It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Monday, March 20, 2023
ONTARIO
Tri-Board workers poised to strike on April 3
Tri-Board workers poised to strike on April 3 MARCH 20, 2023 INQUINTE.CA STAFF
The union representing a group of school bus route planners says they are prepared to walk off the job if their proposal for a wage increase isn't met.
CUPE Local 1479 says the seven employees who work for Tri-Board Student Transportation Services, are poised to take legal strike action on Monday, April 3.
“Right now, Tri-Board workers are the lowest-paid of similar transportation planners across the province, earning 19% below the average,” said Liz James, CUPE Local 1479 President.
Tri-Board transportation planners design over 620 school bus routes in the Frontenac, Lennox & Addington, Prince Edward, and Hastings counties of eastern Ontario, James said.
“Our transportation planners organize safe, reliable, and efficient transportation to and from school for more than 30,000 students, over 600 vehicles, covering a geographical area of over 16,000 square kilometres,” explained James. “Their work is valuable and yet they are being paid 19% less than the going rate for it.”
The Tri-Board managers filed for conciliation after only two days of bargaining last July. Three days of negotiations, with a conciliation officer appointed by the Ontario Ministry of Labour acting as an intermediary, took place in January and February 2023. A fourth conciliation meeting between the two parties on March 17 did not result in an agreement, James said.
Nova Scotia
Nurses awarded $10K retention bonuses from province, other health workers to receive $5K
Social Sharing
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Reddit
LinkedIn
Nurses agreeing to work two more years are eligible for another $10K
Premier Tim Houston made the announcement about the bonuses in front of health-care workers at Dartmouth General Hospital on Monday. (Jeorge Sadi/CBC)
Nurses who worked full-time in the past year are getting a $10,000 bonus for remaining on the job, Nova Scotia's premier announced Monday.
"How can we show you, how can we show nurses and health care professionals the same level of commitment that you show us?" Premier Tim Houston said at a news conference at Dartmouth General Hospital. "How can we say thank you? How can we recognize your sacrifice?"
Nurses who promise to stay working until 2026 will receive a $10,000 bonus next year.
The bonuses are part of an effort to retain nurses, most of whom have been forced to work overtime, forgo breaks and vacations because of short staffing.
"Today we're saying thank you to nurses employed by our publicly funded health-care system by paying each of you a $10,000 retention bonus, no strings attached," he said.
Returning nurses rewarded
"And to each nurse who commits to staying with us on this health care journey for another two years, we're going to provide an additional $10,000 bonus so that means potentially $20,000 for nurses, for those that are here with us and who are are staying with us."
One of those bonuses is also on offer for nurses who return full time to the public system, including nurses who travel or have retired or those who work on a casual or part-time basis.
"In a time of rising costs of living I hope that this money will make a difference to a lot of families around the province," said Houston.
Premier Houston said the bonuses are a way of saying thank you to nurses who stayed on the job despite difficult working conditions. (Jeorge Sadi/CBC)
The province is also offering a one-time, $5,000 bonus to people who work in hospitals or other care facilities, including ward aides, continuing care assistants, clinical assistants, telehealth workers, clerical, office and housekeeping staff.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Wellness estimated the bonuses would cost $110 million for nurses and $220 million for all other health-care workers. Another $24 million could be spent on nurses returning work, but the total cost to the province will depend on how many workers decide to participate.
Emergency department nurse Sherry-Lynn Jessome Campbell was at the announcement and said she was glad to hear about the bonus.
"It's money," Jessome Campbell said. "It's needed. I hope that it will bring back some of our very qualified nurses that have gone casual and then travelling."
"We're struggling," she said. "I have left my shift and the same people have been there when I came back in the morning. They may be 80 years old. It's not a way for people to be treated."
Campbell, a nurse for 34 years, can retire with a full pension in one year. She has plans to take her pension but continue to work as a travel nurse, when and where she wants.
High cost of living
"I don't know if $20,000 is going to keep me," she said. "I think it's great. I think it's needed."
"I've seen nurses leave this province because they couldn't afford to be a single nurse ... with the cost of living and our salary."
Nova Scotia Nurses' Union president Janet Hazelton says the bonuses are a welcome recognition of their work. (Jeorge Sadi/CBC)
Nova Scotia Nurses' Union president Janet Hazelton said the bonuses should help keep some nurses from leaving their full-time jobs.
