Schneider Electric Workers Strike Over Job Cuts and Morocco Relocations

The objective of this strike, which began on January 14th, is to obtain a renegotiation of the compensation premium, set on January 18th by management at 5,000 euros, well below what the inter-union was hoping for, which is demanding 25,000 euros. "It’s not expensive for some employees who are already on their fourth job protection plan and who are no longer very young," said Anne Boussaguet, CGT union delegate, stressing that all employees at the Lattes site have already been victims of several job protection plans in the Alstom or Areva companies, reports France 3.

To make themselves better heard, 2 employees of the Lattes site, around fifty years old, started a hunger strike on Monday, January 18th. "It’s hard. We’re starting to get tired. But these people at the head of the company don’t care about their employees. They have no idea that these decisions lead to divorces, depressions, suicide attempts... So we’re trying to get their attention by any means," said Jean-Charles Bigotière, FO union delegate, on hunger strike. Moreover, "if we don’t get what we want, the tone is likely to harden," he threatened, adding that the negotiations are still on the table, but the authorities’ proposals are not convincing.

Furthermore, other Schneider Electric sites are also affected by job protection plans, as the group plans to eliminate 400 jobs. Thus, Schneider Electric in Alès is also on strike. The employees of the Merlin Gerin site in Gard denounce relocations to Morocco. This could affect 20 to 30 jobs in the end. In addition, for 2023, the group’s economic forecasts are not good at all. The loss of full-time equivalents could affect 80 to 85 people.