[Marxism] Sony exec freed

[sabocat59@xxxxxxx]

Irish Times
Saturday, March 14, 2009

Sony executives freed after 24-hour 'bossknapping'

Workers at the Sony plant at Pontonx-sur-l'Adour hold up a banner which reads: 
"Sony, some respect for your employees". 

LARA MARLOWE in Paris

WITH HIS bald pate, wire-rimmed glasses, grey suit and silk tie, Serge Foucher 
looked the very picture of business management when his 24-hour imprisonment at 
the hands of angry workers ended yesterday morning. “I’m happy to be free and 
to see the light of day again,” said Mr Foucher, the chief executive officer of 
Sony France. Mr Foucher, Sony’s head of human resources, and two local plant 
officials were held in a meeting room in a videotape factory at 
Pontonx-sur-l’Adour, in the Landes region of southwest France. The plant’s 311 
employees were notified in December that they would lose their jobs when the 
factory closes on April 17th. Mr Foucher dropped by to say a last farewell on 
Thursday afternoon, and was detained by workers objecting to the severance 
package they’d been offered. They blocked access to the plant with branches and 
tree trunks, and 20 gendarmes surrounded the site. Patrick Hachaguer, the local 
representative of the CGT communist trade union, said the atmosphere inside the 
plant was “good-natured”, though the Sony executives may have thought 
differently. “He won’t listen to us. We had no other solution,” Mr Hachaguer 
added. This latest incident of “bossknapping” ended at 10.30am when the Sony 
executives walked out of the plant, accompanied by trade union representatives. 
Employees lined both sides of the pathway, and watched the men leave in 
silence. The executives got into a minivan and were driven to the 
sous-préfecture in nearby Dax, where negotiations continued yesterday 
afternoon. “The state will facilitate the discussions,” said Étienne Guyot, the 
prefect of the Landes department. When a Sony factory closed a year ago in 
Alsace, financial benefits were 50 per cent better, the workers said. “We’re 
not asking the impossible, but we demand to be treated the same as other Sony 
France employees when they were fired,” Mr Hachaguer said. Le Figaro newspaper 
reported the Sony employees are receiving €45,000 more than the legally 
required indemnities, and between nine and 18 months paid leave to seek other 
employment. But Mr Hachaguer said Sony offered one month of salary for each 
year worked, and nothing extra for workers over age 55. “We don’t have much to 
lose because we’ve already lost our jobs,” he added. “Sony France decided to 
give us cut-rate compensation, when we’re in a much worse situation because of 
the economic crisis.” “Job offers have shrunk down to nothing,” a Sony employee 
named Philippe told France Info radio. “There’s no work to be found in the 
entire region. If I have to move, I will. I’ve lived here 24 years, and I never 
imagined the place would shut down.” “If we move, we get a bonus of €3,500,” 
Jean-Michel Cauna, who has worked in the plant for 19 years, told AFP. “In 
Alsace, all costs were paid.” Chantal Omiciuolo (50) said holding the 
executives hostage “was our last chance. We didn’t have a choice”. The 
possibility of converting the plant to produce solar panels was considered and 
abandoned. Union representatives opposed the project, saying Sony did not 
consult them. Yesterday afternoon, Mr Hachaguer said progress was being made on 
the treatment of older workers, longer leave to seek new jobs and training for 
sacked employees. But he said negotiations were still blocked on the basic 
amount of the severance package. The unemployment agency UNEDIC announced this 
week that between 375,000 and 454,000 more French people will lose jobs this 
year, depending on whether the economy shrinks 1.5 per cent or 1.8 per cent. 
The government is bracing for nationwide strikes and demonstrations on March 
19th. The incident at Sony France may inspire others – especially if the 
“bossknappers” are able to negotiate better terms. Last year, an Englishman who 
was running a car parts factory in eastern France was held for 48 hours by his 
employees. In a separate incident, 14 people were injured when police stormed 
an ice cream plant to free a manager who was taken hostage. 
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