"I think it's fantastic news," said Hazelton. "Recognizing nurses that have been nursing for the last two to three years in a very difficult situation is very welcome and I'm sure will be very much appreciated by the nurses."
Health Minister Michelle Thompson, a former nurse, said she hoped it would not only retain nurses but would lure back those who have reduced their hours or are now working outside the public system.
"We really do want to incent people to come back, so we're open to those conversations," she said. "So it could be up to 1,500, 2,000 that would be ideal if those folks would come back to us."
Asked if that might be an optimistic figure, Hazelton could not say.
Other health-care workers rewarded, too
"I have no idea, said Hazelton. "I don't know how many [are] out there that want to come back."
"I don't know how many out there may go from part time to full time because if they go to full time, the bonus is bigger."
The president of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, Sandra Mullen, was happy to hear non-nurses would receive a bonus, albeit a smaller, one-time payment.
"I believe this goes a long way to show the appreciation to the health-care workers, not just our nurses," said Mullen. "We represent 18,000 folks who work in health care here in Nova Scotia including some nurses."
"That he captured a thank you to them is huge."
Online meeting with premier
The announcement comes a day after Houston and Thompson held a virtual town hall with nurses from across the province.
For an hour, nurses shared concerns and suggestions about how to address problems with workload, paperwork that may not be necessary, the need for mentorship and compensation that has not kept pace with the cost of living.
A community-based VON nurse said it feels like her branch of nursing, which treats patients in their homes, is an afterthought.
Health Minister Michelle Thompson, a former nurse, said she hoped it would not only retain nurses but would lure back those who have reduced their hours or are now working outside the public system. (Jeorge Sadi/CBC)
VON nurses are routinely asked to work four hours of overtime a day and are often seeing patients who are acutely ill but have discharged from hospital as soon as possible.
"We're exhausted," she said. "We have zero work-life balance."
A nurse practitioner called on the premier to address Nova Scotia student loans.
Given the tax rate in the province and the demand for skilled nurses across the country, she argued that student loan payments are a disincentive to stay in Nova Scotia.
Houston said he received the message about compensation, but noted that collective bargaining with unions continues and he would not interfere with the process. He committed to removing paperwork and unnecessary red tape.
NATURAL GAS NEWS FRENCH STRIKES CONTINUE TO BLOCK REFINERY SHIPMENTS AND LNG TERMINALS
SUMMARY
Shipments of refined products from French refinery and depots were blocked on Monday by a 13th day of strike action, though some refineries operated with a reduced flow, a company spokesperson said
PARIS, March 20 (Reuters) - Shipments of refined products from French refinery and depots were blocked on Monday by a 13th day of strike action, though some refineries operated with a reduced flow, a company spokesperson said.
The industrial action is part of a nationwide movement against pension system changes that lift the retirement age two years to 64. The changes were forced through parliament without a vote last week.
There is an increasing expectation of diesel supply shortages in France and Europe as a result of the strike-caused outages, which are weighing on North Sea and Nigerian crude prices and lifting the spot price of diesel higher than the forward price, traders said.
"We expect product shortages by April (in France)," one trader said. "The diesel market flipped from feeling long and heavy to short and very backward," another trader said.
There are no signs of increased export from the Middle East currently on the water to plug the supply gap, but there is expectation for more U.S. supplies as more Russian supplies go to Latin America.
Production at TotalEnergies' 240,000 barrel per day (bpd) Normandy refinery and its 119,000 bpd site at Feyzin was reduced on Monday because deliveries were blocked. Deliveries were also blocked at the company's Donges and La Mede refineries, though production at both has been halted for maintenance.
Some refining units were operating normally at the Normandy site, a company spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that they will not give exact figures for how much production has been disrupted.
A trader told Reuters the refinery is expected to be fully shut within one or two days because of a backlog of refined stock.
About 39% of operational staff at TotalEnergies' French refineries and depots were on strike Monday morning, the spokesperson said.
Strikes also continued through the weekend and into Monday at ExxonMobil subsidiary Esso's Fos refinery, blocking deliveries, CGT union representative Germinal Lancelin said.
The union is waiting to hear results of votes of no confidence in the government before deciding on continuation of the strikes, Lancelin added.
President Emmanuel Macron's government faces two motions of no confidence in the National Assembly on Monday after it bypassed the lower house to push through the deeply unpopular overhaul of the pension system.
At French liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, the strike was extended until March 27 at the three terminals operated by Engie subsidiary Elengy, a union representative said.
