/ 27 October 2010

Sarkozy nears victory on pension Bill as unrest wanes

French President Nicolas Sarkozy moved closer to victory on Wednesday in his showdown with unions over pension reform, with strikes easing and street marches losing momentum.

Public transport was returning to normal, fuel was leaving depots at five oil refineries and garbage collectors in the southern port city of Marseille cleared heaps of maggot-infested rubbish after ending a two-week walkout.

An unrelated month-old strike at the Marseille oil port of Fos-Lavera may now become the government’s main focus as it is keeping the bulk of France’s refineries starved of crude oil, meaning they cannot restart operations.

Sarkozy has kept a low profile this week as his reform to make people work two years longer for their pensions comes close to becoming law. It has sparked some of Europe’s fiercest protests against deficit-cutting measures.

CGT union head Bernard Thibault told the daily Liberation in an interview on Wednesday the battle over pension reform was not over. But he admitted that the goal of a new national day of protest on Thursday was not to beat turnout records.

“We can see that this week marks a change,” Labour Minister Erik Woerth, in charge of shepherding the pension Bill through Parliament, told Canal Plus television on Wednesday.

Sarkozy says his Bill to raise the minimum and full retirement ages by two years to 62 and 67 is vital to rein in a ballooning pension shortfall and safeguard the AAA credit rating that lets France service its debt at the lowest market rates.

Port strikes
Both houses of Parliament have approved the Bill and are now signing off on revisions to the text. Once the National Assembly approves the text on Wednesday, the law must be approved by the constitutional council, where a last-minute challenge by the opposition Socialists could mean a delay of a few days.

Petrol station shortages have eased after the government cleared fuel depot blockades and ramped up fuel imports.

Unions have called a fresh day of nationwide strikes and street marches on Thursday and another for November 6. But after only a few hundred students turned out for rallies on Tuesday, momentum for the protests appears weak.

The Fos-Lavera workers, who oppose the privatisation of dock unloading operations there, have no plan to end their strike. Union representatives will sit down with management on Wednesday.

“We are waiting for a signal from management. We should have one today,” local CGT representative Pascal Galeote said. About 60 oil tankers are moored offshore, waiting to unload.

Workers at an oil terminal at the northern port of Le Havre voted on Wednesday to continue for another day their strike against pension reform, which is keeping crude from reaching northern French refineries.

If the port strikes and street protests end, Sarkozy is expected to try to heal wounds with unions by discussing labour conditions for the young and old. — Reuters