MOBILIZATION They denounced the agreements concluded during the “Ségur de la santé”, which were deemed insufficient to meet the needs of the public hospital.
Several thousand people protested Tuesday in Paris and in the regions at the call of a dozen trade unions, including SUD and the CGT, to denounce the agreements reached in the “Segur de la santé”, deemed insufficient to meet the needs of the public hospital. “Covid has shown that we need beds, we don’t have them,” explained Guillaume Rosey, a neurology nurse in Maubeuge, who was disappointed by the protocol agreement signed Monday in Matignon by the majority trade unions (CFDT, FO, and Unsa).
The “Ségur agreements”, covering an envelope of 8.1 billion euros, provide for a minimum wage increase of 183 euros net for all paramedical hospital staff (nurses, orderlies) and non-medical (technical and administrative staff). In addition, they include a revision of pay scales for certain professions, averaging 35 euros net per month, and new increases for overtime, night work, Sunday, and public holidays.
Several thousand people in Paris
These measures “did not meet expectations”, and in particular the “minimum of 300 euros for all staff”, said Paule Bensaid, a nurse in an EPSM (establishment for disabled adults) in Lille, insisting on the lack of resources of the public hospital: “where I work, we did not get a mask before 30 April”.
In Paris, the demonstration brought together several thousand people, from the Place de la République to the Bastille. The parade was organized a few hours after the ceremony of homage to the nursing staff, Place de la Concorde, as part of the celebrations on 14 July.
Some of the demonstrators had come from a rally organized by “yellow vests” in front of the General Inspectorate of Police (IGPN) to denounce police violence. Also present were the secretary-general of the CGT, Philippe Martinez and LFI deputy Eric Coquerel.
Sporadic clashes in Paris
In Lyon, some 500 people, including many “yellow jackets”, marched behind a banner of “first of chores, last considered”. In Bordeaux, between 150 and 200 people gathered in the city center. “It is true that we have had an increase but this agreement does not guarantee a better organization of work nor the interruption of bed closures, which was essential for us,” denounced Laurence Lagoubie, whose trade union (CGT) refused to sign the agreement.
In Toulouse, 250 people according to the police and 400 according to the organizers took part in the demonstration. For Joël, an educator in the medical-social field and a representative of the SUD, “we talk a lot about health but our problems overlap and we also suffer from poor accounting management”.
In Paris, the demonstration was marked by sporadic clashes between the police and demonstrators at the end of the procession on Bastille Square. The gendarmes used tear gas. In addition, two people were briefly arrested by the security forces for “flying over a forbidden zone” after releasing balloons with an anti-Macron banner in the air during the 14 July parade on Place de la Concorde.
Source: 20 minutes