A vote is expected later on Monday on whether to resume the strike at the Dunkirk terminal that returned to operation Friday, the representative said.
(Reporting by Forrest Crellin and Ahmad Ghaddar, Rowena Edwards and Ron Bousso in London Editing by David Goodman and Louise Heavens)
French energy workers on strike protest against French government's pension reform plan in front of the oil depot of the SFDM company (Societe Francaise de Donges Metz) near oil giant TotalEnergies refinery in Donges as French parliament set to vote on pensions reform bill, France, March 16, 2023.
UPEI faculty take to the picket line amid contract dispute
UPEI faculty members hit the picket line UPEI faculty on strike, seek new agreement
Jack Morse CTV News Atlantic Reporter Updated March 20, 2023
Members of the University of Prince Edward Island Faculty Association (UPEIFA) are on the picket line Monday after walking off the job when their strike deadline passed without a contract at Midnight.
Four to five shifts per day of 60 members are split among the university's three entrances.
The union is calling for more faculty and reduced workloads as well as more protections and better pay for part-time and contract instructors.
The university has offered to go to binding arbitration to end the dispute, but the head of UPEIFA’s negotiation team said that won’t resolve breakthrough issues, which significantly alter the workplace, like changing staffing levels.
“They’ll set that aside, and what they’ll focus on will be compensation,” said Margot Rejskind. “If this was just about salaries, we don’t need binding arbitration, we could work that out, but this is about much bigger principles and binding arbitration won’t solve those problems for us or for our students.”
A release from UPEI said it has made offers to the union through email, but union reps said the university has refused to return to the negotiating table on any of those proposals.
“What’s going to end the strike is if the employer meets with us to negotiate a settlement,” said Michael Arfken, UPEIFA president. “At this point, they’re refusing to meet with us, and so there’s not really much to be done until that happens.”
UPEI Faculty Association members and supporters walk a picket line in Charlottetown on March 20, 2023, on the first day of the faculty association's strike. (Jack Morse/CTV)
Students say they are concerned, with exams beginning in the middle of April. The UPEI Students’ Union (UPEISU) is calling for the two sides to come to an agreement.
"We are respectful of the fact that the faculty association has the right to strike, but, at the end of the day, we're here for students,” said Adam MacKenzie, UPEISU president. “We do want to see a speedy resolution and the least amount of disruption to student life as possible."
On the first day of the strike, neither the union nor the university seems to be budging, and that has students worried, particularly those looking to graduate this year or international students who must make travel plans for the end of the semester.
The lost time is hitting doubly hard after students already lost a week of class time during an extended break for the Canada Winter Games.
Faculty members at the University of Prince Edward Island walked off the job Monday, March 20, 2023, after a strike deadline passed in an ongoing dispute with the university over a new collective agreement. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Brian McInnis)
Commuters in the eastern Fraser Valley are feeling the brunt of day one of a full-fledged transit strike. With only the most basic of services running, those on the picket lines say they're prepared to stay. And as Michelle Ghoussoub reports, commuters are being forced to find another way of getting around.
Fraser Valley bus drivers strike over wages, pension and working conditions
Social Sharing
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Reddit
LinkedIn
Essential HandyDart services still running in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission, Agassiz, Harrison and Hope
CBC News ·
Fraser Valley Transit workers gather outside of Abbotsford City Hall during their job action in Abbotsford, B.C., on Feb. 27, 2023. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
More than 200 bus drivers in the Fraser Valley began a full-scale strike Monday, after negotiations between their union and employer First Transit broke down last week.
First Transit is contracted by B.C. Transit, and serves Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission, Agassiz, Harrison and Hope. HandyDart is operating at essential service levels in the region during the strike.
"Workers have been without a contract … since April 1, 2020," said Liam O'Neill, national representative for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), on CBC Radio's The Early Edition on Monday.
He said bus drivers are striking for fair wages, improved working conditions and a 32-per-cent pay increase, to bring them in line with what other drivers are paid elsewhere in Metro Vancouver's transit system.
"It's come to a point where we finally need to take a stand," O'Neill said.
First Transit told CBC in a statement last week that it "feels strongly that its offer balances the needs of all stakeholders in the Fraser Valley's transit system with our desire to ensure we are able to continue to attract and retain skilled and talented workers."
