Strike of March 7: what consequences on my salary if I am a striker?
This is one of the main obstacles mentioned today by employees who are opposed to pension reform projectbut are reluctant to join the national protest movement. When they declare themselves strikers within their company, they should expect to see their monthly remuneration reduced accordingly.
“The exercise of the right to strike results in the suspension of the employment contract. The employer can therefore make a deduction from salary corresponding to the duration of the absence: this period will be qualified on the pay slip as unpaid absence, ”comments Anne-Lise Castell, jurist at Tissot editions.
Different calculations in public and private
“The loss of salary must be proportional”, adds Dahlia Arfi-Elkaïm, in charge of the social pole at JDB lawyers in Paris. “If the employee is absent from work to demonstrate for three hours, but returns to his post the rest of the time, the deduction will be three hours, no more”.
The rule is a little different in the public sector where the calculation is not as refined, according to the lawyer. “There, it is the rule of the indivisible thirtieth that applies. If the employee goes on strike for one hour, he will lose 1/30th of his salary, as for a full day of strike. »
Note that the employer is not obliged to make this deduction. “The loss of wages can be compensated within the framework of an end-of-strike agreement (during an internal company strike) or when the employer has committed a serious and deliberate breach,” recalls Anne-Lise Castell. But in the case of the social movement against the pension reform, the decision remains subject to the goodwill of the company.
If you fall while protesting, no accident at work
The fact that the employment contract is suspended may lead to other financial consequences for the striking employee who may also lose bonuses (attendance for example), or the benefit of certain protections. “If you fall while demonstrating, you will not be able to benefit from the work accident”, evokes master Dahlia Arfi-Elkaïm. Similarly, during his days on strike, the employee does not generate rights for his seniority or for his RTT or leave.
A category of employees can however escape the loss of salary: the staff representatives. “The elected representatives of the CSE (social and economic committee) have the legal possibility of setting delegation hours during the strike time. A possibility used more for internal conflicts but which has the effect of not suspending their contract and preventing them from losing their remuneration”, specifies Anne-Lise Castell.
