Post by Editor on Mar 8, 2013 8:44:29 GMT
French workers accused of 'being lazy' by U.S. tycoon riot on streets as last ditch protest to save 1,200 jobs descends into violence
Workers from the Amiens Goodyear plant gathered at the company offices
They were told at the end of January that the plant would close imminently
As union bosses met with managers the protest in Paris turned violent
New figures show French unemployment levels at their highest since 1999
By STEVE NOLAN
PUBLISHED: 13:40, 7 March 2013 | UPDATED: 21:28, 7 March 2013
Workers at a French tyre-making factory clashed with riot police today as last-ditch protests aimed at saving their jobs turned violent.
Staff from the Goodyear factory in northern France gathered outside the company's offices near Paris as they continued to rally against attempts to restructure or close the Amiens plant which employs 1,200 people.
But as union representatives met with company management inside, protestors fought with police on the streets outside, setting fire to piles of tyres.
The trouble flared as it was announced that unemployment figures in France had reached their highest for more than 13 years in the last quarter of 2012.
It also comes after American tycoon Maurice Taylor - chairman of U.S. tyre giant Titan International - refused to rescue the Goodyear tyre factory because its workers are 'lazy, overpaid and talk too much'.
Scroll down for video
Clashes: Riot police are pictured near Paris today as a last ditch protest by workers to save a Goodyear plant that employs 1,200 staff descended into violence
Anger: Tyres can be seen burning in the foreground as Goodyear staff clash with police in Paris today
Riot: Police form a line to drive protestors back as a fire rages close by. The workers were told in January that their factory in Amiens is to close imminently
Maurice "Morry" Taylor delivered the crushing summary of how some outsiders view France's work ethic in a letter
In the letter released on Feburary 19, Mr Taylor said his company would not be buying a Goodyear tyre plant in Amiens that is threatened with closure and the loss of 1,170 jobs, telling French industry ministry Arnaud Montebourg: 'I have visited the factory several times.
'The French workforce gets paid high wages but works only three hours.
'They get one hour for breaks and lunch, talk for three hours and work for three. I told the French union workers this to their faces. They told me that's the French way!'
The letter sent by Mr Taylor sparked a row with the government, with Mr Montebourg branding the description ‘ridiculous’, saying that he would instruct government agencies – including the tax office – to examine Mr Taylor’s business with ‘redoubled zeal’.
Goodyear said on January 31 that it would be closing its main French plant and cutting its workforce in France by 39 percent amid labor disputes and plunging car demand in Europe.
The issue is now creating unrest in Paris as one demonstrator tore away a policeman's shield while another hit the officer on the head.
Only a spray of tear gas pushed the mob back.
The tyre firm announced that it was to close the plant at the end of January.
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Today's meetings between unions and management are said to be to discover the findings of an independent report into the social and economic impact that the closure of the plant will have.
The French Government is proposing to reform the labor regulation that has held up the factory's closure after five years of attempts by the company to restructure the plant.
French workers clash with riot police in protest over jobs
Line of defence: Police sprayed tear gas at demonstrators in a bid to drive them back
Burning rubber: Officers look on as a demonstrator wearing a Goodyear protest slogan T shirt throws another tyre onto a raging fire
Running battles: Protestors attempt to storm a barricade as police fend them off outside the Goodyear offices in west Paris
The workers were infuriated last month when tyre executive Taylor, CEO of Titan International, said the plant was 'not worth saving'.
The fortunes of the Goodyear plant are in stark contrast to that of a Dunlop plant just across the road which is going from strength to strength.
The two plants, whose shared parent is Goodyear Dunlop, chose different destinies four years ago when Dunlop's unions accepted tougher labour conditions and Goodyear's rejected them.
Now Goodyear faces closure, while Dunlop has received more than 50 million euros in investment.
Union leaders at the two plants on the outskirts of Amiens, where riots erupted last August, were friends before a management request to merge the plants and switch to four daily work shifts from three previously tore them apart in 2009.
