A situation that is improving… until when? The volume of uncollected waste in Paris, where garbage collectors have been on strike for more than 20 days, was down on Sunday with 7,828 tonnes still outstanding, but new districts could be affected as early as Monday as strike notices have been filed. , in private this time.
“This Sunday, the tonnage of uncollected garbage in Paris continues to decline, with an estimated 7,828 tons against 9,800 tons yesterday,” Paris City Hall said on Sunday, on the 21st day of the garbage collectors’ strike. “Since this morning, 162 dumpsters have been crisscrossing the streets of Paris (…) This is 2.5 times more than a normal Sunday,” said the town hall.
This improvement, noticeable in certain districts, is notably due to the reopening of the three incineration plants surrounding the capital. On Friday, Syctom, the metropolitan union which manages these three sites, announced the end of the strike movement in two of them (Saint-Ouen and Issy-les-Moulineaux) while the third, in Ivry-sur-Seine, was requisitioned by law enforcement.
Strike notice at Derichebourg
However, this progress remains precarious: while the strike was until now essentially the prerogative of the garbage collectors of the City of Paris, which manages the collection of half of the districts of the capital, it could extend to private service providers where negotiations were underway on Sunday.
A strike notice was notably filed by the CGT for the company Polyreva Derichebourg, based in La Courneuve (Seine-Saint-Denis) and which deals with the collection of the 10th and 18th arrondissements. The union is demanding higher wages and improved working conditions, while joining the movement against pension reform.
However, the mobilization did not start as planned on Sunday on this site. According to union sources, employee representatives are in negotiations with management and a proposal must be presented to employees on Monday, who will then decide whether to strike or not.
Lifting of the strike in the 15th arrondissement
On Friday, the private service provider Pizzorno, which manages collection in the 15th arrondissement, had announced the lifting of a strike which had lasted for almost a month after the signing of a “strike exit protocol” with the CGT. Collections resumed on Friday afternoon and Philippe Goujon, the mayor of the 15th arrondissement, said on Twitter that he hoped for a return to normal “within a week”.