France - Caterpillar dispute

Caterpillar workers' propose alternative to bosses' referendum

Article published on the 2009-04-22 Latest update 2009-04-22 14:50 TU

Burning tyres during a Caterpillar workers' protest
(Photo: Lescater-Enlutte)

A meeting of about 100 workers at two French factories owned by US equipment-maker Caterpillar have voted on a list of demands to be voted on by their colleagues at the same time as they vote on their bosses latest offer.

Earlier workplace trade unions said they would not organise a referendum on the plan intended to end the Caterpillar workers' dispute over job losses. The agreement had been reached at government-brokered talks on Sunday but caused a rank-and-file revlot.

Local government officials tried in vain to organise a vote of all the companies employees in Grenoble and Echirolles.

The latest workers' plan calls on management to reduce the number of job losses to 450 from a proposed 733. The management planned proposes 600.

It also wants 110 million euros in layoff payments, instead of a proposed 50 million euros at the moment, negotiation on reducing working hours and retraining for at least 200 people.

A committee of Caterpillar unions on Sunday signed a deal which committed them to put its conditions to a vote of all employees. But Patrick Cohen of the CGT trade union confederation said Tuesday that the talks at the Economy Ministry in Paris were "a trap".

The works committee on Tuesday said that the meeting "did not take place in acceptable conditions", adding that workers' representatives had been told that it would be informal but were then forced to negotiate for nine hours until a deal was reached.

The committee also objects to Caterpillar management's refusal to allow six members of a strike committee, which has played a leading role in the strike, to take part in negotiations.

The Caterpillar group, which is currently undergoing restructuring, announced on Tuesday that it would review its yearly targets, after going into the red in the first quarter of 2009, with a net loss of 86 million euros.