Carrefour strike: unions welcome
Unions are rather relieved. After fears yesterday that their call for the strike falls flat, following the announcement last minute by the management to reopen salary negotiations, they welcomed a widely followed mobilization this Saturday. Employees hypermarket distribution group were in fact called by four unions to strike on Saturday to protest against including salary increases for 2011, considered insufficient. The appeal was launched in late March by the FGTA-FP, the majority union at Carrefour (with more than 45% representation), and supported by the CGT, CFDT and CGC.
In total, employees of French retail group came to mass protest around the shops in this traditional day of great crowds in hypermarkets.According to union estimates, the movement is widely followed (50 to 85% of striking workers) in 130 of 203 hypermarkets in the group. Over thirty sites are completely blocked, preventing access of employees supermarkets. Even when they are not completely blocked, the strike rate range from 30% to 85% as estimated by Dejan Terglav, general secretary of the FO-FGTA reported by AFP. "The regions are the most mobilized the North, Britain and the Centre," said trade unionist. When contacted, the management of Carrefour has not confirmed those numbers, always carrying an inventory of mobilization, and ensuring that all supermarkets were open.
Union representatives yesterday morning anticipating a high rate of mobilization of employees. A rare occurrence in a group unaccustomed to large-scale social movements."Especially since the announcement of the reopening of Carrefour wage negotiations Wednesday could deter some people from coming forward. But reopening negotiations, it does not mean to succeed, "insists Dejan Terglav.
"It's a movement that looks pretty memorable," confirmed Frank Gaulin, Steward central CGT. Jean-Claude Mailly, secretary general of the Workers' Force (FOR), came to support the movement at the site of Le Mans, on strike for 80%. "People want a redistribution within companies.When they are unwilling to do that, there is a strike, "said union leader, also claims that" a device to make compulsory the transport allowance in all enterprises. "
Insufficient wage increase
While management offers its employees a 1% increase in wages to March 1 and another 1% increase on 1 October, union officials estimate that these proposals do not cover inflation announced by 2% payday loan online. "I do not really represents only 1% over the year," says a leaflet distributed by the FGTA-FO, which requests that the increases are decided once a year. The promise of recovery to 10% (against 7% previously) discounts on purchases of stores, and the announcement of the reopening of negotiations next Wednesday, will not suffice to bring back the union leaders on their decision.
Indeed, beyond wages, discomfort is increasingly strong-side conditions of use and new methods of work since arriving at the head of the group of Swedish Lars Olofsson, in January 2009. In total, FGTA-FO amounted to 10,000 the number of jobs cut since 5 years, and denounced a "new business model based on night work generalized ultra simplified workflow and increased employee stress .
The union also stipulates that future negotiations with management will not only wages and, even in case of high wage increase, it will not bend on the claims concerning the improvement of working conditions.
Opposition to the plans of division
While President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday expressed its willingness to link salaries to dividends, the unions could ask for more support for their speeches. For the third and final major demand, workers are opposed to the division by trading in the subsidiary Dia hard discount and the 25% of the land Carrefour Property. According to unions, these purely financial transactions would bring six billion euros to the two main shareholders, Bernard Arnault and Colony Capital (14% stake and 20% of voting rights between them).
In the words of Dejan Terglav in Les Echos reported on Friday, the organization also wants the Mutual Fund Business (CIPF) 'vote against the division (at the next general meeting of June 21 ed.)CIPF owns approximately 1.33% of the shares but the double voting rights "said the union leader. Bringing to nearly 4% the number of shareholders opposed the project, with the fund Knight Vinke (more than 1% of capital). But for now insufficient to meet a third of votes needed to derail the project.
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