A hardline French metalworkers union has criticised last week’s announcement by the Paris government of electric and hybrid vehicles grants as “without breadth.”
The French CGT union made its views plain following Prime Minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault’s scheme to provide maximum new grants of EUR7,000 (US$8,600) for EVs and EUR4,000 for hybrids.
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The issue has galvanised unions and politicians alike following PSA Peugeot Citroen’s decision to cut up to 8,000 jobs and axe its Aulnay plant near Paris and prompting the French government into its grants plan and future unveiling of a more general automotive support scheme.
“It [government grants] has not surprised the management of the CGT federation of metalworkers who judge this plan ‘without breadth,” said a CGT statement.
“For the workers in the sector, the government is not proposing any concrete measures to respond to the situation by which they find themselves confronted in the very short and long term. For the CGT, stronger and more efficient acts are required for jobs in the automotive sector, such as the freezing of all restructuring at prime and sub-contractors.”
However, in a call unlikely to find favour with the main automakers in France, the CGT is also asking for plants to manufacture two models per site to “smooth production” and manage vehicles at the end of their sales potential.
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By GlobalDataThe union is also asking for a “tough agreement” to encourage the departure of older employees and the hiring of young staff.
The labour body’s strong words come hot on the heels of last week’s stinging criticism by centrist party, Union des Democrates et Independantes (UDI) leader, Jean-Louis Borloo, of the French government’s plan as “infantile.”
“I have the impression that we are seeing just what we [saw] in 2009, nothing more,” said Borloo.
“I find this method of inventing a [plan] in a single office [for] an industry that accounts for 10% of our economic activity of our country…seems to be somewhat infantile.”
