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Yesterday morning, more than 40 men, a large number of whom were masked and carrying iron bars or axes, attacked the offices of Marseille's port authority. The port's director general, Jean-Claude Terrier, was threatened and his office equipment was wrecked.

The onslaught came only an hour after the port authority had handed a letter containing proposals to officials of the port workers' union CGT at Marseille’s eastern port. The document contained suggestions for ending the month-long smouldering conflict concerning the implementation of France's port reform in this port in southern France.

Nice...

Aren't unions wonderful?

Actually, having talked to a French coworker, this applies mostly to companies or institutions owned or run or formerly owned by the French government. Basically these public sector (or formerly public sector) employees have very cozy lifetime working contracts with lots of perks and privileges.
On the other hand you´ll have the private sector in France, where the working conditions are much tougher. Most French working in the private sector are fed up with the antics of the public sector employees (who after all get paid by the tax payer working in the private sector).

Jan

This reminds me of the idiot State worker (in California) how was going on how the State represented so much of the economy, and how if the budget was cut, the private sector would suffer, etc.

I was astonished to see this.

These idiots think that they are the best thing out there, not realizing that if there were no taxpayers, they wouldn't exist.

This is the same attitude that caused the police and firefighting units to 'sacrifice' by taking a smaller raise than in their contract...

That attitude needs to change.

AndesSMF wrote:This reminds me of the idiot State worker (in California) how was going on how the State represented so much of the economy, and how if the budget was cut, the private sector would suffer, etc.

I was astonished to see this.

These idiots think that they are the best thing out there, not realizing that if there were no taxpayers, they wouldn't exist.

This is the same attitude that caused the police and firefighting units to 'sacrifice' by taking a smaller raise than in their contract...

That attitude needs to change.

Actually I don´t mind giving firefighters, cops, nurses, hospital doctors etc. a rise (usually their salaries and working conditions are quite sh*tty). But usually the public service unions push those up front, but the real rises go to office desk chair warmers in the administration, not those with bad working hours or those who daily risk their health or lives.

Jan

You have no idea how much $$ some firefighters and police already get here.

Some (now bankrupt) cities start their base salary at over $100K.