Olympics 2024: Garbage collectors in Paris threaten strike, notices served

Following civil servants, garbage collectors in Paris are also threatening to go on strike during the Olympic Games. The CGT union served strike notices from 14 to 16 May, 22 to 24 May and 1 July to 8 September, covering the entire Olympic period.

This notice applies to Department of Cleanliness and Water Supply (DCW) personnel, including waste collectors, and Municipal Road Transport (TAM DILT).

Less than three months before the Games, trade union organization CGT FTD NEEA is pressuring the City of Paris for financial compensation. Among the main demands, the union demands a bonus of 1,900 euros and a monthly increase of 400 euros in wages for all employees.

“We have no intention of ruining this Olympics”

To this are added specific requests depending on the transactions. For example, waste collectors operating small vehicles responsible for cleaning the streets of the capital must also increase their monthly allowance by 300 euros and increase their index score (which serves as the basis for calculating remuneration).

“We have no intention of ruining this Olympics. This is a lever of pressure, but if there is pressure, it is because the policy does not meet the demands of the employees,” explains RMC Christophe Farinet, Secretary General of CGT FTD NEEA.

The union invites the mayor’s office to host them for negotiations. “If the Parisian leader listens and negotiates with CGT, there will be no problem,” warns Christophe Farinet.

At the national level, CGT has already issued notices to three government functions (state, local government and hospital) from 15 April to 15 September. The First Union of Civil Servants is calling in particular for “long-term employment, wage compensation for professional restrictions caused by the Games, (…) the right to leave, the choice of remote work and disconnection.”