The CGT calls for a garbage collectors’ strike during the 2024 Paris Olympics
The Waste Treatment Water Sewer Sanitation sector of the City of Paris of the CGT (CGT FTDNEEA), at the head of the mobilization of Parisian garbage collectors, has strategically filed strike notices for three critical periods: from May 14 to 16, from May 22 to 24, as well as from July 1 to September 8, 2024, covering the entire duration of the Olympic Games.
Dates that risk putting pressure on the City while the latter will be invaded by tourists and journalists who have come to attend the Olympics. If the streets are littered with waste, if the trash cans are overflowing, the image of Paris risks being damaged.
Garbage collectors want better wages
According to information from RMCthe claims relate to a general increase in salaries of 400 euros per month and an exceptional bonus of 1900 euros intended to compensate for additional efforts during the Games. However, the objective is not to disrupt the Olympics but to put pressure on the municipality.
“ The Olympic Games will not be held without the demands of employees. But we have no intention of spoiling these Olympics. It is a lever of pressure, but if there is pressure, it is because politics does not meet the demands of employees. If the Parisian executive hears and negotiates with the CGT, there will be no problems », affirms Christophe Farinet, manager at the CGT, at the microphone of RMC.
Paris Olympics or strike Olympics?
A strike during the Olympic Games could not only damage the image of Paris as a host city but also cause major inconvenience for athletes, tourists and residents. As waste accumulates, the situation could quickly become unsanitary, transforming an international festival into a real logistical and health headache for local authorities. Especially since Paris has, for years, a real problem with rats and mice roaming its parks.
Unions use the Olympics as a major lever of pressure to achieve their demands. However, they assure that they do not want to spoil the event. Dialogue with town hall remains open, and the results of the negotiations could avoid a strike.
But garbage collectors are far from being the only ones to threaten the smooth running of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. strike notices have been filed in several strategic sectors such as transport, tourism and the civil service. The unions are thus taking advantage of the Olympics to demand what they did not obtain in 2023 despite record mobilizations, in particular against pension reform.