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2289625/French-workers-burn-tyres-clash-riot-police-ditch-protest-save-1-200-jobs-descends-violence.html#ixzz2Mw46XInR
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Workers from the Amiens Goodyear plant gathered at the company offices
They were told at the end of January that the plant would close imminently
As union bosses met with managers the protest in Paris turned violent
New figures show French unemployment levels at their highest since 1999
By STEVE NOLAN
PUBLISHED: 13:40, 7 March 2013 | UPDATED: 21:28, 7 March 2013
Workers at a French tyre-making factory clashed with riot police today as last-ditch protests aimed at saving their jobs turned violent.
Staff from the Goodyear factory in northern France gathered outside the company's offices near Paris as they continued to rally against attempts to restructure or close the Amiens plant which employs 1,200 people.
But as union representatives met with company management inside, protestors fought with police on the streets outside, setting fire to piles of tyres.
The trouble flared as it was announced that unemployment figures in France had reached their highest for more than 13 years in the last quarter of 2012.
It also comes after American tycoon Maurice Taylor - chairman of U.S. tyre giant Titan International - refused to rescue the Goodyear tyre factory because its workers are 'lazy, overpaid and talk too much'.
Scroll down for video
Clashes: Riot police are pictured near Paris today as a last ditch protest by workers to save a Goodyear plant that employs 1,200 staff descended into violence
Anger: Tyres can be seen burning in the foreground as Goodyear staff clash with police in Paris today
Riot: Police form a line to drive protestors back as a fire rages close by. The workers were told in January that their factory in Amiens is to close imminently
Maurice "Morry" Taylor delivered the crushing summary of how some outsiders view France's work ethic in a letter
In the letter released on Feburary 19, Mr Taylor said his company would not be buying a Goodyear tyre plant in Amiens that is threatened with closure and the loss of 1,170 jobs, telling French industry ministry Arnaud Montebourg: 'I have visited the factory several times.
'The French workforce gets paid high wages but works only three hours.
'They get one hour for breaks and lunch, talk for three hours and work for three. I told the French union workers this to their faces. They told me that's the French way!'
The letter sent by Mr Taylor sparked a row with the government, with Mr Montebourg branding the description ‘ridiculous’, saying that he would instruct government agencies – including the tax office – to examine Mr Taylor’s business with ‘redoubled zeal’.
Goodyear said on January 31 that it would be closing its main French plant and cutting its workforce in France by 39 percent amid labor disputes and plunging car demand in Europe.
The issue is now creating unrest in Paris as one demonstrator tore away a policeman's shield while another hit the officer on the head.
Only a spray of tear gas pushed the mob back.
The tyre firm announced that it was to close the plant at the end of January.
More...
That's our boy! David Beckham's family proudly supports the footballer as he joins new team Paris Saint-Germain for match
Loyal dog is praised for saving French woman's life as she 'attempted to shoot herself'
Today's meetings between unions and management are said to be to discover the findings of an independent report into the social and economic impact that the closure of the plant will have.
The French Government is proposing to reform the labor regulation that has held up the factory's closure after five years of attempts by the company to restructure the plant.
French workers clash with riot police in protest over jobs
Line of defence: Police sprayed tear gas at demonstrators in a bid to drive them back
Burning rubber: Officers look on as a demonstrator wearing a Goodyear protest slogan T shirt throws another tyre onto a raging fire
Running battles: Protestors attempt to storm a barricade as police fend them off outside the Goodyear offices in west Paris
The workers were infuriated last month when tyre executive Taylor, CEO of Titan International, said the plant was 'not worth saving'.
The fortunes of the Goodyear plant are in stark contrast to that of a Dunlop plant just across the road which is going from strength to strength.
The two plants, whose shared parent is Goodyear Dunlop, chose different destinies four years ago when Dunlop's unions accepted tougher labour conditions and Goodyear's rejected them.
Now Goodyear faces closure, while Dunlop has received more than 50 million euros in investment.
Union leaders at the two plants on the outskirts of Amiens, where riots erupted last August, were friends before a management request to merge the plants and switch to four daily work shifts from three previously tore them apart in 2009.
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2289625/French-workers-burn-tyres-clash-riot-police-ditch-protest-save-1-200-jobs-descends-violence.html#ixzz2Mw46XInR
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