Salary negotiations continue the hard way in Carrefour, where employees are demanding an inflation-linked hike. Deemed insufficient, the management’s proposals were met with a new strike day.
Inflation has risen to 6%, they are offered a salary increase of 2.5%. Everywhere in France, Carrefour employees are on strike to demand a wage increase and survive the current difficult economic environment. On September 15, the annual negotiations had given rise to a proposal for a 2% increase by the management, which was considered very insufficient by all the unions.
Force Ouvrière, the majority union, and the CGT, had jointly asked for the mobilization, calling for the reopening of negotiations. Carrefour management seemed to listen to them, as a new negotiation meeting was held on 22 September. The leaders let the press know that they had formulated “a new proposal for a 2.5% salary increase”. To be discussed for FO, still far from the bill for the CGT, which in a statement called for the mobilization to be maintained. The union punishes a “new alms” it’s a “indecent Proposal”. “The management is completely disconnected from the reality on the ground and from the suffering of the employees, who can’t take it anymore”.
Indeed, the mobilization continues this Saturday 23 September, customers have been invited by demonstrators to go to other large distribution chains. The availability of the products was in fact undermined by the strike of the warehouse workers who supply the Carrefour stores. In the north, the strike was also closely followed at the Carrefour Supply Chain, located in Aire-sur-la-Lys and which supplies some 450 stores in the region. Their colleagues in the shop took over, in Wasquehal or Audruicq (62)where the September 23 action mobilized 80% of the workforce according to the CFDT.
The CGT advocates a long-term balance of power, at least until September 29, and refuses to back down before “ a minimum wage of 2,000 euros gross and an increase of 300 euros for all ”. Although the Carrefour group’s net profit fell in the last six months, the brand announced a 13.2% increase at the end of July and praised its ability to gain market share.
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