每日英語跟讀 Ep.K474: French Strike May Presage a Winter of Discontent

Across France, a third of the gas stations are fully or partly dry, victims of a fast-widening strike that has spread to most of the country’s major oil refineries, as well as some nuclear plants and railways, offering a preview of a winter of discontent as inflation and energy shortages threaten to undercut Europe’s stability and its united front against Russia for its war in Ukraine.

在法國各地，三分之一的加油站已經完全或者快要沒油可加，它們是罷工迅速擴大的受害者，罷工已經蔓延到該國大多數主要煉油廠，以及部分核電廠和鐵路。這預示著不滿的冬天即將來臨，通膨與能源短缺將威脅歐洲穩定，以及歐洲在烏克蘭戰爭中反對俄羅斯的統一戰線。

At the very least the strike — pitting refinery workers seeking a greater share of the surging profits against oil giants TotalEnergies and Exxon Mobil — has already emerged as the first major social crisis of Emmanuel Macron’s second term as president, as calls grow for a general strike.

隨著要求舉行大罷工的呼聲日益高漲，這場罷工至少已成為馬克宏第二個總統任期內的首個重大社會危機，煉油廠工人則對上石油巨頭道達爾與埃克森美孚，希望在它們不斷飆升的獲利中爭取更多分潤。

The widening social unrest is just what European leaders fear as inflation hits its highest level in decades, driven in part by snarls in pandemic global supply chains, but also by the mounting impact of the tit-for-tat economic battle between Europe and Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

隨著通膨達到數十年來最高水準，不斷擴大的社會動盪正讓歐洲領導人擔憂，通膨部分係因疫情導致全球供應鏈陷入混亂，也因為俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭而與歐洲以牙還牙的經濟戰，造成影響愈來愈大。

Economic anxiety is palpable across Europe, driving large protests in Prague, Britain’s biggest railway strike in three decades, as well as walkouts by bus drivers, call center employees and criminal defense lawyers, and causing many governments to introduce relief measures to cushion the blow and ward off still more turbulence. Airline workers in Spain and Germany went on strike recently, demanding wage increases to reflect the rising cost of living.

經濟焦慮在整個歐洲都很明顯，致使布拉格發生大規模抗議活動，英國發生30年來最大規模鐵路罷工，以及公車司機、客服中心員工和刑事辯護律師罷工，多國政府推出救濟措施以緩解衝擊，避免出現更多動盪。西班牙和德國航空公司員工近來也發起罷工，要求加薪來反映生活成本上漲。

Workers at half of France’s eight refineries are continuing to picket for higher wages in line with inflation, as well as a cut of the sky-high profits their companies made over recent months, as the price of gasoline has surged.

法國8家煉油廠中有4家的工人正持續爭取按照通膨率提高工資，並在公司近幾個月來因汽油價格上漲而飆升的獲利中分一杯羹。

Earlier last week, Exxon Mobil announced that it had come to an agreement with two of four unions working at its sites. But the wage increase was 1 percentage point less, and half the bonus, that Confédération Générale du Travail, or CGT, France’s second-largest union, had demanded.

埃克森美孚在上周稍早宣布，已經跟自家工廠四個工會中的兩個達成協議，但加薪幅度比法國第2大工會法國總工會（CGT）要求的少了1個百分點，獎金也少一半。

In its own news release, TotalEnergies said the company continued to aim for “fair compensation for the employees” and to ensure they benefited “from the exceptional results generated” by the company.

道達爾則在自家新聞稿說，公司持續致力於「為員工提供公平的報酬」，並確保他們從公司「創造的卓越業績」中受益。

On Friday, two unions at TotalEnergies announced they had reached a deal for a 7% wage increase and a bonus. But CGT, which has demanded a 10% hike, walked out of the negotiation and said it would continue the strike.

道達爾的兩個工會周五宣布，他們已就加薪7%與獎金達成協議，但要求加薪10%的法國總工會退出談判，並表示將繼續罷工。Source article: https://udn.com/news/story/6904/6722930