France: Continental offers €137-a-month jobs in Tunisia

Laid-off workers at the Clairoix plant, shut down early this year by tire maker Continental, were outraged after Continental proposed they take jobs in its plants in Tunisia. They would receive a monthly wage of €137, or the equivalent of three days at the minimum wage in France.

In March 2009, Continental announced it would close its site in Clairoix, in northern France, as well as its plant in Hanover, Germany, eliminating 1,900 jobs. The Clairoix plant used to produce 8 million passenger tires a year. It generated a €28 million profit in 2008.
According to Continental, the Clairoix plant was closed due to high productions costs. The company justified its plant closures and production cuts by citing falling auto sales in Europe and internationally. However, as the Stalinist newspaper l’Humanité noted on March 31, “One year later, Continental still plans to give €325 million in dividends to its shareholders.”

On March 24, workers received a letter from Continental offering them jobs in Tunisia. It added, “While this position corresponds to your professional qualifications, we would nevertheless like to draw your attention to the fact that the gross monthly salary offered by our Tunisian subsidiary is a minimum sum of 260 dinars. While this sum is in conformity with Tunisian standards, it is of course largely below the minima at Continental in France. We nonetheless have the obligation to submit this proposition to you...”

Despite its attempt to provide a pseudo-legal shield for its actions, Continental is in fact trying to evade its legal obligations—namely, the plant shutdown deal negotiated with the trade unions last June. The agreement includes €50,000 in compensation for the plant closure, offering reclassement (i.e., job transfers) for 80 percent of staff, at 80 percent of the net wages previously earned at Clairoix plant. It now claims that it cannot find such jobs, and is offering instead to find positions for 600 workers in Tunisia.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/apr2010/cont-a14.shtml