Thirty employees of the Hafner company, in Estillac (Lot-et-Garonne), gathered this Thursday morning, with the authorization of the Prefecture and barrier gestures in support, in front of their old industrial pastry factory placed in compulsory liquidation.
Partial unemployed since March 20, these now ex-employees wanted to express their anger and dismay after the loss of 42 jobs, including 34 on permanent contracts. "We did not expect it at all," breathes Carole Croquet member of the CSE (social and economic committee) of the company, whose compulsory liquidation was pronounced on Tuesday by the Commercial Court of Agen. “We were informed Friday of the request for cessation of payment by our management. In four days, our fate was sealed, ”says the staff representative, stunned.
"We don't put 42 families before the fait accompli"
The prefect of Lot-et-Garonne, Béatrice Lagarde, admitted having been "very surprised by this judicial liquidation in the middle of confinement" and accepted the holding of this rally "if it concerned only the employees of the company and if the barrier gestures were strictly applied ”. No slogan or banner but soap and bottles of water on a table to wash your hands and a sign recalling the barrier gestures were enthroned in front of the closed gate of the company, at the bottom of a dead end. Half a dozen gendarmes watched that the gathering was held according to the rules.
The mayor of Estillac Jean-Marc Gilly, present on the spot, says to have "wanted to accompany the staff representatives to obtain the authorizations" and "it's going very well". "Finding yourself unemployed like that overnight is dramatic," says the elected "rebellious" against the group's leadership. "This way of doing things is intolerable, we don't put 42 families before the fait accompli." The team leader and staff representative Dominique Gaillard spoke of "betrayal". “In February 2019, when the Hafner group bought the company, an agreement was made with the Intermarché group, our main client, to guarantee a minimum of three years of production on the site. We didn't give a damn about our mouths, ”he railed.
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According to Gaëlle Barratier, maintenance technician, the Hafner group has already transferred "five labeling lines to another production site based in Savoie". The prefecture has undertaken to organize a round table to support the 42 dismissed employees.
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- Judicial liquidation