Refineries, service stations… The CGT calls for a strike at TotalEnergies this Thursday for employment and wages

The CGT is putting pressure back on TotalEnergies. This Thursday, the union maintains its call for a strike on all the group's sites, for employment and wages, despite the recent announcement by management of an advance on bonus. A decision confirmed this Monday by representatives of the organization: “Our management’s attempt to defuse (...) is not working,” declared Eric Sellini, CGT coordinator for the group, who indicates that “everyone, normally, on Thursday, will call a strike from the first shift in the morning.”

The CGT calls in particular to stop work in the group's refineries and in the TotalEnergies service stations of the Argedis subsidiary, numbering around 180, mainly on motorways. In refineries, this 24-hour movement could result, depending on the involvement of employees and the terms decided locally, by shipments of fuel “which will be blocked, or slowed down”, indicated Eric Sellini. Some service stations could also be blocked. In the Hutchinson factories, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies specializing in rubber and seals for industry, walkouts could take place at the start and end of shifts.

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The CGT is calling for hiring, in particular temporary workers who work in refineries, and the transformation of fixed-term contracts into permanent contracts. She spoke of staff being “under pressure”, with consequences for security. Concerning salaries, the union is demanding a 200 euro increase “for all”, and the establishment of a “minimum base salary within the group, up to 1.2 SMIC”, specified Eric Sellini.

Also read: TotalEnergies protects dividend distribution

An “advance” on a proposed annual bonus

This call for strike comes in a context of logistical difficulties linked to the war in the Middle East and the group's capping of the price of fuel at its service stations, which caused a rush of motorists anxious to preserve as best they could their purchasing power, against a backdrop of soaring prices for oil and its derivative products. This increase in market prices contributed to bringing the group's net profit to 11.2 billion dollars (around 10 billion euros) over the entire first half, an increase of 73% over one year.

A week before this strike day, management sent an internal message to employees, announcing an “advance of 1,000 euros” on their annual bonus, in order to “recognize today their contribution to the collective success of the company”. Mandatory annual salary negotiations are scheduled for next December.