comment Marseille made it?
In Toulouse, the garbage collectors’ strike has been going on for more than three weeks now, and dialogue is difficult between the unions and Toulouse Métropole. Marseille experienced the same conflict in the fall of 2021. Nelly Assénat, editor-in-chief of France Bleu Provence, explains how the Mediterranean metropolis managed to emerge from the crisis.
The strike lasted three months in the metropolis of Marseille?
Hostilities began in September. You could say that it lasted three months, so it’s not quite that on paper, since in seven years, not all the unions were in the movement. There was mainly the CGT, which is not in the majority. But the bulk of the strike, really, lasted three weeks, as in your country, between November and December, when the majority union Force Ouvrière joined the movement.
What did the streets of Marseille look like? Were there really trash cans everywhere?
Yes. So, at the height of the strike, it was estimated that 5,000 tons of waste in the cityso it lasted several weeks. There were still 1,000 tonnes of garbage on New Years Eve. To give you images, that means, in front of a residence, walls of garbage cans that were gutted. On a view of the 1.50m high walls spread over several meters long. For a child who passes by, for example, a wall of orders is higher than him. And that was everywhere.
In some streets, it was no longer possible to park, since the parking areas were invaded by garbage. Restaurants and bars also have not gone out to terraces for days and days because they could not their. There was no room. Besides, we didn’t want to eat on a terrace. Under these conditions, there had been people who told us that he did not see any customers, quite simply because the customers could not access the business or the neighborhood.
And then you obviously imagine the hygiene. Pendant of days and days, the rats feasted. And on top of that, in addition, because there is always a little more in Marseille, there have been floods, there has been mistral and we have had rather hallucinating images of a coast that has been invaded by rubbish, but really intrusive. Beaches of garbage. Entire neighborhoods have been affected. Fifteen days after the end of the strike, there were still hundreds of tonnes not collected because it takes a long time.
Marseille garbage collectors have ended their strike. Can we say they won their showdown?
Yes, clearly they won. Since the sinews of war, it is what is called the rate of hardship, when it was necessary to go to 35 hours. Like in Toulouse and like everyone else in January. The unions explain that it is not a profession where you can work 35 hours. So, we are entitled to an exemption, which the law allows because of the arduousness. French law says 9.5% reduction in working time when doing a difficult job.
The metropolis, which manages waste, had proposed the maximum: 9.5%. Ultimately, Marseille garbage collectors have held a 15% reduction. That basically means that out of the 35 hours per week they work 30 hours, in fact about 28 hours. In fact, you should know that at the start, he even asked for a reduction of 35%. They started working 22 hours a week and on top of that they had scheduled premiums and a little more complex Sundays if they came back to work on days, holidays, etc. For example, they got a bonus of 100 euros per day.
In Marseille, are there constructive discussions that must be taken for example?
You mention the culture of social dialogue. This is the showdown here. We even call it co-management, and even the all-powerful union. So, yes, there are dialogues, yes, but the union finally had the end of the story. They are very old. The unions in the waste system in Marseille have always been there. They are very powerful, they are extremely powerful.
In fact, we must understand that for decades, where politics have changed, the mayor has changed. The president of the Metropolis changes, the union remains. And in all layers of public services, for waste but also for all territorial officials, Marseille has been known for decades for that. For this system of co-management with the unions and in particular Force Ouvrière. Some even mention an agreement. “You support me, I help you”. Conversely.
And then there are the political divisions that pass over it. The metropolis on the right, the city on the left or vice versa depending on the times and eras. We are not going in the same direction. We are not pulling in the same direction. On the political side, there is the one who wins. It is the union in this case.
Were there no threats of recourse to the private sector, in Marseille?
No, not explicitly at the time of negotiations, because to have recourse to the private sector like that from one day to the next, there must be public contracts that are put back on the table, public contracts, etc. not like you in Toulouse, the mayor who says “attention, we are going to go private”. It wouldn’t work here. It would go up immediately too much.
And there is an urgent need at the time of the strike, it is to find a solution to this waste which accumulates very much in the city. And we know that if we threaten to train in private on Friday, we are not going to spend Monday. The unions also know this very well. There are already private sectors in Marseille. There are some boroughs which are privately managed, but it doesn’t work either. There are also strikes.