Six of the seven oil refineries operated by TotalEnergies in France have been paralysed by strikes since 27 September, leading to fuel outages in service stations across the country and putting considerable pressure on President Emanuel Macron as the country faces economic turmoil.
Almost three weeks of industrial action by workers who are demanding pay rises has blocked refineries and fuel depots. One third of service stations in France are experiencing fuel shortages. TotalEnergies netted $5.7 billion (€5.85 billion) in the second quarter of 2022, paying out substantial dividends to shareholders.
After numerous negotiation attempts fell through, a compromise was reached overnight on Thursday to provide workers with a a 7% wage increase. However, the tentative agreement was rejected by the socialist CGT union, who said that the terms fell short of their demands and reiterated their resolve to continue with the strike.
The proposal from the management of TotalEnergies includes a bonus ranging from €3,000 to €6,000 said Geoffrey Caillon, coordinator of the CFDT union. Previously, TotalEnergies had offered a 6% salary increase, while the CGT demanded 10%.
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“The CFDT negotiation team gives a favourable opinion on the measures on the table,” said Geoffrey Caillon, shortly after 03:30. After putting the offer to their members on Friday morning, both the CFDT and CFE-CGC unions have now signed this deal.
The two unions represent more than 56% of union members, the other two being the CGT and the CAT. Earlier in the night, the CGT had left the negotiations, dissatisfied with the proposals for an increase made by the management.
