Striking workers at the Fonderie du Poitou Aluminium (FDA) will descend en masse to Paris tomorrow (15 September) to protest at what they claim is a 23% slash in their wages.
The CFE-CGC union, whose members at the Poitou plant are now on indefinite strike, will leave at 05:30 tomorrow to link up with fellow labour bodies CGT, FO and CFDT and gather outside the headquarters of FDP owners Montupet, a demonstration that is expected to attract 2,000 protesters.
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The CFE-CGC is furious at what it says is the proposal by FDP to slash wages by 15% and weekly hours from 39h to 35h – a move it says is an effective additional 8% reduction.
“Tomorrow we will be in Paris and will take the chance to go to the HQ of the Montupet Group – we are going to invite ourselves to a round table with the director in the building,” CFE-CGC spokesman Alex Jamain told just-auto from Poitou.
“Because we are in Paris, we are going to go to Peugeot [as] 15% of our products are made for Peugeot. In the afternoon we are invited to Renault’s HQ at Billancourt to discuss the competivity plan as 85% of our business is [with them].”
Jamain insisted he has not had any reaction from the management at Montupet, while the person in charge of the foundry had “no power” as the headquarters were in Paris.
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By GlobalData“It is clear the management of FDP is on its knees in front of the mother company, the one who polishes the shoes of someone else,” he said.
It appears the dispute has been lent extra spice ahead of French Presidential elections next year as candidates from both left and right align themselves with the situation. Politicans from a vast spectrum of French politics are expected to rally behind the unions tomorrow in Paris.
“The interest for us is to allow our movement to be at the highest level nationally,” said Jamain. “We are ready to go the Prime Minister or the Industry Minister. We want to put this competivity plan in the rubbish bin.”
The CFE-CGC spokesman also noted that should the strike drag on into next month, a solidarity fund had been established to start subsidising members from 31 October.
A spokeswoman for Montupet in Paris confined herself to noting to just-auto from Paris: “The managment does not want to communicate on this subject for the moment.”
