A-Infos (en) France, OCL CA #339 - Douarnenez canneries: commemoration of the 1924 strike through struggle! (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Douarnenez is a special year. In fact, a hundred years ago, the city's 
sardine fisheries went on strike for salary increases. For 6 weeks, 
these workers will resist employer pressure and violence and will win a 
salary increase. Note that a previous strike in 1905 had already been 
victorious and had allowed them to move from payment "by the thousand" 
(sardines) to payment by the hour. ----- For the centenary of this 
strike, the social history of the sardine fisheries finds an important 
place in the local and national media. A France culture radio 
documentary has just been released on Lucie Colliard, a union activist 
sent by the CGTU to Douarnenez to support Joséphine Pencalet, the 
militant worker, emblematic figure of the sardine strike... and one of 
the first women elected in a municipal council, before the Council of 
State invalidated it. The current commemorations are going well and the 
workers' song is sung on every occasion. Faced with this commemorative 
folklore, another reality exists, the work of cannery workers in 2024.

Today, this industry remains manual, almost exclusively female, and the 
work is generally thankless. These ladies, many of whom do not come from 
Douarnenez and are often hired on a temporary basis by Adecco, which has 
an office within the Chancerelle factory, do not get much attention. 
During the obligatory annual negotiations of recent weeks, in a context 
of crazy inflation, the management of Chancerelle proposed a salary 
increase of 1%, even though the CGT, the only union present at 
Chancerelle, demanded 10%. This total lack of respect did not last long, 
and a strike was immediately launched by the staff. On March 11, 2024, 
250 workers walked off the job. From Douarneniste memory, it has been 40 
years since this factory has experienced a strike! And management 
considers "that this strike is very unwelcome during a discussion with 
union representatives which has been taking place since February". 
Strange remake of 1924... The difference is nevertheless significant! We 
do not know if the social history of this industry played a role, or 
even the unprecedented high visibility of such a strike in a 
commemorative context which scared the employers, but this strike lasted 
less than 24 hours! The same evening, management conceded crumbs, and 
the CGT signed an agreement providing for "an increase in the hourly 
rate of 2.3% for workers, technicians and supervisors; EUR50 additional 
on the holiday bonus; EUR10 more on the dressing bonus; two additional 
days of RTT for executives; and a 1% increase in the target bonus. It 
also includes a review clause in the event of an increase in the minimum 
wage.»

This extremely short movement remains unsatisfactory in terms of the 
results on salary increases, which in the end is well below the desired 
10%. However, this first small strike in 40 years, in the middle of the 
commemorative period, could inspire workers on other subjects, such as 
working conditions, another subject of tension raised during the NAO! 
Indeed, the strikers also believe that their working conditions in the 
historic cannery of Douarnenez have deteriorated. In the event of a 
machine breakdown. People get up, come to work, then due to the 
breakdown, go home, it is charged on their hour meters. People arrive 
with negative hour meters because they went home. Modulation agreements 
make it possible to adapt working hours, from 0 to 42 hours (and up to 
48 hours in exceptional and marginal cases). Employees feel "broken".
We find the same causes with the same effects: machines pushed to the 
limit and which constantly fail because the bosses are on investment 
strike, English-style flexibility with "zero-hours" style contracts .

Arturo, 03/16/2024, somewhere between Douarnenez and Marseille

P.-S.
See also: Commemorative uprising organized in Douarnenez

http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4147
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