The Eiffel Tower in Paris will be closed today for the third consecutive day due to a strike by employees of its management company (Sete), who are criticising its financial management, the two unions representing staff told Agence France-Presse.
“We are determined and we have the impression that they are taking it lightly,” said FO union spokeswoman Nanda Bzioui on the third day of the social dispute raging between the management and the two unions, the CGT and FO.
“And I will be surprised if they are open tomorrow” Thursday, she added.
This dispute, which has already led to the closure of the “Iron Lady” (as they call the Tower) on December 27, the 100th anniversary of the death of the engineer who built the iconic Paris monument, is unfolding amid the winter school holidays and five months before the Olympic Games (July 26 – August 11 ) that the French capital will host.
Yesterday Tuesday, negotiations were abruptly suspended as the two unions’ request to have a town hall interlocutor, a supermajority (99%) shareholder in Sete, was not heeded.
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The representatives of some 360 workers in the tower are also asking to be able to access the modification of the public service delegation contract valid until 2030, the subject of their main dissatisfaction.
The amendment, which provides for a 20% increase in ticket prices, must be ratified in May by the Paris Council.
The two points of contention are the price paid by Sete to City Hall and the works budget for the rest of the contract.
