Product shipments from a limited number of refineries have been disrupted Thursday following the call by French CGT labor union for a 24-hour strike in the petroleum sector.
The industrial action is aimed at protecting rights of workers and keeping the collective labor agreement in the oil sector, said the union, adding that the strike was called following what it termed as a lack of positive response from the employers.
Product shipments have been disrupted at ExxonMobil's Fos sur Mer in the south of France and Total's Grandpuits near Paris, the companies said.
Some workers have joined the protest at ExxonMobil's Fos where no products were being loaded. As a result, for safety reasons the plant was running at reduced throughput.
Product shipments were also partially disrupted at Grandpuits.
While earlier in the day the strike had not affected refineries in Normandy near Le Havre, in the afternoon staff at Total's Gonfreville refinery and petrochemical sites voted to join the strike for 24 hours until Friday afternoon, a union source said. Loadings from the refinery and operations at some of the petrochemical units have been disrupted, the sources said. Total was not immediately available to comment.
Also in Normandy, ExxonMobil's Gravenchon refinery and chemical plant were operating normally, the company said.
Operations at Petroineos' Lavera have slowed down, according to media reports. The company declined to comment.
CGT has called on workers at refineries, petrochemical sites, fuel storages and storages at ports and airports to join the action and halt installations. The strike could be revoked if a positive response to demands is received in the meantime, it said.
