Force Ouvrière and the CGT on Monday filed an “unlimited” strike notice for January 31.
Cold snap on winter vacation? The two main ski lift employee unions, Force Ouvrière (FO) and the CGT, filed strike notices for January 31 on Monday, January 24, in order to protest against the pension reform project, but also against the modification of the unemployment insurance scheme for seasonal workers. A movement that worries tourism professionals in many ski resorts, especially in the Alps. France 3 Paca comes back in three questions on this strike.
- What is this strike movement all about?
FO and the CGT have filed a strike notice for January 31, the date of the next day of mobilization against the pension reform, three days before the start of school holidays in zone A.“unlimited”this notice does not mean that the employees of the ski lifts will not return to work the next day, specifies Eric Becker, general secretary FO of the ski lifts and seasonal workers. “We do not want to further weaken companies already in difficulty”he said.
“This unlimited notice” aims, according to him, to respect the legal deadlines for “allow seasonal workers to participate in the next day of mobilization against the pension reform, which should be decided for one day in February”.
The CGT of the ski lifts had already filed its own renewable strike notice to call for a strike on January 19, the first day of national mobilization against the pension reform, specifies the union.
Between them, these unions obtained nearly 98% of the votes in the last elections in the ski lift sector, which employs some 17,000 seasonal workers in France – FO being the first with 53.5% of the votes, against 44% for the CGT .
- Is this movement only linked to pension reform?
No, this January 31 strike is also for seasonal workers “the only way to be heard by the government, when we have been denouncing the precariousness they are experiencing for months, with the reform of their unemployment insurance system”explained Eric Becker.
“We can no longer recruit, so much has this reform penalized seasonal workers”, whose unemployment benefits are sometimes halved, he says. “We are told that we are taking holidaymakers hostage, but it is the seasonal workers who are.”
According to Pierre Scholl, national representative of the CGT for ski lifts, the reform of unemployment insurance is “a big big point of tension for a while”, while the postponement of the retirement age to 64 is “the straw that broke the camel’s back, it mobilizes a lot”.
“You can’t imagine trackers transporting injured people at 64. And today, seniors who are no longer hired on construction sites, women who have trouble finding work in the off-season have found themselves without anything: that’s a lot of families”, he explains.
Since December 1, 2021, the minimum working time to recharge the rights to unemployment benefit for seasonal workers is six months out of the last 24 months to obtain at least six months of compensation. Previously, it only took four months out of the last 24 months to top up rights for four months.
According to an impact study by Unédic, this change to six months should lead, during the first year of application, to delay the opening of rights to 475,000 people, in particular young people or seasonal workers who multiply contracts. short.
Since its entry into force, many of them have converted or settled down, even though seasonal tourism workers are among the most sought-after professions, according to Pôle emploi.
- What will be the consequences on the slopes?
“We decided to call a strike during the February holidays, because the demands will be better heard during this period”, assures Eric Becker to RMC. However, trade unionists want to be reassuring about the consequences for tourists. “The lifts will operate normally from the next day [du mouvement de grève] : we do not want to further weaken companies already in difficulty”, underlines the secretary general of the ski lifts at Force Ouvrière. For the moment, the watchword is to stick to the dates chosen by the inter-union at the national level.
However, other actions are not ruled out in the coming weeks. The CGT is also considering “strong actions” during the Ski World Cup in Courchevel and Méribel on March 16 and 20, specifies RMC.
With AFP