French union pulls out of TotalEnergies deal

MOSCOW, 14 Oct – PRIME. The French union CGT, which is behind a weeks-long strike at refineries and some of TotalEnergies’ fuel depots, walked out of wage talks Thursday night. In doing so, the union has shattered hopes for an end to the standoff that is draining gas stations and creating nervousness in the country.

“We have seen a masquerade … the announced proposals are clearly not enough,” CGT spokesman Alexis Antonioli told reporters after the union walked out of the talks.

Hours later, the more moderate CFDT and CFE-CGC unions, which represent the majority of workers, struck an agreement with TotalEnergies that, if approved by union members, would mean a 7% pay increase.

“It doesn’t change anything in the minds of the striking workers,” Antonioli said, when asked if a non-CGT wage deal, like the one recently reached at Esso France, could put a brake on strikes.

TotalEnergies on Thursday proposed wage talks despite ongoing strikes, less than a day after President Emmanuel Macron’s government ordered the company, which has made huge profits amid soaring energy prices, to increase workers’ wages.