Picket lines were set up in Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Mission on Monday — communities that B.C. Transit says see roughly 13,000 boardings on weekdays. A picket line has also been set up at the Burnaby bus loop where the Fraser Valley Express bus from Chilliwack makes its final stop.
Commuters struggle to find alternatives
Many commuters forced to find transportation alternatives say they're scrambling.
Samidsha Benitan, an international student at the University of the Fraser Valley, says she will have to take an Uber every day, at nearly $15 a ride.
She hopes the strike ends soon.
"Otherwise, it will be very tough for all the students, especially international students, because we need to go to work as well."
Aiden Krysciak, a university student who lives in Mission, says he will have to rely on getting rides from his friends.
"I think I'll be alright for the rest of the semester, but for afterwards, I don't know really how I'm going to get around," he said.
WATCH | Commuters talk about how they're coping:
Students, commuters and bus drivers share their frustrations on the first day of no bus service in B.C.'s Fraser Valley.
While HandyDart is operating for people who need it as an essential service to travel for cancer treatment or dialysis, others who depend on it are out of luck.
Gerene Herrewynen, who lives in Abbotsford and takes HandyDart most days to travel to her volunteer work, says she can't get very far now.
"It kind of sucks for people who have to take the bus or don't have people that can drive them," she said.
Escalating tensions
The past 12 months have seen transit drivers in a number of areas — including the Sea-to-Sky region,West Vancouver and Kelowna — turn to strikes and job action, while union leaders have consistently said the need to deal with increasing costs of living is a major influence on workers' demands.
Buses were temporarily parked in late February and again last week when drivers stopped work for two and then three days, respectively, as part of their job action.
Fraser Valley Transit workers gather outside of Abbotsford City Hall on Feb. 27, 2023. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
CUPE representative O'Neill said Monday that union members on strike "understand the gravity of the situation" and the effect the service halt will have on the public.
"Our members have been working with a substantially reduced income for years," O'Neill said. "What's happened over the years is that the employer has taken advantage of our members' desire not to impact the public, and so the result of that is where we're at now."
Content moderators sue Meta over alleged 'union-busting' in Kenya
NAIROBI, March 20 (Reuters) -Facebook content moderators in Kenya are suing the social media site's parent company Meta META.O and two outsourcing companies for unlawful redundancy, a rights group said on Monday.
The 43 applicants say they lost their jobs with Sama, a Kenya-based firm contracted to moderate Facebook content, for organising a union. They also say they were blacklisted from applying for the same roles at another outsourcing firm, Majorel, after Facebook switched contractors.
Last month Meta filed an appeal in Kenya challenging a ruling which said it could be sued in a separate lawsuit brought by a moderator over alleged poor working conditions, even though it has no official presence in the east African country.
The court cases could have implications for how Meta works with content moderators globally. The U.S. company works with thousands of moderators around the world, tasked with reviewing graphic content posted on its platform.
"This is a union-busting operation masquerading as a mass redundancy. You can't just switch suppliers and tell recruiters not to hire your workers because they are 'troublemakers' – that is, because they have the temerity to stand up for themselves," said Cori Crider from Foxglove, a technology rights group which is supporting the latest lawsuit.
Meta, Majorel and Sama did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In January, 260 content moderators working at Facebook's moderation hub in Nairobi were told they would be made redundant by Sama, the outsourcing firm which has run the office since 2019, Foxglove said in a statement.
The moderators accuse Meta of instructing Majorel not to hire any moderators previously employed by Sama, according to the court petition.
"The redundancy being undertaken is unlawful because no genuine nor justifiable reason was given for the redundancy," the moderators said in their application.
"The moderators have been given varying and confusing
explanations for the redundancy which do not add up."
EDMONTON Demonstrators call for more action toward undocumented worker status regularization in Canada
Adam Lachacz CTVNewsEdmonton.ca Digital Producer Published March 19, 2023
Edmontonians gathered to call on the federal government to make good on its promise of helping undocumented workers (CTV News Edmonton/Miriam Valdes-Carletti).
Dozens gathered in front of the Alberta Legislature on Sunday at a demonstration calling for equal rights and permanent resident status for migrants and refugees in Canada.
Hosted on anti-racism day, the rally was part of a nationwide demonstration calling on Canada's immigration minister to create more programs to regularize the status of undocumented workers.
"These undocumented migrants are really in a very precarious situation," Luciano said. "They are our neighbours, they are our friends."
"It's hard for them to live just looking over their shoulders all the time," he added. "They do not have health care, they cannot access housing and they continue to shop in Alberta.
