- Title: FRANCE: Refinery workers refuse to go back to work
- Date: 23rd October 2010
- Summary: GRANDPUITS, FRANCE (OCTOBER 22, 2010) (REUTERS) WORKERS ON STRIKE OUTSIDE REFINERY AT NIGHT SHIFT CHANGE (2000GMT) STRIKERS LISTENING TO UNION LEADERS SOUNDBITE (French) CGT UNION LEADER CHARLES FOULARD SAYING: ''Our right to strike has been confirmed by the courthouse in Melun.'' STRIKERS APPLAUDING STRIKERS LISTENING TO UNION LEADER MAN LISTENING GROUP OF STRIKERS STANDING STRIKERS AND STRIKE SUPPORTERS AROUND FIRE FOULARD FOULARD WITH MOBILE PHONE SOUNDBITE (French) CGT UNION LEADER CHARLES FOULARD SAYING: ''The Melun tribunal ruled that a requisition order from the district chief was unlawful.'' STRIKERS AROUND FIRE SOUNDBITE (French) CGT UNION LEADER CHARLES FOULARD SAYING: ''He considered it was like enabling the company to resume its normal activity and that meant the requisition order was unlawful.'' WORKERS AROUND FIRE OUTSIDE REFINERY GATE
- Embargoed: 7th November 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: France
- Country: France
- Topics: Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA9NZTDTV6BLODGYSUBH0IH2EEU
- Story Text: A courthouse in Melun ruled on Friday night (October 22) that a government's order to force some strikers to work at the Grandpuits refinery was unlawful, union leader Charles Foulard said.
Workers on strike at the Grandpuits refinery, the main oil refinery supplying the French capital and Paris airports, cheered at the announcement from Foulard.
The workers' lawyers had argued that their right to strike had been scorned.
''Our right to strike has been confirmed by the courthouse in Melun,'' Foulard told the workers on strike just when the night shift was due to start.
As a result, Foulard said the night team would not take over the afternoon team.
Earlier in the day, police with riot shields cleared pickets and burning tyres at dawn at Total's Grandpuits oil refinery southeast of Paris. Scuffles broke out at the plant and one person was carried away on a stretcher after being trampled.
The judge considered the requisition order was unlawful because ''it enabled the company to resume its normal activity and that meant the requisition order was unlawful,'' Foulard said.
The French Senate approved the unpopular pension reform on Friday evening in a victory for President Nicolas Sarkozy, although unions opposed to raising the retirement age have vowed to keep fighting it.
Senators voted 177 in favour and 153 against the bill after the conservative government used a special measure to speed up the debate in the upper house. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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