Right to strike: how far can you go?
Cass. soc., 10 July 2024, n° 22-24.499
The French performers' union, affiliated with the CGT (SFA-CGT), called for a strike during the Olympic Games opening ceremony, scheduled for 26 July 2024.
A good opportunity to recall a few key points on the right to strike.
A strike is defined as "a collective and concerted stoppage of work in support of occupational demands". It requires:
a total stoppage of work: so-called "go-slow" strikes (grèves perlées) — a deliberate slowdown of production or work pace — are prohibited;
a collective stoppage of work: in principle, an employee cannot go on strike alone; and
the communication of occupational demands to the employer: in its press release of 17 July 2024, the SFA stated: "On several occasions, the French performers' union alerted [...] to contractual practices that did not comply with the collective bargaining agreement [...] questionable practices, glaring inequalities of treatment and a lack of social dialogue during the preparation of the ceremonies".
Where these conditions are met:
the employment contract is suspended and, during this suspension, the employer is released from its obligation to pay wages to the striking employees; and
the striking employee enjoys protection: exercising the right to strike cannot justify termination of the employment contract, save for willful misconduct (faute lourde) attributable to the employee, and exercising the right to strike cannot give rise to any discriminatory measure.
As regards strikes during the Olympics, could employees lawfully "spoil the party" by blocking access to the venues for the public, athletes or non-striking employees?
Probably not. Depending on the circumstances, such conduct could be found to be wrongful, amounting to an infringement of the freedom to work and the freedom to conduct business, and could lead to dismissals for willful misconduct (faute lourde) and/or measures ordered by the judge in summary proceedings.
A recent example:
Following the announcement of a plan to place a Carrefour hypermarket under a management-lease arrangement (location-gérance), around forty striking employees obstructed customers' freedom of movement, in particular by:
blocking the store's checkout exits with shopping carts;
blocking the hypermarket's main entrance; and
placing wooden crates in front of the store's general entrance.
Moreover, several union representatives called for the blocking actions to continue, despite court decisions ordering measures to put an end to the unlawful conduct.
In this configuration, the French Supreme Court (10 July 2024, n° 22-24.499) upholds the court of appeal's decision to prohibit the summoned employees and the union from obstructing, by any means whatsoever, even partially, access to the store.