Fuel shortages loom in France as oil refiners continue to strike

TotalEnergies promised on Sunday that if the workers in the oil refineries and warehouses start work on Monday, next year's wage negotiations scheduled for November can start a month earlier. He called the proposal blackmail by the CGT and indicated that the work stoppage would continue.

Energy giant TotalEnergies, which supplies a third of France's gas stations, has been on strike at its largest oil refinery in the port city of Le Havre in Normandy and at several other facilities for two weeks. Workers at two French oil refineries of rival American Esso-ExxonMobil are also on strike. The strike at both companies was announced by the CGT trade union, demanding a salary increase for the employees.

"TotalEnergies is trying to suspend the strike before the negotiations start, i.e. before a salary increase is proposed. The CGT considers this attempt to be blackmail, because it does not guarantee the satisfaction of the demands, and therefore neither the hiring of the job," indicated the union to the AFP news agency.

"Blackmail is currently affecting the French, the goal is to resolve the situation," Jean-Marc Durand, head of TotalEnergies' European oil refineries, said on BFM news on Monday. "We want those who are obstructing the French to finish as soon as possible, that is, we want us to sit at the negotiating table, in a calm atmosphere, and not under a blockade," he added.
According to data from the French government on Sunday, there were supply problems at about a third of the filling stations, mainly in the northern part of the country and the region around the capital, where you had to wait an average of three hours in front of the stations where there was fuel.

The French government does not hide its concern about the situation: on Friday, President Emmanuel Macron held oil companies and workers accountable, and asked motorists to remain calm.

The subject of the debate is that while TotalEnergies wants to negotiate next year's wage increases, CGT also demands a 10 percent wage increase in 2022 due to rising inflation. Of this, 7 percent corresponds to inflation, and 3 percent corresponds to a fairer distribution of the profit booked by the company.

TotalEnergies recently announced that it will pay its shareholders another extraordinary dividend of 2.6 billion euros after closing the first half of the year with a profit of 10.6 billion euros.

(Source: autokalauz.co.hu; MTI | Image: pixabay.com)