Many employers continued to fire striking workers and union activists, as in the two following cases.
On 22 February, following a strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
at one of its sites in La Courneuve (Seine-Saint-Denis), the management of the U.S. delivery company UPS initiated dismissal procedures on grounds of “gross misconduct” against five employees, including two members of Force Ouvrière (FO). The company claimed that they had “deliberately and actively blocked the free circulation of delivery trucks”, by virtue of which they were suspended, despite the fact that all of the drivers and warehouse staff were on strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
. Following trade union pressure and an inquiry by the labour inspectorate, UPS had to overturn its decision and reinstate the suspended workers.
At the end of February, the management at the PSA Peugeot-Citroën factory in Aulnay upheld its decision to dismiss the Confédération générale du travail (CGT) union representative, Ahmed Berrazel, despite the labour inspectorate’s verdict that the dismissal was “clearly linked to his trade union activities and duties”. Ahmed Berrazel, aged 29, has already been the target of five disciplinary actions and an 18-day suspension in recent years. Following support actions led by the union, however, the management finally withdrew its Ministerial appeal and suspended the union representative for six days rather than dismissing him. Tensions are high within the PSA group, which announced 5,000 job cuts in France in 2011.