CGT
French auto workers threaten to blow up factory
Workers at collapsed French car parts maker New Fabris threatened on Sunday to blow up their factory if they did not receive payouts by July 31 from auto groups Renault and Peugeot to compensate for their lost jobs.
New Fabris was declared to be in liquidation in April, so the 366 workers stand to get no redundancy money, although they are entitled to draw state unemployment benefit.
France: Postal workers to strike against job cuts
Workers in Paris' 8th district are planning strike action after management announced the loss of 111 jobs.
Workers, with the support of the SUD and CGT unions have given notice of an unlimited strike to begin Monday.
France: Social Security workers to strike over purchase power
In a week that has seen Sarkozy's approval rating drop below 50% yet another group of workers prepares to fight back against worsening conditions.
The diminishing purchase power of workers due to stagnant wages and inflation is a cause for nationwide concern, with workers demanding pay increases and bonuses to make back the losses from sub-inflation offers in previous years.
France: Migrant workers' occupation wins
Sacked workers occupying the Buffalo Grill restaurant for one month have beaten their employers and been re-instated with their employment status regularised.
The one-month occupation of the restaurant and parking lot of the Buffalo Grill in Viry-Chatillon outside Paris has resulted in an important victory for 20 undocumented migrant workers fired at the fast food chain.
France: suicides amongst auto-workers
A spate of suicides amongst workers at French car plants reflects the fact that large numbers of workers are being driven to take their own lives by workplace stresses.
In France there are 300-400 suicides a year directly attributable to working conditions according to Christian Larose, vice-president of the social and economic council of the CGT. Roughly one worker is killing him/herself a day because of the job that they have.
Paris: Migrant workers occupy Buffalo Grill
Undocumented workers at the fast food chain in Paris have occupied the Buffalo Grill in Viry-Chatillon after being sacked and reported to the authorities.
The migrants, mostly of African origin, many with years of employment at the chain, face expulsion from the France of Nicolas Sarkozy to their country of origin.
Durand, Jules, 1880-1926
A short biography of the tragic life of French anarchist and coalheaver Jules Gustave Durand, who was framed for the killing of a scab.
The Dreyfus of the poor
France: Airbus workers wildcat strike succeeds
Airbus workers in France have won a higher salary increase and a one-off payment.
After wildcat stoppage last month at factories in Nantes and Saint-Nazaire, the unions (FO, CGC, CFTC and CFDT) could not agree to the latest offer before having taken it directly to the workers.
France: Metal workers defend undocumented colleagues
Workers at the Métal Couleur Système factory in Bonneuil went on strike after 19 of their colleagues were fired due to their immigration status.
The workers were originally fired towards the end of January, after a government inspection of the factory showed that 19 of the factory's 64 workers. The worker's contracts were cancelled after the inspector declared that they were using false papers.
Mayotte: Police arrest striking teachers
Local authorities are trying to break the long-running strike by arresting strikers, rather than by honouring promises made to staff.
At least five people, including the head of the CGT local, were arrested last week. The arrests followed the decision of secondary teachers to join the strike. Ironically the unions had succeeded in persuading teachers to stop crippling blockades just days before the arrests.
