the essential
Mobilization at the Haute-Garonne departmental council. 1,700 agents demonstrated this Tuesday morning at the call of an inter-union to denounce the elimination of 500 contract positions.
After the announcement of the elimination of 500 contractual agent positions, tension rose a notch this Tuesday, November 26 in front of the departmental council where the unions all gathered – CGT, Sud, FO joined by the CFDT and the Unsa – and 1,700 officers, according to police figures, let their anger explode. “The executive branch of the Department has declared war on us. He could have waited until the parliamentary debate was over,” said Stéphane Borras (South), who made President Sébastien Vincini boo.
Because the unions hope from Parliament for a reduction in the imposed cuts. “There’s no point in getting excited,” summarizes Raphaël Crouset (CGT) for whom the Department went too fast and too hard.
“Employment is not the budgetary adjustment variable. This must be a political priority”, insists Hugues Bernard (CFDT) who deplores “the absence of social dialogue”. And who, in passing, asked the prefecture to check the legality of fixed-term contracts with two months' notice.
“Thank you, goodbye”
Among the demonstrators, Adel, 26, technical agent, hired in 2022, sees his contract end in two months. “Afterwards it’s France Travail. » Marine, 36, maintenance worker, was planning to get tenure. “Actually, it’s thank you, goodbye,” says this mother of two. Secretary at the Departmental Home for Disabled People, flying nurse, social workers… other agents say they are waiting. “No one is able to answer us. »
Elected person in charge of personnel, Sabine Geil-Gomez, whom we contacted, recalls the difficult financial situation of the Department: the loss of €253 million in revenue since 2022 and the €164 million to be found for the 2025 budget. “Even if the law finance reduces the drain, we anticipate a need of €140 million. So, we still have an effort to make,” she says, indicating that the major social policies of the Department could thus be cut in turn.
Why take action so quickly? “Our Department offers a lot of things for its agents, more than the others. » And this room for maneuver, the elected official explains that she no longer has it. “This is why we reviewed our replacement policy. »
On the union side, the mobilization will continue with other actions already planned. “The balance of power is settling in,” warns Magali Giner for FO.
The Department claims to have counted 600 strikers out of its 7,000 agents this Tuesday. Strikers who received the support of elected officials Caroline Honvault and Marc Péré and LFI deputies, Hadrien Clouet, Anne Stambach, François Piquemal and Christophe Bex.
