“The situation is solid,” said Steven Decraene this afternoon. TotalEnergies has now committed to giving all employees a bonus worth a full month’s salary and is ready to increase salaries by 6% gross.
“The unions think it’s too late and too little,” Decraene said, maintaining a 10% wage increase to keep up with inflation. Negotiations between Total Energies and the radical (ex-communist) left-wing CGT trade union “has come to nothing”. However, two large unions – good for 57 percent of employees – have agreed on a wage increase in the other energy group. Esso ExxonMobil, but even there the CGT continues to hinder. The CGT even wants to extend the strike and blockades to the entire energy sector and according to Decraene there are already actions in the large nuclear power plants of Gravelines (Grevelingen), near Dunkirk.
