “during the week” next. The agreement “will not change anything in the state of mind and the determination of the strikers”, however warned Alexis Antonioli, CGT general secretary of the TotalEnergies Normandy platform, now hoping for “the generalization of the movement”.