(en) France, Organisation Communiste Libertarie (OCL): At the Redoute, union treason the Awe, only against all ... Solidarity

That's it! The CFDT has signed the "social" proposed by the buyers La Redoute which 
deletes 1,200 posts. Once again, the union in the pay of employers plays a role of 
liquidator struggles in stark contrast to the base. Today is the blow after weeks of 
struggle where some autonomy could break through the action of "Awe" . Back to the past 
few weeks. ---- The spectacle of division ---- Friday, March 21, at the headquarters of 
the Redoute Roubaix, two camps employee-es have faced. On the one hand, a majority of 
worker-es from the Martinoire the site picking and logistics Wattrelos came to claim the 
non-signing of the proposed management social, the other of the employee-es the 
headquarters of Roubaix for most members of the management holding placards "sign for the 
future of La Redoute" . The spectacle of division can take place in the media, it was 
orchestrated by the camp management (1).

Highlight of the show, Nathalie Balla and Eric Courteille (the buyers) have attempted an 
outlet and a speech but the tumult and some throwing paper balls have quickly dissuaded. 
Finally, after some pushing and shoving, pro-signatures are left to grind under the "sheep 
are in the pen, we did our job! " strikers.

The aim of the negotiations: between mobilization and division

Since January and the announcement of the abolition of 1178 posts (2) mobilization has not 
stopped. Demonstrations took place in Roubaix, Wattrelos, Tourcoing and Lille. The site 
has been blocked Martinoire several days, finally every week, at least two general 
meetings are held. With these actions have created a collective struggle, they are 
worker-es-es determined that the sound of a song made in Roubaix (3) do not want to 
release any of their claims. For those who leave, they demand: 40,000 euros net of 
severance pay + 1500 euros net per year of service + 36 months of retraining leave. For 
those who remain, we must create a trust (social fund) where Kering will pay the same 
amount for departures and finally offer a guarantee for early retirement at age 55, paid 
at 100% for everyone.



Opposite direction and supervision responded to mid-March in creating a collective 
employee-es who asked to sign the social plan for the future of the Redoute. A petition is 
circulating on the internet while leaflets were disseminated through the hardware of the 
CFE-CGC union executives. They agree with management's proposals which offers 20,000 euros 
in premiums dismissals + 750 to 1200 euros per year of service depending on the case + 12 
months of rehabilitation.

Drama to the CFDT

Between the two camps, union representatives and seek their place are torn by the choice. 
This is especially true for the CFDT and to a lesser extent South (unrepresentative union) 
because the CGT and CFE-CGC chose the camp-worker are respectively the frames. The issue 
is important because in order for the social management plan is adopted, it requires a 
majority is reached if the CFE-CGC and CFDT sign. But the basis of the CFDT does not hear 
in this way and has managed to create a balance of power and persuasion against its 
representatives not to sign the social in the state.

Thus the behavior of the central Officer Jean Claude Blanquart is indicative of this 
tension. For some months, he completely disappeared from media-activist landscape and 
there is more than sly negotiation meetings. Friday, March 21, before the ultimatum 
Officer, his union base launched him a clear message: "If you sign, we burn our map" . But 
yesterday, a national union representative came to discipline union representatives on the 
political line of the organization. Delegated CFDT summarizes the content of the debates: 
"Our management wants that sign the agreement deemed sufficient by Paris, between 
management and employee-es the pressure is unbearable" . Friday, March 21, the base was 
stronger, but it is expected to settle accounts with the CFDT who does not hesitate to 
turn the rebels sections as it has already been in France or in Sea-Mory- Ducros.

The Awe at the initiative

Who is this base capable of upsetting the social dialogue? They call themselves the "Awe" 
: they are union members or non-union members who work almost all the Martinoire. This 
is the linchpin of the Redoubt and they are the first affected by layoffs and 
restructuring to come. (4)
This group is composed of 150-200 people who know each other well because most have 
already fought in 2008 during a first financial plan that eliminated 672 jobs. This social 
movement has left traces and helps explain the current mobilization and distrust of union 
leaders. Indeed, at the time, it is the South and CFDT unions who betrayed mobilization. 
"In AG everyone raised his hand to continue the movement, but behind our backs, then South 
CFDT signed the agreement against a nominal consideration: an increase of a few hundred 
dollars for smaller wages " summarizes David bitterly, a labor activist.