"They continue to help the economy in Alberta, but they do not have access to those services."
Danilo De Leon arrived from the Philippines in 2009 as a temporary foreign worker. After working for years, he lost his status and has not seen his daughters in almost 10 years.
"The reason I came here is to work and give them a better future," De Leon told reporters, adding he hoped one day to bring them here.
"There's no opportunities back home," he added. "It's not so easy."
Luciano estimated there were between 25,000 and 50,000 undocumented workers in Alberta.
"Making ends meet is hard," he said. "We want to see their regularization happen yesterday… They need support for their hard work."
Bahoz Dara Aziz, Fraser's press secretary, told CTV News Edmonton in a statement that the minister continues to progress ways of regularizing status for undocumented workers contributing to the economy.
"We have unveiled various programs, tested new approaches and successfully provided permanent residency to thousands of individuals and their families," Dara Aziz said.
She pointed to an announcement made Friday that expanded post-graduate work permit eligibility or the doubling of spaces for the out-of-status construction workers program.
"Changes like these ensure skilled workers can stay in Canada and continue to meaningfully work," Dara Aziz explained, adding that Fraser continues to meet with undocumented migrants for consultation.
"As we advance our work on further programs, we will continue listening to experts as well as undocumented workers themselves." With files from CTV News Edmonton's Miriam Valdes-Carletti
GOP RIGHT TO LIFE STATE Idaho OKs veto-proof bill to allow execution by firing squad FIRING SQUAD TO MAKE RETURN
The Canadian Press - Mar 20, 2023 / ry: 47024
Photo: The Canadian Press
FILE - The execution chamber at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution is shown as Security Institution Warden Randy Blades look on in Boise, Idaho on Oct. 20, 2011. A bill that would allow Idaho to kill condemned inmates by firing squad is headed to the governor's desk after passing the Legislature with a veto-proof majority. Firing squads will only be used if the state cannot obtain the drugs needed for lethal injections. (AP Photo/Jessie L. Bonner, File)
A bill that would allow Idaho to execute condemned inmates by firing squad is headed to the governor's desk after passing the Legislature on Monday with a veto-proof majority.
Firing squads will be used only if the state cannot obtain the drugs needed for lethal injections — but one death row inmate has already had his scheduled execution postponed multiple times because of drug scarcity.
Idaho previously had a firing squad option on the books but has never used it. The option was removed it from state law in 2009 after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a method of lethal injection that was commonly used at the time.
Only Mississippi, Utah, Oklahoma and South Carolina currently have laws allowing firing squads if other execution methods are unavailable, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. A judge has put South Carolina’s law on hold until a lawsuit challenging the method is resolved.
As Pacific islanders, we bear the brunt of the climate crisis. The time to end fossil fuel dependence is now
Today’s IPCC report has given a ‘final warning’ to avert global catastrophe. We call on all world leaders to urgently transition to renewables
THE GUARDIAN Mon 20 Mar 2023
The cycle is repeating itself. A tropical cyclone of frightening strength strikes a Pacific island nation, and leaves a horrifying trail of destruction and lost lives and livelihoods in its wake. Earlier this month in Vanuatu it was two category 4 cyclones within 48 hours of each other. The people affected wake up having nowhere to go and lack the basic necessities to survive. International media publishes grim pictures of the damage to our infrastructure and people’s homes, quickly followed by an outpouring of thoughts, prayers and praise for our courage and resilience. We then set out to rebuild our countries.
The Pacific island countries are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and Vanuatu is the most vulnerable country in the world according to a recent study. Our countries emit minuscule amounts of greenhouse gases, but bear the brunt of extreme events primarily caused by the carbon emissions of major polluters, and the world’s failure to break its addiction to fossil fuels.
The science is clear: fossil fuels are the main drivers of the climate crisis and need to be phased out rapidly, as the new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report once again confirms. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has shown that ending the expansion of all fossil fuel production is an urgent first step towards limiting warming to 1.5C.
The climate crisis is driven by the greed of an exploitative industry and its enablers. It is unacceptable that countries and companies are still planning to produce more than double the amount of fossil fuels that the world can withstand by 2030 if we are to limit warming to 1.5C, a limit Pacific countries fought hard to secure in the Paris agreement. As the UN secretary-general António Guterres has repeatedly declared, fossil fuels are a dead end. Governments must pursue a rapid and equitable phase-out of fossil fuels.
