
“Stay united! Management wants to create a divide between you, if you want to win you will have to stay united!” In front the Forvia factory in Méru (Oise)this Tuesday, January 21, Jean-Pierre Mercier, South delegate at Stellantis Poissy, came with 27 other colleagues to lend a helping hand to Meruvian employees, threatened by a Economic social plan (PSE) of 110 redundancies at the research center. On the square of the automobile parts manufacturer, around fifty employees accompanied by a handful of local elected officials were on strike. To show that there is strength in unity.
The first negotiations between unions and management began at the beginning of the year, around January 8. Yesterday, Monday January 20, a new meeting took place. The socio-professional categories affected by the PSE were discussed. From now on, we will have to tackle the number of layoffs and compensation. “We met your management recently, you have a human resources manager with a strong characterwarns Nathalie Ravier, mayor of Méru, who takes the matter very seriously. He is completely wrong about the methodology. It’s scandalous. He does not calculate the aftereffects. Having discussed it with other HR managers, your management is heading straight into the wall.»
Unions not all on the same wavelength
Negotiating will therefore not be an easy task. Especially since the unions are not all on the same wavelength. “I was a little disappointed with yesterday’s exchangeslaments José Peintre, CGT delegate. The elected officials (unions) say that they cannot do much at the moment, that management must give authorization. When you ask for things nicely, you don’t get them. If we want to defend our rights, we have to roll up our sleeves. If we ask for nothing, we will get nothing.”
This Tuesday, January 21, we saw CGT or CFDT vests, but not those of the UNSA, the majority union. For the latter, “this is not the right time because there is no sticking point in the negotiations currently“.
The Hagenbach model taken as an example
New negotiations will take place this Thursday, January 23, then on February 6. The CGT, for its part, would like to draw inspiration from the model from Hagenbach, Germanynot far from the French border. There, Forvia employees also underwent a PSE. But according to José Peintre, some left with checks ranging from €150 to €180,000. Plus different bonuses (number of children, disability, moving, etc.). “The amount of the PSE was 34 million euros for 144 people, and if it was not reached, the rest was redistributed to the people made redundanthe explains. The Germans went on strike for several days, which allowed them to reach these levels.” To begin with, a collective of angry employees will be created.
For their part, the elected officials of Méru are closely monitoring the situation. “We are already working on a reclassification unit, but I do not want to set it up right away, because that would mean that I endorse the factssays Nathalie Ravier. We will try to limit the damage as much as possible.» In the Senate, two special investigative missions were launched by the economics committee, including one on financial aid allocated to companies which ultimately relocate their production. This is the case for Forvia which, according to our information, would relocate certain positions to Spain, Germany, or even India.
The unions from Stellantis Poissy will also return to help their colleagues from Forvia. At home, they fear the closure of the factory, which has gone from 3,500 to 2,600 employees in a few years. “We’re all in the same boatsays Jean-Pierre Mercier. We know that after the Opel Mokka, we no longer have car manufacturing. Behind, the factory is closing. If Poissy closes, Forvia won’t be cheap..”