No respite as Macron faces Labour Day protests

PARIS — France's President Emmanuel Macron faced more nationwide protests on Monday as he seeks to steer the country on from a divisive pension law that has sparked anger, pan-bashing and social unrest.

Last month, he signed a law to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, despite months of strikes.

He and his government have since tried to turn the page on the episode of popular discontent, one of the biggest challenges, to his second mandate.

But protesters have booed and banged pots and pans at him on his forays into provincial France to meet members of the public.

When Macron attended a football match on Saturday, he was met with activists waving red cards.

Unions and the opposition were hoping for a mass turnout at the May Day rallies to let Macron know they continue to oppose the pension law.

"I invite all French men and women… to go out and catch the sun, to tan while pushing their baby strollers in the streets of Paris and the rest of the country," Francois Ruffin, a member of parliament for the hard-left France Unbowed party, said on Sunday.

"We are making sure 2023 goes down in the country's social history," he told broadcaster BFMTV ahead of the public holiday.

Almost three in four French people were unhappy with Macron, a survey by the IFOP polling group found last month.

France has been rocked by a dozen days of nationwide strikes and protests against Macron and his pension changes since mid-January, some of which have turned violent.

But momentum has waned at recent strikes and demonstrations held during the working week, as workers appear unwilling to continue to sacrifice pay.

UK unions divided

In the latest development of strike action in the United Kingdom, British healthcare and ambulance workers belonging to the GMB trade union have voted to accept a government pay offer, the union said on Friday, hours after members of another union rejected it.

The offer, agreed between the government and healthcare union leaders last month, included a one-off payment equivalent to 2 percent of salaries in the 2022-23 financial year and a 5 percent pay rise for 2023-24.

GMB's backing means the offer has been accepted by four unions representing National Health Service workers whose members include midwives, physiotherapists and ambulance workers.

The long-running dispute has led to hundreds of thousands of NHS staff taking strike action over the last few months, adding to strains on the health service.

Other public sector workers in Britain, including teachers, as well as train staff have staged strikes in recent months as they demand higher pay deals in the face of an inflation rate that remains above 10 percent.

The NHS Staff Council, which includes representatives from NHS employers and trade unions, is due to meet on Tuesday to vote on whether to accept the offer.

Agencies Via Xinhua