Countries cannot continue to justify new fossil fuel projects on the grounds of development, or the energy crisis. It is our reliance on fossil fuels that has left our energy infrastructure vulnerable to conflict and devastating climate impacts, left billions of people without energy access, and left investment in more flexible and resilient clean energy systems lagging behind what is needed.
Transitioning away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy is crucial to mitigating the impacts of climate change and ensuring a sustainable future for Pacific island countries and the world. This requires ambitious collective effort from governments, businesses and individuals around the globe to transition towards renewable energy systems that centre the needs of communities and avoid replicating the harms of fossil fuel systems, while supporting those most affected by the transition.
Transitioning to clean energy and battling climate change is also a human rights and justice issue. This is why our countries will soon be asking the UN general assembly to request an advisory opinion from the international court of justice on the obligations of states under international law to protect the environment and the climate. We urge all countries to support us in that endeavour. Samoa PM urges world to save Pacific people from climate crisis obliteration
We acknowledge that Pacific countries are still reliant on fossil fuels for our daily lives and our economy. This is why we are planning our own just transition. Last week, Pacific ministers and international partners met in cyclone-stricken Vanuatu to chart our collective way forward. We have affirmed a new commitment to work tirelessly to create a fossil fuel free Pacific, recognising that phasing out fossil fuels is not only in our best interest to avoid the worst of climate catastrophe – it is also an opportunity to promote economic development and innovation that we must seize. By investing in renewable energy sources, we can build resilient, sustainable economies that benefit our people and the planet; and momentum for this shift is already building.
Last year at Cop27 in Egypt, more than 80 countries supported the phasing out of all fossil fuels. We must drive this new ambition around the world. Pacific nations will continue to spearhead global efforts to achieve an unqualified, equitable end to the world’s dependence on fossil fuels. We will raise our collective voices at Cop28 and through leading initiatives such as the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance and the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
We know what needs to be done to keep 1.5C alive, and are aware of the small and shrinking window which we have left to achieve it. We are doing our part and urge the rest of the world to do theirs. Ralph Regenvanu is minister of climate change, adaptation, meteorology and geohazards, energy, environment and disaster risk management for Vanuatu
Seve Paeniu is the minister of finance for Tuvalu
French gov’t survives no-confidence votes over pension reform
Lawmakers table two motions to protest against President Macron’s decision to bypass parliament to raise the retirement age.
Far-left lawmakers hold papers reading, '64 years. It is no,' 'Appointment in the street' and 'We are continuing,' at the National Assembly in Paris [Lewis Joly/AP Photo]
Published On 20 Mar 202320 Mar 2023
The French government has narrowly survived two votes of no-confidence in parliament after President Emmanuel Macron pushed through a pension reform that was met with fierce opposition from workers and some politicians.
The motions on Monday were tabled by lawmakers who were infuriated by Macron’s decision last week to bypass parliament and raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 by using special constitutional powers.
A first multiparty motion was rejected by nine votes while the 577-seat National Assembly overwhelmingly rejected a second motion brought by the far right. With the failure of both votes, the pension change is considered adopted. It will now go to the Constitutional Court for review and could become law in the coming days.
The tight result in the first vote led some left-wing lawmakers to immediately call for Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne to resign.
“Only nine votes are missing … to bring both the government down and its reform down,” hard-left lawmaker Mathilde Panot said. “The government is already dead in the eyes of the French. It doesn’t have any legitimacy anymore.”
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen said her group would file a request for the Constitutional Council to examine the bill on Tuesday and possibly censure it.
Macron says the pension reform is needed to keep the system from diving into deficit as France’s population ages.
But critics of the reform disagree, saying it places an unfair burden on low earners, women and people doing physically demanding jobs. Opinion polls have consistently shown that two-thirds of French people oppose the changes.
Opposition to the bill has reverberated on the streets. French workers have been protesting for weeks and have pledged to continue to ramp up pressure on the government and eventually push it to scrap the law.
“The political battle is not over,” Al Jazeera’s Natacha Butler said.
“There is a lot of frustration among some people who feel that the government is out of touch with the concerns, and there is very much a feeling in the air, … a sense of social unrest and unease with the government,” Butler said.
She noted that the mood resembled the atmosphere of a wave of protests that began in late 2018. Back then, the so-called Yellow Vests, demonstrators known by the safety vests they wore, rallied against a plan to increase fuel taxes, which was subsequently retracted, as well as other policies sought by Macron, the rising cost of living and economic inequalities.
