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Education unions are joining the call for a nationwide day of action to denounce government austerity policies and call for better pay and working conditions.

A joint trade union call to defend public services

French trade union organisations – the CGT, UNSA, FSU, Solidaires and CFE-CGC – are calling for a nationwide day of action, including strikes, on 13 May, to protest the government’s austerity policies.

In their press release, the unions condemn “the gross inadequacy of the initial responses provided by the public service minister and the government in general to the demands and proposals voiced on a massive scale during the strike action and demonstrations held on 5 December”. The unions underline the need to preserve France’s social model and the rights it affords its citizens, through the maintenance and development of its public services.

The unions also warn of the consequences of the 2026 budget plans, which could lead to massive cuts in public sector jobs, a continued freeze on the value of the index point, and the scrapping of public service missions across the country. They are calling for the rejection of this budgetary austerity and for other choices to be made in favour of the public service sector and its employees.

The trade union demands are clear:

• Full pay with no waiting period: The unions are calling for full pay, with no waiting period, for ordinary sick leave.
• Payment of the Individual Purchasing Power Guarantee (GIPA): They are demanding that the budgetary conditions for the payment of the GIPA for 2025 be reestablished.
• Sufficient budget resources: The unions are calling for budget resources in line with public service missions and public policies.
• Job creation: They are calling for jobs to be created wherever needed and for contract staff to be given access to permanent employment.
• Increase in the value of the index point: The unions want an increase in the value of the index point in order to restore pay levels, along with general pay measures for 2025 and beyond.
• Pay scale overhaul: They are calling for an overhaul of the pay scale.
• Equal pay and employment opportunities: The unions are demanding gender equality in pay and employment.

SNES-FSU: a matter of urgency for secondary education

The SNES-FSU, France’s main secondary school teachers’ union, is also calling for strike action and demonstrations on 13 May.

“For our salaries, our careers, our jobs and to say no to austerity, let’s all join the strikes and demonstrations on Tuesday 13 May. It’s a matter of urgency for secondary education!” says the union in its press release.

The SNES-FSU is fiercely critical of the policies pursued by Emmanuel Macron since 2017, which have led to an unprecedented recruitment crisis in the national education system.

The union is also critical of the punitive and offensive measures taken against public employees, such as the reduction in ordinary sick leave pay and the waiting period during which employees on sick leave receive no daily allowance or salary: “On closer examination, it is clearly public education and, more specifically, secondary education, that are at a tipping point. The reforms and budgetary guidelines are very much aligned.”

For the SNES-FSU, these measures “amount to a frontal attack” on teachers and education support staff.

UNSA Education: mobilising for the public service sector and its employees

UNSA Education is also calling for action to secure better pay for public employees and an end to the 10% pay cut during ordinary sick leave. “For the public sector, for public sector employees: mobilise on Tuesday 13 May!” says the union in its press release.

UNSA Education underscores the importance of this mobilisation in securing the resources needed for the public sector and public service, at a time when major cuts impacting jobs are planned under the 2026 budget. The union is calling for rallies and demonstrations throughout France.