On January 31, the second strike across France to protest the plan pension reform of the President Emmanuel Macron caused an interruption of operations public transportschools as well as refinery delivery in the country.
Massive strikes have taken place in cities across France to protest once morest the government’s pension reform plan, which includes raising the retirement age by two years to 64.
On the rail network, only 1 out of 3 high-speed trains operate, while very few local and regional trains still operate.
[Kế hoạch cải cách lương hưu ở Pháp thổi bùng làn sóng đình công]
Services on the system subway serving the city of Paris and the metropolitan area is also affected.
In the Lot-et-Garonne area, the local CGT union cut off power to some speed cameras and disabled smart electricity meters.
Meanwhile, France’s electricity supply has fallen by 4.5% or 3 gigawatts (GW) as workers at nuclear reactors and thermal power plants also joined the strike.
According to TotalEnergies, the delivery of petroleum products from locations in France has been suspended, but still meets the needs of customers.
According to unions, half of the primary school teachers and 55% of TotalEnergies workers have quit their jobs to join the strike.
The challenge now for unions will be to sustain the strike movement at a time when high inflation is denting wages.
Earlier polls showed a majority of French voters opposed the pension reform plan, which proposes to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, as well as increase the contributions needed to enjoy a pension. full.
After a large-scale strike with more than 1 million workers participating on January 19, the French government has signaled that a number of measures may be adjusted, including special incentives for workers. who started working at a very young age, increased support for mothers who had to leave work to care for their children or who wished to improve their education.
However, the provision on raising the retirement age was not discussed. Prime Minister Elizabeth Borne said on January 29 that “it is not a negotiable issue right now.”
Unions, meanwhile, are opposed to the proposal to raise the retirement age, calling the reform “unfair.”
The French Labor Ministry estimates that reforming the pension system will bring the country an additional 17.7 billion euros ($19.18 billion) in annual pension contributions.
However, unions say there are other ways to increase revenue, such as taxing the super-rich or asking employers or well-off pensioners to contribute more.
Minh Chau (VNA/Vietnam+)
