Alcatel Lucent: European Rally a success
Alcatel Lucent employees’ huge response to the call from the European Metalworkers’ Federation and trade unions across Europe.
There were 4,500 demonstrators outside the Alcatel Lucent headquarters in Paris yesterday 15th March. They had come from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands to express their opposition to the restructuring plans and the “brain drain” to Asia.
At a time when 4,000 jobs are under threat, the Chairman of the European Works Council, Alain Hurstel, declared that “Employees had reacted strongly to the call for mobilisation with a view to maintaining a strong research and innovation capacity and preserving quality jobs in Europe”.
David Hollis of Germany’s IG Metall underlined that “It’s not the colleagues in Shanghai or Bombay who are our enemies. The enemy is bad management”.
As the EMF’s representative, Charles Sasso, stated “It is urgent to draw up an offensive industrial policy at European level, via framework programmes, in order to boost the telecommunications technology industry in Europe and develop the jobs of the future.” He added that management had to respect employee information and consultation rights.
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PRESS 16/2007
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, General Secretary
Isabelle Barthès, EMF Advisor on Company Policy + 32 2 227 1012
