PARIS (Reuters) – Marseille's authorities on Sunday conscripted striking garbage workers and raised enough funds to maintain services, two days before the Olympic torch is scheduled to arrive in the port city. They asked local governments to allow a number of workers to return to work.
The strike, which has been ongoing since April 30, could tarnish the city's image at a time when it is attracting global attention as the Olympic torch arrives on French soil.
Marseille administration said in a statement: “A small number of agents, members of the CGT union, the minority labor union in the facilities, have decided to block access to several household waste transfer centres. This irresponsible act “This is hindering proper collection.”
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Labor disputes in critical infrastructure sectors have become one of the main headaches for organizers of this year's Paris Summer Olympics. France's hard-line CGT union announced earlier this year that public sector workers, including hospital staff, had threatened to strike during the convention.
Although the right to strike is enshrined in the constitution, French state authorities have the right to “return to work” in order to maintain a minimum level of service activity when public order, hygiene, tranquility and safety are at risk. Can issue orders. Last year, such requisition orders were used to ensure sufficient supplies during a major strike campaign at the country's refineries and fuel deposits.
The Olympic torch is scheduled to arrive in Marseille on Wednesday on a three-masted ship, with up to 150,000 people expected to attend.
The ceremony was held at the old port in the south.
(Reporting by Marc Leras in Marseilles and Tassilo Hummel in Paris; Editing by William MacLean)
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