Belfort (AFP)
The blocking of the gas activity of the sites of General Electric in Belfort and Bourogne (Territoire de Belfort), covered by a broad social plan, is maintained Friday for the fourth day, pending a new meeting, indicated the unions.
Nearly 70 employees of General Electric (GE) still hold Friday morning picket at the main entrance of the site belfortain, warmed by two major braziers, said a correspondent of the AFP.
All the production workshops of the gas activity in Belfort are blocked and the site of Bourogne is inaccessible, according to the CGT.
The union must meet Patrick Mafféïs, vice president of industrial operations of GE Power Europe, at 10:00 in Danjoutin, a few kilometers from Belfort, said the inter-union.
"GE wishes that this meeting allows the unblocking of the sites of Belfort and Bourogne, detrimental to both employees and the company, as well as the arrival of staff representatives in the formal negotiation process," said Thursday the management from GE Power.
"We will listen to Mafféïs and reiterate our demands," said CGP delegate Karim Matoug, AFP, saying that "the restructuring plan is not sustainable because it is built on an outdated situation."
According to another trade union source, a general meeting could be held at the GE site in Belfort around 14:00 to decide on the next move.
The US group, which employs some 4,300 employees in Belfort, including 1,900 in the gas turbine manufacturing unit, announced in May a restructuring plan for the removal of nearly 1,050 jobs in France, including 792 in the Belfort site. .
GE management in Belfort, however, expressed "willing" to reduce by 150 the number of posts deleted in this site, "subject to" formal discussions with the representative bodies of staff.
The blocking of production began Tuesday morning in Belfort. Nearly 300 employees then paralyzed the production process of a 9HA gas turbine, the most powerful in the world.
A major event to support GE employees is scheduled for Saturday, October 19th in Belfort.
© 2019 AFP