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STRIKES

French air traffic control strike will have ‘huge impact’, travellers warned

With unions expecting large-scale strike participation, 60 percent of flights in and out of France are set to be cancelled as air traffic controllers call a strike to protest against proposed changes to their navigation system.

Published: 22 April 2024 11:53 CEST
Updated: 23 April 2024 21:45 CEST
French air traffic control strike will have 'huge impact', travellers warned
An air traffic control tower at the Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport, in the northeastern outskirts of Paris, amid a strike of air traffic controllers in 2022. (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP)

LATEST: On Wednesday morning, the main union announced that the strike would be called off after reaching an agreement nevertheless French authorities say scores of flights will still have to be cancelled. You can get the latest news HERE.

Unions have called a one-day strike on Thursday, April 25th, but have indicated that they will also file strike notices for May 9th, 10th and 11th – a holiday weekend in France.

The strike is going to be “very strongly followed”, said Pascal de Izaguirre, the head of FNAM, an umbrella group of French aviation industry unions.

“It will have a huge impact,” he said.

The French civil aviation authority said on Tuesday night that 60 percent of flights would be cancelled;

READ ALSO Which airports will be worst affected by the strike?

The SNCTA, the union that represents over 60 percent of air traffic controllers in France, told the French press on Monday that they expected “record turnout”.

“As a result, people should expect major disruption and long delays,” a representative from the SNCTA union told AFP.

Another union, UNSA-UTCAC, had also filed a strike notice for Thursday.

You can keep up with updates at The Local’s strikes section. 

The strike is a 24-hour one but there may be knock-on disruption on Friday – anyone with a flight booked on Thursday should check with their airline before going to the airport.

Disruptions can also affect flights flying over French airspace. 

READ MORE: Your rights on delayed or cancelled flights in France

Why the industrial action?

Unions are protesting against an ‘insulting’ overhaul of air navigation services, a topic that has been under discussion for the past 15 months. Air traffic authorities are seeking to reorganise the work of air traffic controllers to better deal with expected increases in traffic.

However, unions believe that this must also coincide with pay and hiring increases.

A representative for SNTCA told French media that the proposed accompanying measures have been insufficient. They are seeking salary increases of 5.04 percent per year in 2025, 2026 and 2027, as well as the doubling of their ‘special qualification allowance’.

The industrial action comes as a surprise, as the SCNTA had previously agreed to an ‘Olympic truce’.

The agreement was that the union would not call strikes until after conclusion of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in exchange for increased pay and a new round of salary discussions after the Games.

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STRIKES

Pharmacists in France to strike at the end of May

Unions representing French pharmacists have called for walkouts at the end of May in protest over drug shortages, wages and the sale of medication on the internet.

Published: 10 May 2024 09:41 CEST
Pharmacists in France to strike at the end of May

The primary union, the union for community pharmacists (Union des syndicats de pharmaciens d’officine, or USPO) has called for on-call pharmacists to walk out during the Pentecost long-weekend (May 18th to 20th), and for all pharmacies across France to close on Thursday, May 30th.

On-call pharmacists (pharmacie de garde) are those working on Sundays and bank holidays (like Pentecost), as most other pharmacies close on these dates.

While it is still not clear how many pharmacists will walk out, the call for strikes is nationwide and it may be best to plan to pick up any important medicine ahead of time.

Why the strike?

Drug shortages are a large part of the problem because they reportedly force pharmacists to spend more of their working hours doing drug research to be able to offer alternatives to patients. 

Pierre-Olivier Variot, the head of the union for community pharmacists, told Franceinfo that this has led to an extra 12 hours of research time for the average pharmacy.

“These are 12 hours during which we cannot take care of patients. We’re also dealing with tired patients who are frustrated we do not have their treatment,” he said.

Variot also explained that wages have not kept up with inflation, and as a result some pharmacies have had to close. 

Unions are also calling for the French government to better regulate the sale of medication on the internet, in order to ensure quality and safety standards.

Why the shortage of medicines?

The issue has been longstanding, and the situation was made worse during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The French Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) reported that, in 2023, it had 4,925 medicines either out of stock or at risk of being out of stock, an increase of 30.9 percent in medicine shortages compared to 2022.

You can find the list of medications in short supply here.

A spokesperson from ANSM told Le Point in February that there are several things causing the problem, with many of them taking place on a global level.

“There are challenges with the manufacture of raw materials and finished products, as well as qualify defects in the drugs, insufficient production capacity, and division within the manufacturing stages,” the ANSM said.

On top of that, many factories dealing with raw materials are located outside of Europe.

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