Connexion: French educators and students to strike over COVID protections and pay

 A French teachers union estimated that about a third of all of France's teachers would go out on strike yesterday, January 26th, as frustration has risen around the nation's response to the resurgent COVID-19 pandemic, The Connexion has reported.

The union, SNUipp-FSU, said that members felt that the state had abandoned frontline workers in the midst of deteriorating situations making and called for the state to implement protection for teachers and students that rose to the challenge of COVID-19.

The unions are also demanding action on teacher salaries, which falls 7% below the global average for early and mid-career professionals, after promises and reforms made last year were deemed insufficient.

Students and parents are also joining the strike over frustration with the government's response to the pandemic.

France's nurses union also encouraged its school nurse members to join the teachers strike, saying the additional burdens placed on school nurses to test and contact trace COVID-19 prevented them from being able to tend to and care for students with other health needs.

Workers of the National Library of France join the protests against the provisional reform

https://sudculturebnf.wordpress.com/

Workers believe that reforms promoted by Macron are increasingly degrading working conditions and quality of life.

The labor unions of the National Library of France agreed to participate in the demonstrations on December 17 and 18.

The government maintains the unfair point pension system for a large part of the population, especially the younger generations.

-From 2027, the entire population will have to work at least up to 64 years of age so as not to suffer a penalty which will reduce the amount of retirement benefits by 10%.

–For those born from 1975, the reform will well lead to a significant reduction in retirement pensions, indeed the amounts will be calculated, not from the best years and months of wages but over the entire career ( minimum 43 annuities paid, result, at least between -150 and -350 euros per month, some projections speak of double these losses). We are moving from a system of solidarity to an individualized and unequal functioning.

-It will take longer to compensate for the losses induced by this new type of calculation

-The project still provides for the purchase of points, the value of which will be indexed to wages. Problem, the government says that Parliament can change the rules of the game along the way. In Sweden the value of this point has lost 10% in 10 years; As a result, there are now 15.8% of poor retirees in Sweden, twice as many as in France.

Sources consulted:

https://www.actualitte.com/article/monde-edition/bpi-bnf-les-bibliotheques-dans-un-mouvement-de-greve-generale-illimitee/98246

https://sudculturebnf.wordpress.com/category/greve/

Guardian: France hit by general strike led by public sector workers

Some of the biggest demonstrations to hit France in recent years took to the streets Thursday as labor unions across the country, led by teachers and transit workers, dug in for the second day of mass strikes, the Guardian reports.

The nationwide strike is in response to the coming roll out of significant changes to the country's pension system put forward by President Emmanuel Macron. Many marchers are also pointing out that the proposed pension cuts are only the latest in the current governments attempts to roll back France's public services.

The strikes are seen by many, in conjunction with the anti-government yellow vest protests of earlier this year, as a sign that France is in the midst of a social crisis as many people are struggling to make ends meet while the centrist government led by Macron is looking to scale back the historically robust social safety net.