The dialogue seems difficult, even compromised, between the unions and the presidency of the Department of Haute-Garonne. Even as a large social movement is underway in community services following the announcement of the non-replacement or non-renewal of nearly 500 contract workers, the inter-union denounces intimidation and threats emanating from their management.
The context
On November 8, 2024, the inter-union of agents of the Departmental Council of Haute-Garonne (CGT, SUD, FO and CFDT) filed unlimited strike notice. In question? The announcement of “a social plan of unprecedented violence!” » The community effectively confirms the non-replacement or non-renewal of 400 to 500 contract positionsjustified by a constrained 2025 budget. State grants, the budget of which has still not been voted on, and the revenues inherent in Transfer Rights (taxes on the purchase of real estate for the benefit of communities, Editor's note), the main revenues financial resources of the Department, are falling and no longer make it possible to cover the community's expenses. To vote for a balanced budget, it will have to make 160 million euros in savings. “And that is not possible only by controlling operating costs », specified Sébastien Vincini, president of the Departmental Council of Haute-Garonne. “The reduction in the community's operating expenses in an unprecedented financial context will allow the Departmental Council to vote for a sincere and balanced budget next March, which takes into account the vagaries of the national situation. The Department will remain a center of stability, capable of maintaining its essential public policies and a high level of investment to meet the needs linked to the demographic pressure of the territory,” he explained during his greetings to the press.
Thus, in a letter to the attention of staff, which we were able to obtain, dated November 8, 2024, Sabine Geil-Gomez, vice-president of the Department in charge of Human Resources and Finance, informs the agents of the cut in staff numbers, but also “a modification of existing working time formulas” : “The formula allowing a weekly working time of 41 hours 25 minutes, giving rise to 35 days of ARTT and the possible recovery of overtime, is not compatible with this new context. While remaining within the legal framework of 1,607 hours, an increase in the number of annual working days is necessary to ensure the continuity of activities,” specifies the elected official. Agents will therefore have the choice between “a weekly working time of 35 hours without recovery days” or “a weekly working time of 37h30 or 39h, […] which give rise to respectively 15 and 23 days of annual ARTT”.
A virulent social movement
An internal press release that didn’t get through: “We were stunned! Especially since there was no social dialogue upstream! » exclaims the inter-union which, on November 19, during a General Assembly, calls for general strike. A third of the staff of the Haute-Garonne Departmental Council follows the social movement and marches in the streets of Toulouse on November 26. A mobilization which did not weaken until December 10, the date on which a permanent Commission was held at the Hôtel du Département. The strikers, after having gathered peacefully, entered the community enclosure to disrupt the executive meeting there. Under the number of demonstrators, the door gave way (literally and figuratively) and Sébastien Vincini was forced to suspend the session. “A security guard was even injured,” specifies the Department.
-To calm tensions, the president receives staff representatives. “He listened to us and agreed to a moratorium », recognizes the inter-union. “Fully aware of the effort required of community agents in this reorganization, Sébastien Vincini has always affirmed his desire for dialogue and openness,” explains the Department. But the suspension of the plan only lasted a week… and the sanctions started to fall : “Three agents received one to three days of layoff,” testifies the inter-union. “For having damaged the premises and injured a person”, justifies the community. “An attempt at intimidation”, according to the unions which, in their communications, assure the agents of the Department of Haute-Garonne “that the fight continues”.
Threats and intimidation?
A promise that they formalize in the form of activist leaflets. But those of Sud and Force Ouvrière are not to the taste of the departmental executive. The editorial staff got their hands on one of them:
For the director of working conditions and professional development, Laurie Veyssière, “the content of this message contravenes the Memorandum of Understanding on the means of electronic communication made available to the trade union organizations of the Departmental Council. […] In this case, the defamatory nature of your letter respects neither your obligation of confidentiality, nor the aforementioned framework for the use of digital resources,” she mentions in a letter addressed to FO. For “abusive use”, just like for Sud, the sanction will be suspension of electronic means (emails) for a period of three weeks. “An attack on our social rights! The straw that breaks the camel's back,” fumes the inter-union.
The latter then calls to disrupt, with a lot of fuss, the president's 2025 wishes to personnel which took place on January 14. An initiative that comes to the ears of Eric Daguerre, the Director General of Services (DGS). He warns in a letter, which we have consulted: “You explicitly encourage the agents to disrupt the event, which I deplore. […] During the president's greetings, any breach of ethics and statutory obligations will be noted and may give rise to sanctions. » “Acts of violence, like defamatory messages, are not tolerated within the institution and have no place in social dialogue,” adds the community. Faced with the warning, the inter-union CGT, SUD, FO and CFDT finally decided to boycott the meeting: “Does he seriously believe that we are going to come and shake their hands, share a drink and wish them “Happy New Year” as if nothing was happening? »
Social dialogue seems broken between the unions, who are asking for a moratorium on the social level while awaiting the vote on the national budget (March 2025), and the executive of the Haute-Garonne Department, which is trying to maintain a “sincere and balanced budget”. And the new year doesn't seem to ease the situation.
