French railway workers vote in big cities to strike for another 24 hours |
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Thu, 18 Oct 2007 16:14
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PARIS (Thomson Financial) - Railway workers in France's three largest cities have voted to stay on strike for another 24 hours in protest over government plans to reform certain public-sector pension schemes.Christian Mahieux of the SUD Rail union told Agence France-Presse that 95 pct of workers based at train stations in Paris, Marseilles and Lyons had voted in favour of prolonging today's strike.In Paris, public transport workers have also voted in favour of pursuing the strike at the request of SUD and Unsa unions, which means nearly half of the capital's metro lines will be affected tomorrow.However, the extent of the disruption tomorrow is unclear since the unions are divided, with the main CGT federation opposing a prolongation of the strike.The current 24-hour stoppage, which runs until 8 pm this evening, has been widely followed by transport and energy workers.French railway operator SNCF said 73.5 pct of staff were on strike by late morning, above the levels seen at the height of the massive public sector strikes of 1995.Utlities EDF and Gaz de France, meanwhile, reported 40 pct of striking staff.The unions are protesting the conservative government's plan to remove more favourable pension terms enjoyed by certain public sector workers.tfn.paris@thomson.comgt/jlcCOPYRIGHTCopyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
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