WORLD WORLDWIDE EUROPE FRANCE - news journal UPDATE - (en) France, UCL AL #358 - Trade unionism - Isère: Let's keep the flocks, not the bosses (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 This year, the chambers of agriculture are celebrating their 100th

anniversary. At the end of January, elections for employer and employee
representatives took place there. Recent years have been marked by
mobilizations by agricultural employers. But a whole section of the
workforce is being exploited. It is in this context that the herdsmen
and herdsmen of Isère have united to carry out several actions. ---- A
summer pasture[1]very often takes place in the mountains along steep
paths or without any path at all. Come rain or shine, sheep, ewes and
cows need to be accompanied. You must therefore be well prepared, but
above all well equipped. Herdsmen and herdsmen estimate that they renew
their equipment to the tune of a thousand euros per summer pasture.
Today, specific equipment adapted to rain, wind and mountain terrain
(such as shoes) is not covered by employers. However, in several
departments in the region, such as Haute-Savoie, negotiations between
employers and employees have resulted in monthly financial compensation.
But not in Isère.

While negotiations to remedy this situation are taking place in favor of
employees, with an agreement reached on the sum of 250 euros per month,
the Departmental Federation of Agricultural Workers' Unions of Isère
(FDSEA 38) is pulling the excuse of regional negotiations out of its
hat. According to them, it would be easier to negotiate at the regional
level, to align the demands of each department with the most
satisfactory conditions for employees. An argument that will leave the
rest of the proletariat, whom employers pester all year long with "box
by box" negotiations, thinking because they are "closer to the field".

As the saying goes, "never believe the bosses". The Syndicat des
gardiens et gardiennes de neiges (SGT) of Isère[2](affiliated with the
CGT) refuses to postpone the discussions and wants these departmental
agreements to be ratified. The employers are backing out and cancelling
all negotiations, including departmental ones. They are playing on the
wear and tear of union members by constantly postponing joint
committees. Faced with this bad faith, employees have engaged in a power
struggle with actions during seminars, festivals and other events
highlighting pastoralism[3]. It is a question of showing that they are
present, organized and determined to make themselves heard.

The boss is a wolf to man
Guarding the flocks means ensuring that the animals do not escape, are
not preyed upon and eat properly. In addition to knowledge of the
terrain, there is also the knowledge needed to ensure the well-being of
the animals. The job is dictated by the weather conditions and the
animals to be looked after. When grazing, the five-day week is
complicated to maintain and the working hours are largely exceeded.

Take a sheep for example: it needs to graze eight hours a day. This
highlights the daily and therefore weekly working time required. In
addition, it is not uncommon for the flock not to eat continuously and
to take a break because the heat is too intense, which inexorably
lengthens the working hours. Of course, the sheep take a nap, but not
the people in charge of looking after them. And all this work for what?
So that the owners can exploit their wool, their milk and their meat.
This is the contradiction for the farmer: to have the best-treated
animals possible, while maximizing the exploitation of human employees.

Hugo (UCL Grenoble)
In order to highlight all these dysfunctions, the SGT shared some
situations that it was able to identify in 2024. From undeclared work to
unpaid hours, including abusive contract terminations because employees
deigned to claim. Add to that the precarious living conditions with
unsanitary housing... when they exist. The poor maintenance of these
huts belonging either to the owners of the herds or to the departments
inevitably leads to lung diseases due to humidity. Not to mention carbon
monoxide because the stoves are not properly maintained and there are no
sensors. We can also mention the lack of water or, when there is some,
its undrinkability. Union members also particularly warn about sexist
and sexual violence and racist attacks that they have suffered. The
observation is harsh, but it is very much in line with the reality of
our capitalist, patriarchal and racist society.

No union border
If today the agricultural employers are grumbling, it is clear that we
are not talking much about employees in the agricultural world. It is
indeed hard to be classy when the work units are scattered. Half of them
work alone on their farm, a third work with fewer than four colleagues
and only 5% work in teams of ten or more. The geographical spread is
significant: it is understandable that their voices do not carry.

Another thorn in the side, the dominant union model in the
confederations - "the company union" - is unsuited to the reality of the
organization of work in this sector of activity. As a result, too few
initiatives are born and succeed in making themselves heard. The example
of the SGT shows that it is possible to remedy this. Even separated by
dozens of kilometers, the interests of shepherdesses, cowherds, and
goatherds converge. By organizing ourselves in union structures adapted
to the reality on the ground, we can gain leverage.

So, comrade of the agricultural world, get in touch with a union and
talk about it to your colleagues on the surrounding farms. Because you
need to know your rights, how to enforce them and help others do so.
Whether through training, seminars or blocking actions, it is by meeting
up with people who experience the same realities that we realize that
there is no inevitability. This job, whether it is your passion or your
livelihood, should not consume your life and should be practiced
according to your requirements. Because you are the one who works, you
are the one who knows, so it is up to you to decide!

Hugo (UCL Grenoble)

Validate

[1]The term "estive" means both mountain grazing and the period during
which herdsmen bring the animals to pasture.

[2]https://sgtcgt.noblogs.org.

[3]Pastoralism consists of promoting grazing as a method of breeding
that is more respectful of animals and the environment.

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Isere-Gardons-les-troupeaux-pas-les-patrons
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