After the surge in fuel prices in France, the so-called Yellow Vests movement has held protests, calling firstly on the government to lower the prices, and then also on French President Emmanuel Macron to resign. On Wednesday, the French National Assembly approved a moratorium on the planned fuel price hike.

The French labour union Vigi has called on its members working in the national police and in the Ministry of the Interior to start an indefinite strike on Saturday, joining the Yellow Vests movement. The statement was placed on Vigi's Facebook page on Wednesday.

"The demands made by the Yellow Vests movement related to all of us. The time to organize legally and express solidarity with them for the benefit of all has come", Vigi's post reads.

"We are being perceived as mercenaries, given bonuses for overtime work, but they cannot compensate for the decisions made by the government", Vigi's statement reads.

The call is directed at "administrative, technical, scientific and state workers/cooks from the Ministry of the Interior", according to the statement.

READ MORE: French Extremists Destabilizing 'Yellow Vests' to Prolong Chaos – Activist

"Act IV" of the Yellow Vests' protests, which is to start on Saturday, will make the government take precautions, as during the previous "Act III", more than 260 people, including some 80 police, were injured. Earlier, French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner announced that he would reinforce security for next Saturday.

Michel Thooris, the head of the France Police labour union, said that the French government had failed to implement security measures in Paris, noting that "a majority of the French continue to back the movement". She also highlighted that using the armed forces against civilians would indicate that France is heading towards a civil war.

READ MORE: WATCH Policemen in France Take off Helmets in Solidarity With Fuel Protesters

The protests, which started as a movement against a hike in fuel prices, turned violent, leading to more than 600 people being injured and at least two deaths. The three-week demonstration forced the French government to drop the fuel tax rise from the 2019 budget.

"The government is ready for dialogue and is showing it because this tax increase has been dropped from the 2019 budget bill", Edouard Philippe, the French prime minister, said on December 5.

READ MORE: France Abandons Fuel Tax Increase After Weeks of Protest</s>Academic activities in Nigerian tertiary education institutions would soon be completely paralysed as Polytechnic lecturers are also planning to go on strike.

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has declared that it would begin an indefinite strike on Wednesday, December 12, 2018.

The National President of ASUP, Usman Dutse in an interview with Premium Times reportedly said the federal government had failed to meet the demands of the polytechnic lecturers.

Earlier in October, the union issued a 21-day ultimatum to the government. It later extended it to November but didn't start the strike.

The ASUP president said the impending strike would be ''total and indefinite''.

“This further emphasises the resolution of the 93rd National Executive Council meeting reached at the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos last week.

“Government has failed to implement and fulfil agreements it reached with the union as contained in the memorandum of understanding signed,” he said.

Meanwhile, the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities have again failed to resolve their disagreements over ASUU strike.

The union leaders and the federal government representatives held a meeting on Tuesday, December 4, 2018 at the Ministry of Education in Abuja but both parties could not agree to call of the strike as the meeting ended without a resolution.</s>The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has announced its decision to embark on an indefinite strike with effect from Wednesday, December 12.

ASUP National Treasurer, Suleiman Usman, said this while briefing reporters shortly after the union’s National Executive Council meeting on Friday in Kaduna State.

He said the decision was taken at the end of the meeting which lasted for several hours at the Kaduna Polytechnic.

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Usman explained that the planned industrial action followed the failure of the Federal Government to implement all the agreements it entered with the union since 2016.

He alleged that despite the 21-day ultimatum issued by ASUP to the government to address some of the issues it had raised over time, the government has been nonchalant in addressing the demands for improved funding of polytechnic education in the country.

The ASUP treasurer noted that the union had given government sufficient time to implement all agreements, stressing that they have no choice than to embark on an indefinite strike.

According to him, this is coming on the heels of the expiration of the 21-day ultimatum issued after the union’s NEC meeting which held on October 2.

Some of the demands, Usman said, include non-implementation of the NEEDS Assessment Report and shortfalls in personnel releases, as well as the withdrawal of allowances and persistent shortfalls in personnel releases to polytechnics.

The other issues are the sacking of union leaders and delay in assenting to the amendment of the Polytechnic Act, among other demands.

The union has directed all its members across the country to proceed on an indefinite strike starting from 12:00am on Wednesday next week.
The French police union Vigi calls on police officers to begin an indefinite strike on December 8 and join anti-government protesters, noting that "a majority of the French continue to back the movement".