By the admission of delegates CGT, the Dread managed to win in the inter-and shoving the 
negotiations. End of February, they were able to agree on union claims to wear. Because at 
first it was great blur between 100,000 euros redundancy payments advanced by the CGT and 
20,000 euros carried by the CFDT. "They [speaking of Awe] came around the table, they 
presented the claim of 40,000 euros and unions are aligned. To use an image: they put 
water in the wine CGT and wine in the water of the CFDT and South " says David.

The action of Awe do not stop there. They produced and distributed their own leaflet with 
equipment loaned by the unions. They meet and discuss. Finally, in the AG, they were able 
to maintain a constant pressure on union leaders to not sign their backs.

Only against all?

The unwavering determination of Awe should not obscure the obstacles that arise in this 
movement still evolving. The first difficulty is that there is not really strike at La 
Redoute and bottlenecks remain casual. "We try to offer several methods of struggle to 
employee-es to mobilize the widest possible" says JC Leroy, CGT and Workers Struggle 
member who believes that blockages are not necessarily "the most effective weapon, the 
most important is the magnitude of the movement, its impact in the box but also outside 
and in the media " . The debate is because all practices of class struggle are re-build in 
a company that has forged Roubaix-Tourcoing and now brings social misery. Awe to seize 
this debate and choose the most effective modalities for action due.

They can only rely on themselves because the bourgeoisie in all its variations set up its 
propaganda to destroy the rebellious spirit. Of course, there is the employer speech 
relayed by executives calling for "reason" false organizing protest outside the 
headquarters and threatening to file for bankruptcy. Then there was unanimous political 
speeches including Martine Aubry said in the press (5) on France Bleu Nord , the social 
Pinault is "exceptional" and that is the lesson to unions: "You got lot ... The key now is 
to redress the Redoute. " . . Speech picked up by the lawyer of the Inter Mr. Califano
Rest media carrying their ideological war against the class struggle. La Voix du Nord 
title on March 22: "La Redoute: deadlock and confusion" while Le Monde ( 6) echoes a 
campaign of calumny against a CGT delegate registered on the electoral lists Workers 
Struggle and is judged "diehard" . Yet in the same columns of the newspaper, it was 
reported earlier this year that Goodyear Amiens: "No employee leaves with less than 60,000 
euros, even with one year of service and maximum employees leave with 130,000 euros . "



Class struggle and autonomy, the lever all the other changes

At La Redoute, these often pompous and empty slogans practices begin to take meaning. The 
Awe clearly positioned as exploited proletarians and robbed by a multimillionaire boss 
Pinault (7) and buyers also rich in millions if one refers to the severance Nathalie Balla 
received from his former employer KardstadttQuelle German ( 8). Worker-es which mostly 
have always worked at La Redoute and whose average age is 47 years claim their due not to 
sink into poverty. At Roubaix, the unemployment rate is 22%.

Also, Awe show their initiative only struggle pays as independently as possible. They were 
able to position themselves to union leaders who are no longer simply accompany the 
"social plans".

Finally, this fight can raise other relations of domination. "We are not like them 
diplomas (showing frames) to reclassify. The school does not give us this opportunity, " 
said a woman at the microphone determined to go through with the fight

The 23/03/2014

______

Notes:
1. For the record, executives were "guests" of their time working to leave their office. 
And people on leave were called to come and support their new bosses.
2. For more information, read the first article on the fight against Redoute ( here ).
3. "We let anything" HK and SALTIMBANKS a Roubaix group.
4. See the first article and working conditions at Amazon.
5. France Bleu Nord , 2014. March 10
6. Edition of 22 March 2014.
7. See the first article.
8. According to the German business newspaper Wirtschafft Woche "The latest layoffs, 
including those of four directors Nathalie Balla (Head of International Affairs) will cost 
about 5.7 million euros" .

This article was originally published here:

http://lamouetteenragee.over-blog.com/article-la-redoute-trahison-syndicale-123085439.html