Pan-European labour body, IndustriAll, has condemned Ford and PSA’s recent announcements they intend to implement radical restructuring as the Continent gears up for massive demonstrations in protest at job cuts and government austerity measures.
Ford announced it plans to shut its Genk plant in Belgium with the loss of 4,300 jobs and close its Transit-producing site at Southampton in the UK, while PSA Peugeot Citroen is looking to axe its Aulnay plant near Paris and cut up to 8,000 posts in France.
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A wave of protests is about to be unleashed on Europe as unions vent their full fury at the painful restructuring, starting with a huge rally in Genk this Sunday (11 November) that a Belgian union has estimated to just-auto could attract up to 50,000 people.
Meanwhile, the European Trade Union Confederation is to mount a European Action Day on 14 November, with strikes and demonstrations taking place across the Continent in protest at swingeing austerity measures currently being adopted by severely-indebted countries, particularly in the south.
“What we are saying is…the austerity programmes are not the answer our governments have been telling us,” an IndustriAll union spokeswoman told just-auto from Brussels. “We need…to keep up protests against the austerity measures.
“It [demonstrations] is a first step – we keep hammering there are alternatives. We are calling on our federations who are members to really keep the ball rolling, keep up the momentum. Spain and Portugal for example, have already decided they will have a general strike on those days.”
Warning of a sharp rise in “nationalism and isolationism,” IndustriAll insisted the reductions in automotive capacity being mooted by several manufacturers showed “no evidence of any industrial policy,” and that manufacturers would not be able to respond to any future market recovery.
“Following the announcements made by Ford Europe and PSA, IndustriAll Europe firmly condemns the planned plant closures and declares full solidarity with the workers concerned,” said IndustriAll general secretary, Ulrich Eckelmann.
“The experienced workers who have to leave the industry today will no longer be available to produce the cars needed for tomorrow.”
The pan-European labour body said that with its Automotive Committee, it would support Ford and PSA workers, their subcontractors and suppliers, although what this concretely means is not yet immediately clear.
