Nov. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Salary negotiations got under way today between French refinery workers and management at companies including Total SA, Europe’s third-largest oil producer, amid calls for strike action by one trade union.

Talks began at the Paris-based Union Francaise des Industries Petrolieres, the main body representing the French oil industry, industry and union representatives said.

The Confederation Generale du Travail, or CGT union, called for work stoppages to begin as early as today at some refineries including the Lavera refinery, owned by Ineos Group Holdings Plc., and Petroplus Holdings AG’s Petit Couronne plant as well as the Dunkirk lubricant plant jointly operated by Exxon Mobil Corp. and Total, the union said in an e-mailed statement last night.

Other sites that could be affected by the stoppages include oil depots at the port of Le Havre and fuelling stations at some airports such as Orly, Lyon and Marseille, the CGT said.

A CGT call for strikes at Total SA’s Donges, Gonfreville, Grandpuits and La Mede plants is “suspended” pending the outcome of talks today, the statement said.

“We’ll see how talks go today,” Emmanuel Lepine, of the CGT union, said by telephone today from Paris. The talks at UFIP are for the French oil sector as a whole while others are scheduled for individual companies at later dates, he said.

Total will be holding talks with the unions on Dec. 4 to review its 2008 labor agreement, spokesman Michael Crochet- Vourey said by phone today from Paris. Another round of talks to negotiate the 2009 salaries will be held on Dec. 12, he said.

“Management at the oil companies and UFIP bear the entire responsibility for any consequences on production and services at sites due to any work stoppages,” the CGT statement said. An escalation of labor unrest among oil workers due to salary issues may result, the union said.

The CGT is calling for a 4.5 percent increase in base salaries and 20 percent bonuses for workers with 20 years experience.

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Last Updated: November 27, 2008 06:58 EST