In Paris, rubbish is reeking as it piles ever higher on the 15th day of a strike by collectors. The three main incinerators serving the French capital have been mostly blocked as has a garbage sorting centre northwest of Paris. Some refineries that supply petrol stations also are at least partially blocked.
On Monday, hundreds of mainly young protesters gathered at Les Invalides, the final resting place of Napoleon, to demonstrate against pension reform. Some rubbish bins were set on fire, but the protest was otherwise calm. Participants listened to the proceedings in the National Assembly through a channel broadcast on loudspeakers from a union van.
“The goal is to support the workers on strike in Paris, … to put pressure on this government, which wants to pass this unjust, brutal and useless and ineffective law,” said Kamel Brahmi, of the leftist CGT union, speaking to workers with a bullhorn at the Romainville sorting plant.
Unions are demanding that the government withdraw the pension changes and have called for new nationwide protests on Thursday.
Political expert Francoise Gere from the French Strategic Analysis Institute said France is facing a “dangerous political and social crisis”.
“It’s the beginning of a new form of political crisis, a combination of more frequent street demonstrations and strikes, which hurt more and more the economy of the country, combined with a government which cannot rely on a strong political majority,” Gere told Al Jazeera, warning that a deep and serious crisis is unfolding.
“The important issue here is that this government is no longer credible,” Gere said. “There is a crisis of legitimacy, and Macron will have to address this situation.”
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
Macron's government narrowly survives no-confidence vote on pension reform
Social Sharing
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Reddit
LinkedIn
Protests against raising retirement age to 64 expected to continue
Thomson Reuters ·
Far-left legislators hold signs, including some reading '64 years. It is no' and 'meeting in the street,' at the National Assembly in Paris on Monday. (Lewis Joly/The Associated Press)
President Emmanuel Macron's government narrowly survived a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly on Monday, after bypassing the lower house to push through a deeply unpopular change to the pension system.\
Some 278 MPs voted in favour of a tripartisan, no-confidence motion tabled by a centrist party and others, just nine short of the 287 needed for it to succeed.
A second motion of no-confidence, tabled by the far-right National Rally (RN), had no chance of going through later on Monday as other opposition parties said they would not vote for it.
A successful no-confidence vote would have sunk the government and killed the legislation, which is set to raise the retirement age by two years to 64.
The outcome will be a relief to Macron, but he still faces significant headwinds.
For one thing, the centrist president's failure to find enough support in parliament to put his pension reform to a vote has undermined his reformist agenda and weakened his leadership.
Police block the access of the bridge in front of the National Assembly in Paris during debates and votes on two motions of no-confidence against the French government. (Yves Herman/Reuters)
Barclays analysts said the government would remain in place, "although it would be significantly weakened, while social protests against the reform would likely continue for some weeks, which could negatively affect the French economy."
Unions and protesters, angry with the reform and with the fact that the pension reform was adopted without a vote, said they would carry on with strikes and protests.
"We'll meet again on Thursday," Helene Mayans, of the hard-left CGT union, said at a rally in Paris.
Violent unrest has erupted across the country and trade unions have promised to intensify their strike action, leaving Macron to face the most dangerous challenge to his authority since the yellow vest uprising over four years ago.
An effigy of French President Emmanuel Macron is held up near a fire during a demonstration on Place de la Concorde in Paris on Friday, the day after the French government pushed its pension reform plan using a constitutional measure. (Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt/AFP/Getty Images)
A ninth nationwide day of strikes and protests is scheduled on Thursday.
Opposition parties will also challenge the bill in the Constitutional Council, which could decide to strike down some or all of it — if it considers it breaches the constitution.
Strikes could affect diesel supply
Shipments of refined products from French refinery and depots were blocked on Monday by a 13th day of strike action, though some refineries operated with a reduced flow.
There is an increasing expectation of diesel supply shortages in France and Europe as a result of the strike-caused outages, which are weighing on North Sea and Nigerian crude prices and lifting the spot price of diesel higher than the forward price, traders said.
Bags and bins are shown piled in Paris on Monday as waste collectors have been on strike to protest against pension reforms. (Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images)
Garbage in Paris is piling ever higher and reeking of rotting food on the 15th day of a strike by collectors.
The three main incinerators serving the French capital have been mostly blocked, as has a garbage sorting centre northwest of Paris.
