RATP, SNCF, civil service, firefighters… These professions which threaten to strike during the Olympics

Should we expect strikes during the Olympics? As it had promised at the beginning of March, the CGT filed strike notices, running from April 15 to September 15. These notices, which concern the three branches of the public service (state, territorial and hospital), will therefore cover the period of the Olympic Games, from July 26 to August 11, and Paralympic Games, from August 28 to September 8, in Paris. After the strike at the Eiffel Tower and those at the SNCF in February, unions in more and more sectors intend to put pressure on the government and take advantage of the event to make their demands heard. Franceinfo takes stock of the professions which have submitted notices and those which threaten to do so in view of or even during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

At the SNCF

At the SNCF, the unions intend to put pressure on with persistent strikes until the Olympic Games. The controllers went on strike during the February holidays. The switchers are in turn called to stop work from Friday February 23 to Saturday February 24, still during the school holidays. The agents have similar demands: better pay and better working conditions. Bonuses are planned, but their amount and their beneficiaries are not yet known.

Faced with the threats posed by these movements to the successful holding of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, certain political leaders want to strengthen the control of the right to strike. Centrist senator Hervé Marseille has tabled a bill to toughen the 2007 law on minimum service in transport. Following the Italian model, the idea would be to protect certain periods of the year, such as end-of-year celebrations or summer vacations, by making it impossible to strike. Marc Fesneau, the Minister of Agriculture, also spoke out in favor of a reinforced minimum service, without specifying its contours.

At the RATP

At RATP, the CGT-RATP, the leading union of the Parisian public transport company, has already filed a strike notice until the end of the Paralympic Games. It has been in force since February 5 and runs until September 9. The union is demanding significant salary increases, emphasizing the importance of its agents for the success of the Olympic Games. The majority unions FO and CGT of metro and RER drivers finally reached an agreement on Wednesday April 24 on bonuses for the Olympics, after long months of negotiation.

Drivers will obtain a “gratification” of 1,200 euros before the start of the Olympics and another of 1,600 euros if they are absent for less than 5 days between July 22 and September 8, details the CGT leaflet. In addition, “a bonus for the act” of 44.10 euros per day during the competition days will be paid to drivers and switchers, particularly on lines A and B of the RER. The fear of a strike at the RATP this summer is fading somewhat. During the Games, nearly 20,000 RATP agents will be mobilized every day.

In the public service

In a press release published Wednesday April 10, the civil service branch of the CGT, the sector’s leading union, filed strike notices in the three branches of the sector. In particular, she asks “long-term recruitment, salary compensation for professional constraints generated by the Games […]rights to leave, chosen teleworking and disconnection”. “The government must take stock of the social challenge of the Games and make appropriate decisions”had alerted, on March 7, Sophie Binet, the general secretary of the CGT, guest of franceinfo.

Force Ouvrière (FO), the second largest civil service union, had already filed a strike notice at the beginning of March extending over the entire Olympic period, to demand better pay for civil servants. Civil servant unions have been demanding compensation bonuses since February 5. They highlight the accumulation of overtime, the overload of work, the impossibility of taking leave this summer or the difficulties in organizing for those who have children, since the Games fall in the middle of school holidays. The CFDT and Unsa, respectively the 3rd and 4th unions in the sector, have declared that they did not, at this stage, call for mobilization during the Olympic Games.

The bonuses could go up to 1,500 euros, assured Matignon. But the police officers mobilized during the Olympics have already obtained an exemption and will be able to receive between 1,900 and 3,000 euros in compensation. “Why is it the police? Couldn’t the other officials have it?”, had castigated Sophie Binet at the beginning of March. Customs officers are also asking to be treated in the same way, arguing that they too will be on the front line.

Among firefighters and police officers

Among the firefighters mobilized during the Olympic events, the Sud-Solidaires union has filed a strike notice for the entire period of the Games, from July 26 to August 11. This notice does not concern the firefighters of Paris and Marseille, who are military personnel and are therefore not unionized. On the other hand, firefighters from the departments of Nord, Gironde and even Loire-Atlantique, where certain events will take place, will have the possibility of striking. They cannot take vacation this summer, even though they are supposed to take 21 days off in July or August and are already experiencing excessive workloads.

Municipal police officers, on strike during Christmas and New Years at the call of the “Angry municipal police officers” collective, could also renew their movement at the dawn of the Olympic Games. They are demanding in particular an increase in their salaries.

To the hospital

Hospitals will be faced with an influx of tourists next summer, which will deprive caregivers of their leave. Patrick Pelloux, president of the Association of Emergency Physicians of France, calls for a “zealous strike”. “We of course do not want to paralyze the Olympics, but we will not release our schedules until we know how we will be paid, and if this remuneration is indeed equal for all those who are working at that time”, he told France Inter. A bonus is promised to mobilized caregivers, but its amount varies between nurses and doctors. And other caregivers have even received requests to work pro bono at some Olympic sites.

The number one of the CGT also sounded the alarm on the situation of hospitals in Île-de-France. “We are being told of an influx of millions of visitors to Paris and there are no additional resources in Ile-de-France hospitals”pointed out Sophie Binet. “We are very, very, very worried”she indicated. “We need a very rapid recruitment plan now, with adequate staff to be able to ensure this additional activity which will be significant”asked the union leader who is calling for the organization of a meeting in Matignon soon.

At the garbage collectors

The CGT of Ile-de-France garbage collectors in turn filed strike notices on Wednesday, May 1, covering in particular the entire period of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The agents in charge of cleanliness are demanding in particular an “exceptional bonus of 1,900 euros” for those who will be called upon during the Paris 2024 Games, as well as other demands specific to each profession.

To the Eiffel tower

The famous Parisian monument closed for six days at the end of February due to a strike. It was the second time that the Eiffel Tower was closed due to a strike in a few months. The CGT and Force Ouvrière denounced the poor financial management of Paris City Hall. The City had decided to increase the annual fee for the monument from 16 million to 50 million euros per year, counting on the increase in the number of visitors due to the Olympic Games.

From December, the strikers had assured that the Parisian monument would be “closed during the Olympic Games” if the City of Paris refused “to review its unrealistic management model”. A threat that could disappear: on February 24, the staff unions and the Eiffel Tower operating company reached an agreement on “an ambitious investment of 380 million euros until 2031” with a “tracking point” every six months.

The resumption of the social movement “will depend on the outcome of the negotiation” with the town hall, indicated Stéphane Dieu, CGT delegate for the site, at the end of March. “It’s an option that remains on the table even if no one, neither us nor the City nor France, has any interest in that”had affirmed the trade unionist.

An “Olympic truce” in the aviation sector

For its part, the main air traffic controllers union assured that it would not strike until the end of the Games. He has undertaken to observe an “Olympic truce” until next September, that is to say during the entire sequence of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. This announcement was made on September 12, after the two main unions obtained an agreement with their management. They had issued a strike notice in the middle of the Rugby World Cup, also organized by France. An idea taken up by Tony Estanguet: at the end of February, the president of the organizing committee for the Olympic Games (Cojo) called for a “Olympic social truce” For “don’t spoil the party”.