Union leaders at a Goodyear tire plant in northern France have agreed to talks with a Texan executive who caused an uproar earlier this year by accusing the plant's workers of being lazy and its unions of being ‘insane’ in an open letter to the government in February. Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg, who spoke with Taylor, said the executive was reconsidering his abandoned takeover bid for the plant. His latest offer, for part of the operation, would save 333 out of a total 1,200 jobs. The CGT trade union, which represents a majority of workers, is ready for talks and for pushing things forward, insofar as nobody is left behind.
English: http://europe.autonews.com/article/20131024/ANE/310239946/french-union ...
For more information, please contact the editor Jan Cremers, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) cbn-aias@uva.nl or the communications officer at the ETUI, Mariya Nikolova mnikolova@etui.org. For previous issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit http://www.etui.org/E-Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net.