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A refuse collection strike affected a large number of French cities over May and June 2003. The industrial action, mainly concerning public sector workers but also some employees of private companies, partly overlapped with the national wave of protests over the government's reform of the pension system, but also reflected existing problems in the sector. The major demands involved wage and staffing increases and a lower retirement age, at a time when workers in this industry are facing particularly difficult working conditions in the context of increasingly demanding public policies.
In the majority of major French urban centres, refuse is collected partly by municipal employees and partly by private companies, often subsidiaries of French-based multinationals such as Vivendi or Lyonnaise des eaux. These private companies, on the basis of contracts awarded in public tenders, provide between 40% and 60% of refuse collection services, depending on the city.
In May and June 2003, industrial action broke out in refuse collection services across many municipalities, mainly affecting the public sector, but in some cases triggered by tensions within private companies. For example, in Marseilles, the implementation of the 35-hour working week legislation (FR0001137F) at Bronzo, a company providing refuse sorting services in the northern districts of the city, sparked a strike, which later spread to municipal employees and merged into the wider movement opposing the government's current pension reform (FR0306104F) - known as the 'Fillon reform', after François Fillon, the Minister for Social Affairs behind the measures. Demands in Marseilles focused on new talks on the retirement age, wage increases and the harmonisation of the status of refuse collection workers within the whole local authority area. Following a nine-day strike, with rubbish piling up in scorching temperatures, the mayor of Marseilles, Jean-Claude Gaudin of the conservative Union for the People's Movement (Union pour un mouvement populaire, UMP), decided to put in train 'requisition ' procedures - whereby public authorities may order workers to provide services in the public interest - on the grounds that the situation constituted a health emergency. He also asked for assistance from the armed forces; a demand which was turned down by the Ministry of Defence. Action was broken off after three weeks with no gains for employees. The mayor, who had promised in autumn 2002 to harmonise the status of all refuse collection staff in the greater Marseilles area, is accused of having reneged on this pledge.
Elsewhere, faced with strikes by refuse collectors, many municipalities were tempted to call in private contractors, who might thereby see the scope of their contracts with cities extended. For instance, in Bordeaux, teams of private employees supplemented the collection services provided by non-striking municipal workers. The city’s UMP mayor, Alain Juppé, did not rule out imposing penalties on strikers. The demands and types of industrial action were similar in Lyons, Calais, Cherbourg and Brest but the settlements eventually reached were different - for example: improved wage scales, local allowance and restaurant coupons in Lyons; and no gains for workers in Cherbourg, where demands mostly focused on the Fillon pensions reform. In Sevran, employees of OTUS-Onyx, a subsidiary of the Vivendi group – 60% of whom were on strike - blockaded a refuse-truck depot for several days. Demands focused on retirement at 55, a 6% increase in wages (their average gross wage currently stands at EUR 1,295 per month) and equality of treatment for employees - currently, those hired after the shift to the 35-hour working week earn EUR 120 less than their colleagues. Employees also demanded that penalties announced by management be withdrawn. During the dispute, 10 workforce delegate s at the company were summoned to pre-redundancy interviews. There was new twist in the dispute on 23 June 2003 when the CRS riot police intervened to clear the depot, a move which led to protests from trade union leaders and left-wing politicians.
Difficult working conditions
The mechanisation of refuse collection has not significantly improved working conditions, according to commentators. Long periods of running after refuse trucks, carrying heavy dustbins, and placing them on and emptying them into refuse trucks all contribute to various medical conditions such as sprains, tendinitis, fractures, back problems and diseases contracted from the rubbish itself. Safety procedures are, it is reported, rarely followed for productivity-related reasons. Using the elevator - a mechanical arm to which dustbins are attached - takes three times longer than emptying the bins by hand. Given that most municipalities are growing, there are not enough refuse collectors, especially since retired workers and long-term absentees are not always replaced. Employees find themselves under pressure to collect refuse faster and faster, making industrial accidents increasingly commonplace, it is claimed. Waste sorting rules bring new constraints on refuse collection, while traffic regulations require increasingly flexible working hours, often at night.
The current industrial action reflects all these areas of tensions, including municipal employees' concerns over increasing privatisation and unstable employment. Wages in the industry remain low. For example, a Paris municipal refuse collector earns an average gross wage of EUR 1,400 per month, for working days starting at 05.45, including Sundays and holidays. Working hours can be quite different in the public and private sectors. The most common formula remains shiftwork over a six-day week. Refuse collectors have two days off per week, though these are non-consecutive, except once every six weeks. In the private sector, operations run 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, but employees work in fixed shift patterns and on a reduced working week of 32 or 35 hours, depending on the place of work. The private sector also uses a considerable amount of temporary work agency labour. In the public sector, the reduced working week is far from being fully implemented due to refuse collection requirements.
The case of Paris
In Paris, where 36% of refuse collectors and 56% of drivers came out on strike in May-June 2003, the industrial action was mainly the initiative of the majority union, the General Confederation of Labour (Confédération générale du travail, CGT), which won 56% of the votes cast at the most recent elections of workforce representatives, as well as the General Confederation of Labour-Force Ouvrière (Confédération générale du travail-Force Ouvrière, CGT-FO), which won 10% of the vote. Three other trade unions - the National Federation of Independent Unions (Union nationale des syndicats autonomes, UNSA), the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (Confédération française démocratique du travail, CFDT) and the independent SIAT- later joined the strike action.
The strike action in Paris stemmed from a year-long, off-and-on dispute over the terms and conditions for the implementation of the 'Clean Paris, together' (Paris propre, ensemble), initiative developed by the Ecologist deputy mayor of Paris, Yves Contassot, and geared to rationalising public street cleaning services in the capital. This project provides for increases in the cleansing budget and in staffing levels of 11% and 10% respectively. Three Paris arrondissements have already signed target contracts to implement the initiative. However, for employees, the project creates upheaval in their working hours and place of work. For example, staff could no longer be assigned to one particular district but could be redeployed elsewhere in the arrondissement as required. The terms and conditions for the implementation of the initiative are the subject of talks between the city authorities and trade unions, which are particularly concerned about the introduction into the remuneration system of bonuses which are not included in the calculation of pensions. The initiative also envisages matching wage increases with target contracts. Trade unions see this approach as 'bonus blackmail'.
The recent strike action led to a partial victory on wage scales, but only for team leaders. In addition, hours worked on Sundays will be paid at the same rate for all employees and the city authorities will cover the cost of heavy-goods-vehicle or haulage licences for those refuse collectors who decide to become drivers. Lastly, non-tenured employees will be paid at the same rate as their tenured counterparts. As for the 'Clean Paris, together' initiative, the unions continue to refuse to endorse it. However, talks, broken off six months ago by CGT and CGT-FO, have restarted.
Commentary
The scale and scope of the refuse collection dispute reflect a series of basic social issues. For example: how can the obviously hard working conditions involved in the job be taken into account in setting the retirement age? and how can the increasing requirements for public services (in terms of flexible working hours, waste sorting and growing cities) be addressed while at the same time ensuring that employees retain a homogeneous status? (Florence Lefresne, IRES)