While the social movement continues in the refineries and the day after the first requisitions of employees at ExxonMobil, the CGT filed a summary against this decision of the government. Several union members claim that more than 10 years ago, the country was condemned for having requisitioned refinery workers. “In 2010, France was condemned by the International Labor Organization, the ILO”affirms in particular Philippe Martinez, the general secretary of the union. “What did the ILO say in 2010 when Mr. Sarkozy requisitioned strikers? It says: it is an attack on the right to strike.”
This statement is false. At the time, the CGT had indeed seized the ILO, more precisely its “Committee of the freedom of association”, and the authority pronounced itself well on requisitions ordered by the government, in full social movement against the reform of the retreats. But there was no condemnation, that is to say a court decision against France.
Moreover Philippe Martinez, guest of franceinfo Friday, October 14 in the morning, himself recognized that it was a formula used by his union “because there is no international justice”. In fact, the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association can only make recommendations. And that’s what he did in 2011.
In its recommendation, the organization was very measured in reality. She first recalled that a strike can only be prohibited or restricted in an essential service, such as a hospital for example… And that oil installations are not considered essential. But as the lack of fuel can have significant consequences on the movement of people and goods, the organization considered that in this case, a requisition could be justified.
She also noted that the requisitions at the time only concerned part of the refinery employees and equipment. It was not therefore a question of totally preventing the strike, but rather of ensuring a kind of minimum service. We are a long way from condemnation!
On the other hand, it is on the method used by the French government that the ILO twitched. She regretted a lack of consultation. According to her, if a minimum service was necessary, it was necessary to discuss with the unions to find how to put it in place. This is what we read at the conclusion of the report. In the future, the Committee asked France to favor dialogue, rather than deciding on the requisition unilaterally.
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