Pensions strike backed by 61%

TOMORROW’S strike in protest at planned pension reforms is backed by 61% of people according to an opinion poll.

The protest will see nearly 200 demonstrations across the country, with unions CGT, FO, FSU and Solidaires saying they want to force the government to retreat on its plans for “pay, jobs and pensions”.

SNCF and the Paris transport authority RATP have received advance notice of a strike by members of the CGT and Sud-rail unions. It will start this evening at 19.00 and continue until Wednesday morning at 8.00.

SNCF said three out of four TGV services would run and more than one in two Intercités. Some local TER services will be seriously affected, but local updates are on its www.infolignes.com website. RATP said there would be little or no effect on services in the capital.

Air France has also received notice of strike action from the CGT, but said services would not be affected. The air control authority DGAC said it did not expect any air disruption, at the moment.

In the poll for free newspaper Metronews, 27% of people said they were totally for the strike, 34% were rather in favour of it and 39% said they were against it.

The proposals for the pension changes – which extend the minimum length of service to get full pension to 43 years by 2035 – will be put to the cabinet on September 18 and the Assemblée Nationale on October 7.

Bruno Jeanbart, managing director of pollsters OpinionWay, said that the level of support was greater than that registered at the beginning of the protests against the Sarkozy government’s reforms in 2010.

In another poll, for communist newspaper Humanité, 81% of people said that they were worried about their pensions, with 61% also concerned about the switch from April to October for the annual revision of pension payments.
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