TotalEnergies Invites Unions to Wage Talks

By Joshua Kirby

TotalEnergies SE says it will hold salary negotiations with labor unions on Thursday evening, as the French oil-and-gas major looks to move beyond strike action that has crippled supplies of gasoline at its stations in the country.

The invitation comes as the French government moved to requisition workers to ensure the outflow of gasoline from depots owned by TotalEnergies and Exxon Mobil Corp. subsidiary Esso.

"In light of the responsible attitude shown by the teams concerned by the requisition put in place by the government to ensure the flow of gasoline from the depot at Dunkirk [in northern France,] management invites all relevant labor unions...to communal salary negotiations this evening at 8PM," the company said in a release.

The company had previously said it would only bring forward wage negotiations on the condition that blockages were ended.

Earlier Thursday, TotalEnergies said it would pay an extraordinary bonus of one month's salary to all employees worldwide. The company has since the end of last month been struggling with strikes and blockages at its depots and refineries as workers demand higher wages to reflect inflation and the company's earnings.

Write to Joshua Kirby at [e-mail]; @joshualeokirby

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 13, 2022 10:14 ET (14:14 GMT)

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