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Headlines : Human RightsSarkozy struggles to contain worker unrest
The Sarkozy government is in a quandary. While Sarkozy himself is basically a neo-liberal, who would love to be able to slash the protections enjoyed by French workers and to unleash free-market forces upon French industry, he is also a power-hungry politician. As such, while he is unwilling to really take on the unions as Thatcher did, his quixotic right-wing project will stall and collapse on the shoals of worker unrest.
While his rhetoric and small steps are provoking class conflict, Sarkozy will fail to mobilize a counter-force to the French unions. Meanwhile though, without a movement to eclipse the political establishment, the Left and workers will fail to rejuvenate and protect French industry. Hence we are getting a wave of protests, ebullient manifestations of working-class energy, but the political situation is a stale-mate.
Targeted industrial action has spiraled as workers including hairdressers, taxi drivers and printers have downed tools over working practices, low salaries and a lack of the “spending power”, which Sarkozy promised to boost. The percentage of a low-paid worker’s income taken up by necessities such as food and bills increased from 50% to 75% between 2001 and 2006.
Something’s got to give…
[Posted By Szamko]Republished from The Guardian
The French government is working to contain a wave of factory strikes by private-sector workers not normally known for taking to the barricades, including ice-cream makers, supermarket staff, hairdressers and L’Oréal employees.
Factory staff have taken increasingly hardline measures, with some holding their managers hostage for days over plant closures and job cuts.
This week the tyre giant Michelin continued talks over the closure of a plant in Toul, eastern France, after a government-appointed mediator secured the release of two managers whom workers had locked in a room for three days. It follows an incident last month when workers outraged at planned job cuts at the Miko ice-cream factory in Saint-Dizier locked up their British manager, Prakash Patel.
This week, staff at a Ford plant near Bordeaux blockaded their factory and L’Oréal cosmetics staff took to the streets under the banner “because we’re worth it”, asking for pay rises after their company’s good financial results.
Posted by Szamko
Just tries to tell the truth.
And this also represents the transition from the Frank to the Euro…
Allons enfants de la Patriiiiiiiiiiie, le jour de gloire est arrivé.
From das wikie
L’Oréal’s famous advertising slogan is “Because I’m worth it” . . . has recently been replaced by “Because you’re worth it” and, currently, “You’re worth it”.
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See also :
it would be nice it this spread to a global movement of workers holding the powers captive to create a new sustainable world
“And this also represents the transition from the Frank to the Euro” – Yes but price increases at the Euro conversion stage were driven by greedy retailers taking advantage of the confusion to raise there prices – Other than the drug dealers that is :)
Dis, Dollfoot, ya gotta present some corroborating evidence on that baby. Just one for example. Somefin. Anyfin.
Personal experience, don’t think the before and after prices are still floating around, same thing happened with decimalisation, but I’m too young to remember that :)