The unions CGT, Solidaires, FSU, FO, and UNL are calling for a mobilization next Tuesday. Numerous public and private professions will be on strike, and the circulation of several public transport services will be interrupted throughout the department.
Yesterday, Monday, September 27, several unions from the Alpes-Maritimes held a press conference in Nice to explain the reasons for the strike planned for Tuesday, October 5. Indeed, on that day, 145 demonstrations are planned across France. In Alpes-Maritimes, the meeting is set for 10 a.m. at Place Masséna, in Nice.
The different unions explained the reasons for this strike in front of the media. The first demand is the revaluation of salaries in both the public and private sectors: “if the state increases the salaries of its civil servants, it would send a good message to encourage a raise in the private sector,” said Franck Haussner, the FO representative. The FSU representative, Jean-Paul Clot, also addressed the drop in salaries from the first job: “To give you an example, as a teacher, when I started in 1985, I earned 2.7 times the minimum wage; today, those starting are at 1.3 times the minimum wage.”
The unemployment insurance reform that comes into effect on October 1 is also a cause of this significant mobilization. Indeed, this reform would lead to a reduction in unemployment benefits by an average of 17%, an unacceptable decrease for the unions, as explained by the CGT secretary: “For thirty years, governments have been in a logic of reducing unemployment rights, yet we haven’t seen unemployment decrease, despite the reforms, it’s time to ask the right questions.”
They also criticize the new point-based pension system: “we want to keep the pay-as-you-go system; we do not want a point-based pension.” “It’s disgraceful to wait until the end of the presidential term to bring this reform back on the table,” insisted Jean-Paul Clot from the FSU.
The unions will not be the only ones present next Tuesday; they will be accompanied by students answering the call of the National Union of High School Students. They would like to revisit the already adopted Baccalaureate reform. “With continuous assessment, we will not be evaluated the same way depending on the school, our diplomas will not have the same value depending on the high school we come from,” estimated Julia Pallano, UNL representative.
Finally, this national-scale mobilization will also be followed by the players responsible for public transport. It has already been announced that there will be “neither tram nor bus in the Nice metropolis.” The department’s railways will not be running either, and a notice has also been filed on the side of the SNCF.
Other sectors such as energy, healthcare, social action, commerce, and metallurgy are also expected to participate, although nothing has been officially confirmed at this point.
