Since April 25, the staff of the Lavaur hospital center has been on unlimited strike. The inter-union continues to denounce the non-replacement of dozens of positions.
This is the story of a conflict that is getting bogged down… On the one hand, there are the rallies that follow one after the other. The support of users for the striking staff is still there. On the other hand, there are rounds of negotiations during which almost nothing moves forward and which also follow one after the other.
A “summary report of the negotiations” was produced by management. “It shows many positive responses to our platform of demands”, the inter-union organization is pleased to say before immediately specifying “but without an effective date for each of these favorable opinions”.
Because a scalded cat fears cold water… During the last strike of the same type, commitments had been made by the management of the time, commitments that were not kept, which the staff remember. Moreover, the inter-union emphasizes: “We have made it clear to the management that if the inter-union decides in the short or medium term to end this unprecedented strike movement, it would only be after consultation with the teams concerned and on the basis of a detailed strike exit protocol.”
Two other “summer protest vigils” on Tuesdays August 6 and 20
The strike, which has no impact on patients, is therefore here to stay and one of the challenges is to maintain the mobilization. “The mayor asked the municipal police to call a union to remove the banners from in front of the hospital,” emphasizes an activist. “The inter-union is also in a hurry to remove the banners, but for that we will need a protocol for ending the strike, we are gradually getting closer to it.”
This summer, the inter-union (composed of the CGT, the CFDT and FO) thus left the “tent of protest” pitched in the hospital’s main courtyard. Because if the current strike has no impact on operations, it has on the image of the hospital “on strike” for more than three months without having found a solution to resolve the conflict.
After Thursdays 11 and 25 July, two other “summer protest vigils” are scheduled for Tuesdays 6 and 20 August, all day long. This is an opportunity for the strikers to meet with users who support their movement and to take stock of progress.
