surely not yep, responsible unions would do as you are suggesting - and many (actually, I think, most) do!
There is, however, the "real world" of some workplaces where there is no such thing as a responsible union. In the UK, an example would probably be London Underground. And in France, it's most public service unions. Their members are never at fault for anything, and there is many a reason to go on strike. (This behaviour has led to the erroneous impression, mainly in anglo-saxon countries, that the French are always on strike. They are not - however, in some high profile industries, controlled by the state or state-owned companies, strikes are significantly more frequent than elsewhere -anywhere- in France.)
And things usually get worse when a "professional election" is coming up, a "professional election" being where employees in France vote for who, or which union, will represent them on their employer's "comité d'entreprise". The various unions will of course try to impress their "electorate" by showing off their muscle in the run-up to the vote.
And guess what's coming up in France? Mais oui, it'll soon be time to vote for the comités d'entreprise. Which is why the cabin attendant's union and two pilot unions made a joint statement today, whereby they were "shocked at how [the death of the unfortunate CA] was being used in the electoral campaign", and they also said that the accident "should not beused as grounds for industrial action".
(BTW I'm not saying that anyone should be, or shoud not be, dismissed - I am in no position to comment on the rights or wrongs of that particular and deplorable accident
. There are procedures in place to deal with that issue. But given the seriousness of the alleged misconduct, which has led to very grave consequences, I am inclined to consider (a) temporary suspension at full pay pending investigations a reasonable decision, and (b) wildcat strikes in retailation tantamount to bullying.)
If you read French, there's
an article in Libération.