Michael
Oct 15th 2010, 12:01 PM
French Reform Plans Spark More Industrial Unrest
PARIS (Dow Jones)--France remained torn by industrial action Friday, with workers at oil terminals in the port of Marseille striking for the 19th day and high-speed rail services suffering continued disruption after a partial walkout by rail staff.
The industrial unrest comes after a general strike and nationwide demonstration Tuesday against plans to reform the French pension system, and more protests are planned for the weekend and in the coming week.
On the railway, 15% of workers at state-owned SNCF stayed home Friday. But the Paris Metro was running virtually normally gradually returning to normal after larger disruptions Tuesday, according to transport operator RATP.
The government of President Nicolas Sarkozy plans to raise the minimum retirement age to 62 from the current 60 and to up the age at which the French can retire with guaranteed full entitlements to 67 from 65. The government has insisted the pension reform is vital to restoring the health of the country's budget.
The pension measures have already passed the lower house of Parliament and await a vote Wednesday in the Senate.
Unions have called for a nationwide demonstration Saturday to allow for turnout from a higher number of people, including families and private-sector workers. Another general strike and nationwide demonstration is planned for Tuesday in advance of the Senate vote.
Increased turnout in Tuesday's protests "confirms growing opposition from workers to an unjust and ineffective reform that worsens inequalities without ensuring the sustainability of the pension system," the main unions said in a joint statement Thursday.
As many as 3.5 million people participated in Tuesday's demonstrations, according to unions, but the interior ministry put the figure at more than 1 million.
By either reckoning, the number of protesters has been growing. Unions said roughly 3 million people took part in a previous demonstration Sept. 23, while police said the number fell short of 1 million.
Source (http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20101015-708727.html)
Looks like Sarkozy has his hands full with this issue. The people apparently are adamant that the official retirement age must remain at 60. No mention of how the French State is supposed to pay for this. I have a hard time believing that these same strikers would support the large tax increases needed to fund this policy (let alone to pay for current policies which are presently funded by debt-financing).
In this respect, this issue is vaguely similar to the political unrest in the USA - where people are demanding tax-cuts and spending cuts, but at the same time insisting that 98% of government spending programs are untouchable. All this while the USA faces the most massive and record setting deficits over $1 trillion per year.
Personally, I find it very disturbing that the vast majority of voters across most western countries are entirely comfortable about demanding services NOW but insisting that the cost of paying for that service MUST be put on one's grandchildren. I consider this policy to be generally dispicable. I don't care how much you want to retire at age 60 - please tell my why your grandchildren and great-grandchilren yet unborn ought to forced to pay for your early retirement?
PARIS (Dow Jones)--France remained torn by industrial action Friday, with workers at oil terminals in the port of Marseille striking for the 19th day and high-speed rail services suffering continued disruption after a partial walkout by rail staff.
The industrial unrest comes after a general strike and nationwide demonstration Tuesday against plans to reform the French pension system, and more protests are planned for the weekend and in the coming week.
On the railway, 15% of workers at state-owned SNCF stayed home Friday. But the Paris Metro was running virtually normally gradually returning to normal after larger disruptions Tuesday, according to transport operator RATP.
The government of President Nicolas Sarkozy plans to raise the minimum retirement age to 62 from the current 60 and to up the age at which the French can retire with guaranteed full entitlements to 67 from 65. The government has insisted the pension reform is vital to restoring the health of the country's budget.
The pension measures have already passed the lower house of Parliament and await a vote Wednesday in the Senate.
Unions have called for a nationwide demonstration Saturday to allow for turnout from a higher number of people, including families and private-sector workers. Another general strike and nationwide demonstration is planned for Tuesday in advance of the Senate vote.
Increased turnout in Tuesday's protests "confirms growing opposition from workers to an unjust and ineffective reform that worsens inequalities without ensuring the sustainability of the pension system," the main unions said in a joint statement Thursday.
As many as 3.5 million people participated in Tuesday's demonstrations, according to unions, but the interior ministry put the figure at more than 1 million.
By either reckoning, the number of protesters has been growing. Unions said roughly 3 million people took part in a previous demonstration Sept. 23, while police said the number fell short of 1 million.
Source (http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20101015-708727.html)
Looks like Sarkozy has his hands full with this issue. The people apparently are adamant that the official retirement age must remain at 60. No mention of how the French State is supposed to pay for this. I have a hard time believing that these same strikers would support the large tax increases needed to fund this policy (let alone to pay for current policies which are presently funded by debt-financing).
In this respect, this issue is vaguely similar to the political unrest in the USA - where people are demanding tax-cuts and spending cuts, but at the same time insisting that 98% of government spending programs are untouchable. All this while the USA faces the most massive and record setting deficits over $1 trillion per year.
Personally, I find it very disturbing that the vast majority of voters across most western countries are entirely comfortable about demanding services NOW but insisting that the cost of paying for that service MUST be put on one's grandchildren. I consider this policy to be generally dispicable. I don't care how much you want to retire at age 60 - please tell my why your grandchildren and great-grandchilren yet unborn ought to forced to pay for your early retirement?