Levi Strauss France trade unions join in European action

Download article in original language : FR9810138NFR.DOC

The September 1998 announcement by the Levi Strauss group that it planned to close three plants in Belgium and one in France prompted reaction from European trade unions and protest by employees at the La Bassée factory in France. The French Minister for Employment and Solidarity stated that she rejected any talk of closure of La Bassée before every possible avenue to keep the plant open had been explored.

On 29 September 1998, the US-based jeans manufacturer Levi Strauss announced the proposed closure of three Belgian factories (BE9810250F), plus the La Bassée plant in northern France which has a 530-strong workforce (86% of whom are women). Following the announcement, the trade unions represented in the French company - CGT, CFDT, CFTC and CFE-CGC- have been mainly focusing their action on two fronts:

• at European level, in addition to protests in Brussels in early October, they took part in discussions held within the framework of the Levi Strauss European Works Council; and

• the French unions adopted a different approach to that of their Belgian counterparts in not organising industrial action as soon as the planned closures were announced. In addition to support enlisted from MPs in the north of France, they called for the backing of the authorities (the Minister for Employment and Solidarity and the Secretary of State for Industry).

The Minister for Employment and Solidarity, Martine Aubry, declared that she rejected any talk of closure while every possible avenue for keeping the plant open had not been explored. She highlighted the statutory terms of closure - ie early retirement, redeployment of workers and the rehabilitation of the plant for a different purpose.