On the eve of the extraordinary meeting of the Alcatel-Lucent European Works Council (EWC), the European Metalworkers’ Federation and its affiliates call on the group’s employees to gather in Paris in order to voice their preoccupations and their fears for the future of the Group. 400 employees from Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy and Spain will join the thousands of French employees who will be demonstrating today.

This rally takes place at a time when the Alcatel-Lucent EWC is demanding that the management of the Group lives up to its obligations with regard to information and consultation. Whilst alleging that it fulfils its duties as regards information to the EWC, the Group management has recently sent information to the EWC employee representatives, but this information neither provides a clear picture of the Group medium or long-term strategy nor enables employees to anticipate which sites or jobs will be affected. Employee representatives within the EWC have decided to take court action against the Alcatel-Lucent Group in order to challenge their practices and demand that relevant information be provided urgently.

The EWC asks management to consider this meeting as a first step to establishing a constructive dialogue and a serious information and consultation procedure.

The announced cutback of 4500 jobs at Alcatel-Lucent sites in Europe is giving rise to a mobilisation of the workforce against the undermining of high-tech and high added-value sectors in Europe. The incessant restructuring exercises announced in several high-tech companies – Nokia, Siemens, Alcatel, Airbus etc… - raise a number of questions and doubts as to the willingness of the European Commission and the EU Member States to make Europe a genuine knowledge-based society endowed with quality jobs. The cost-cutting strategies, especially if they are in response to heavy pressure from investors looking for quick profits, are rarely the most economically rational options. Each restructuring exercise means an outright loss of human capital and skills.

Europe must wake up and prevent the drain of productive investments to Asia and not just keep for itself the speculative and short-term investments that are killing its industry.

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PRESS 14/2007

The EMF is the representative body defending the interests of workers in the European metal industry. The EMF has a mandate for the external representation and coordination of the metalworkers' unions and a mandate to engage in bargaining at European level.

For further information please contact:
Editor, Peter Scherrer, EMF General Secretary