Workers at Apple’s stores in France have decided to go on strike this Friday and Saturday, when the new iPhone 15 is supposed to be released. They are doing this because they want better pay and working conditions.
The Apple employee unions, like CGT, Unsa, CFDT, and Cidre-CFTC, are asking for a 7% increase in wages to keep up with rising prices, and they want the company to stop its hiring freeze, which has been going on for months. However, Apple’s management is only willing to offer a 4.5% wage increase.
“Management having decided to ignore our perfectly legitimate demands and concerns, the four unions of Apple Retail France …call for a strike on Sept. 22 and 23,” CGT Apple Retail said in a statement on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday.
The CGT Apple Retail union posted on social media that since management is not listening to their reasonable requests, the four unions of Apple Retail France are calling for a strike on September 22 and 23. Representatives from Apple France’s corporate division and Apple’s Barcelona team in Spain are also joining the strike.
The unions are encouraging workers to gather for a demonstration on Friday morning near Apple’s flagship store in Paris, at Opera Garnier.
This strike call has been sent to all of Apple’s 20 stores in France. In the Paris area alone, there are nine Apple stores, including three in central Paris and two in Lyon. Other cities with Apple stores like Marseille, Lille, and Strasbourg may also be affected.
Last week, the French government halted sales of iPhone 12 devices due to concerns about radiation exposure limits being exceeded. On Friday, Apple promised to update the iPhone 12 software in France to address this issue. However, similar concerns in other European countries suggest that Apple might need to take similar actions elsewhere as well.