FRANK PERRY/AFP/Getty Images
More than 1,000 people, including workers of Donges’ Total refinery, demonstrate Oct. 14 in France
Summary
Despite the general failure of organized labor across the Continent to stage crippling strikes as planned, unions still have the ability to create significant disturbances by targeting key infrastructure, as indicated by ongoing refinery strikes in France. This means that European governments could still face substantial labor unrest, even if today’s union movements are a shadow of what they were in the1970 and 1980s, when they could shut down entire nations.
Analysis
Labor strikes at French refineries continued Oct. 14, with potentially serious implications for the country’s gasoline supply. French Transportation Minister Dominique Bussereau tried to reassure the public by saying that no shortages of petroleum were expected and that the country had enough reserves for “at least a month.” However, he urged consumers to avoid stocking up on gasoline for fear that panicked buying could cause shortages. Refinery workers are protesting President Nicholas Sarkozy’s plans to raise the minimum retirement age for a pension from 60 to 62 and the age for full pension benefits from 65 to 67, with the final vote on the bill scheduled for Oct. 20.
The refinery strikes in France show that, despite the failure of pan-European unions to generate massive, crippling general strikes in Europe this fall as planned, European labor unions can still disrupt daily life with targeted actions in key transportation and energy sectors. Indeed, the lack of critical mass for general strikes and massive social unrest does not mean that European states will escape unscathed this fall.
The French refinery strikes have thus far affected 11 of the country’s 12 refineries, which are no longer supplying service stations, according to the General Confederation of Labour, a major French trade-union alliance. As of Oct. 13, eight refineries had reported that they were shutting down — a process that normally takes 48 hours — with another three reporting severe cuts in production. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the Fos and Lavera oil terminals in the Marseille port remain blocked, with 40 tankers stuck in the port unable to deliver their product. The port accounts for around 53 percent of French oil imports.
While French officials have tried to reassure the public that petroleum depots are full, protesters did disrupt access to one of the depots north of Bordeaux. Strikes are set to continue into next week in the run-up to the pension vote, and if the French public resorts to panicked buying, it could lead to serious shortages. This comes as French railroad service has remained intermittent due to labor activity and as Air France unions prepare to strike on Oct. 16.
The disruptive union activity in France comes shortly after the planned pan-European union action on Sept. 29 largely fell flat, with strikes across the Continent not yielding significant numbers. General strikes thus far both in France and Spain have not had the same crippling effect that European general strikes had in the 1970s and 1980s. This has given temporary respite to governments looking to implement austerity measures for 2011 at the behest of Germany, which is forcing the rest of Europe to toe the line on budget discipline.
However, the refinery and port strikes in France illustrate that targeted union action can still have a significant and noticeable effect despite being limited in scope. The actions by unions in France could therefore be emulated by unions in the rest of Europe, where governments have thus far seen labor’s inability to field large numbers of strikers as a sign of weakness.
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