Hospitals: Strikes loom in France around Olympics over extra workload
Major union is concerned over conditions, bonus pay and childcare during Games
A major union has raised the possibility of hospital strikes during the Paris Olympics in July and August due to concerns over housing conditions, bonus pay and childcare.
The general secretary of the CGT union, which has 640,000 members around France, voiced her concerns on March 7 over the lack of clear proposals from the government for public sector workers impacted by the Games.
So far, the only bonuses announced for public sector workers have been for gendarmes in Ile-de-France, who will receive up to €1,900 extra during the Olympics.
The city is expecting around 15 million visitors during the Olympics, with up to two million additional tourists from abroad leading to significant extra pressure on public services in the city.
“We are very concerned how this will play out in hospitals,” CGT general secretary Sophie Binet told France Info, announcing that from April the union would deliver strike notice concerning public service workers - including hospital staff - during the games.
“We want the government to take immediate action to ensure the Games’ success,” she said. “The Olympics will involve and impact hundreds of thousands of workers.
“In particular, there are those who will have to work much harder than normal, for longer hours and without holidays.
“What will the work and social conditions be for these people? How will all of the people working in Ile-de-France be lodged during the Olympics?
“How are they going to take care of children who will be on their summer breaks? What bonuses will they receive? For the time being, nothing clear has been put forward,” she said.
Ms Binet demanded talks with the government on the “social challenge” of the Paris Olympic Games.
Read more: SEE: which Olympic events are near you (not all are in Paris)
No Olympic ‘strike truce’
The proposed CGT strike notice for public service workers follows a similar notice posed by the CGT for Paris metro workers in January.
That month the CGT delivered a seven-month-long strike notice for Paris metro (RATP) workers from February to September.
The notice, which is a legal requirement, does not necessarily mean services will be impacted or cancelled for the entire seven months, but that members of the union may strike during the period, with the level of disruption not known until the evening before.
In February, Tony Estanguet, the head of the organising committee of the Paris Olympics, called for a truce on strikes during the Olympic Games.
“I want us to work together to find solutions,” he told France Televisions on February 28. “We can’t welcome so many people without making some sacrifices”.
So far, the only workers to say they will not go on strike during the Olympics are air traffic controllers.
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