In June, the Toulouse Métropole garbage collectors had already observed two days of strike action to oppose the modalities of application of the law on the transformation of the civil service. Since Monday, November 22, they have started a first stage of protest to demonstrate the usefulness of the “finished party”, a concession that allows them to leave work once the tour is completed. Now, they have decided to scrupulously observe the break times and the safety rules. « It shows how a tour would go as the community wants it. », assures Nicolas Refutin, FO general secretary of Toulouse Métropole.
In some sectors, collection could not be ensured. According to the unions, the recognition of the arduousness that the law allows leaves the possibility of derogating from the 1607 hours. Not sure that this satisfies Élise, an engineer in Toulouse, for whom it would seem logical that if the work is finished before their quota of hours, « we can make them work on other tasks ”. “The finished party is a win-win. This makes it possible to have clean cities before 8 a.m. and dump trucks off the streets in an already congested city. », replies Nicolas Refutin.
Open letter to mayor Jean-Luc Moudenc
To justify its position, the metropolis advances several arguments. That of the accidents and the risks taken by the agents by accelerating the rate, initially, and that of the complaints of the citizens because the garbage collection is not done correctly. « Maybe if they slowed down, it would avoid finding bins in parking spaces or overturned on the sidewalk. », notes Émilie, a resident of the Compans-Caffarelli district.
But for Nicolas Refutin, these arguments do not hold and the unions have sent an open letter to Jean-Luc Moudenc, mayor of Toulouse and president of the Metropolis, to challenge them. « With the Allô Toulouse tool, only 200 complaints were recorded on average each week about garbage, for around 250,000 homes in the town. It is very weak », he argues. As for the increase in accidents over the past 3 years, he believes that this is not in connection with “the finished party” but with a reorganization of the collection sectors and a decrease in the workforce. « The Metropolis does not ask us to slow down but to stay at the depot once the tour is over. » The unions are asking for negotiations for better recognition of the arduous nature of their work.
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