France: action spreads to high schools, railworkers' strike wins partial concessions

Submitted by martin on 23 November, 2007 - 8:57 Author: Martin Thomas

The railworkers' strike action in France seems to be ending for the time being, apparently with some concessions, but student mobilisations continue, and may even be growing among high-school students. The militant student union SUD-Etudiant reports: "Thousands of university and high school students marched on Thursday 22 November, in many cities across France, to protest against the university autonomy law" [a first step to privatisation].

SUD-Etudiant estimates: "Between thirty and forty universities were still blockaded on Thursday [22 November], and more than twenty high schools have joined the movement, especially in the region around Paris and in the North.

"Almost three quarters of universities are regularly holding student General Assemblies against the autonomy law, and more than a third are on strike".

A national student coordination meeting in Tours last weekend called for a new day of action on Tuesday 27th. A new national coordination meeting this weekend [24th-25th] will review that plan and discuss others.

The level of student action is continuing high despite police being called in to end occupations (often with some brutality) at many universities.

According to the militant union SUD-rail, the continuation of the French railworkers' strike over pension rights "became more difficult after Tuesday 20 November [the day of a public service workers' strike and big demonstrations across France], when the CGT [the majority union, influenced by the Communist Party] began to call for a return to work".

After striking on 14 November, the railworkers had been holding mass meetings each day and voting to continue the strike, and there was a strong commitment to stay out to join up with the public service workers on the 20th, but after that the CGT thought they could secure a return to work. As SUD-rail puts it, "signs of a return to work" were given, and eventually "the return to work by some allowed the leaderships to get a return to work by others, since 'the number of strikers was falling'.

"Nevertheless", continues SUD-rail, "many CGT activists and collectives preferred to continue the struggle, sticking to the same conclusion as that arrived at by SUD-rail and [the other union federation] FO: we have decided together to enter into a mobilisation which we knew would probably be a long one..."

Negotiations are now in progress: SUD-rail reports that "the unions are invited to eleven meetings between now and 18 December". According to Débat Militant (a newsletter published by a current in the LCR), "It seems that the SNCF [mainline railways] and RATP [Paris public transport] managements are willing to finance, from their profits, wage compensations which would allow the meintenance, more or less, of the level of the workers' pensions despite the 'reform'. It is a way of trying to get the movement from 37.5 years' contributions [for a full pension] to 40, that is to secure the real aim of this 'reform', which is not, as we can well see, just a question of money, but rather a political problem: to clear the ground for a general increase in the number of years' contributions required to 40 for all workers".

The battle over pensions is by no means over yet. SUD-rail says that the railworkers see their battle as not just one for their particular pension rights, but for all workers, "henceforth directly under threat of an increase in the minimum number of years' contributions for a full pensions being raised to 41 [from 40 at present] in 2008, then 42, and so on".

The bosses' federation MEDEF has indicated that it wants the requirement raised to 45 years' contributions. Reports I'd seen previously spoke of the increase to 41 years as a threat for 2010, but SUD-rail reports it as a more immediate threat.

On 8 December there is a demonstration in Paris against unemployment and casualisation.

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