French union workers vote to halt production at key oil facility
PARIS (Reuters) - French workers voted to halt production at a key oil facility that supplies Paris and the surrounding region, joining other petroleum industry shutdowns in a nationwide strike against government pension reforms.
Industrial action against President Emmanuel Macron's reforms has also crippled train services over the past two weeks, escalating into clashes between protesters and police in the capital earlier on Monday.
Production at Total's Grandpuits oil refinery and petrol depot southeast of Paris will stop as a result of the vote by workers from the hardline CGT union.
"The decision has been taken to halt Grandpuits but with a slight majority. The management has asked for an hour of reflection," a CGT union official said.
Grandpuits was already producing at minimum capacity before the union vote due to the strike, which is blocking deliveries from the refinery, Total said.
The vote contrasted with a reassuring message on Monday from the French energy ministry, which said fuel supplies to gas stations were normal despite calls by the CGT to shut down production at refineries.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe's office said it would restart talks with unions on pension reform on Jan. 7. Separate talks will also be held with teachers' and hospital workers' unions from Jan. 13, the government said.
Unions have already scheduled more demonstrations for Jan. 9 against the reforms, which would scrap special regimes for sectors like the railways and make people work to 64 to draw a full pension.
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