The CGT, which accuses the Vertbaudet childcare brand of recruiting temporary workers to replace strikers, asked the courts on Tuesday to end these contracts, the management ensuring that it is legal and explains it by a temporary peak in activity. The Lille court, before which around sixty employees demonstrated on Tuesday, must render its decision on May 4.
Several dozen employees of the Marquette-Lez-Lille logistics warehouse, the vast majority of whom are women, have been on strike since March 20 to demand a salary increase. Tuesday, 72 people entered their sixth week of strike, on this site with 327 employees, according to Vertbaudet.
After the recruitment of temporary workers at the start of the strike, the CGT commerce federation initiated summary proceedings to “have the judge note that Vertbaudet is using temporary workers to circumvent the right to strike” and “immediately prohibit this practice “, explained the lawyer of the union, master Damien Condamin. Called by the CGT, the Labor Inspectorate ordered a check on March 22. In an email dated April 7, “the inspector writes: I have found that 84 temporary workers have been recruited to replace 82 strikers”, denounced at the hearing the second lawyer for the union, master Arthur Gandolfo. Vertbaudet’s management has challenged any illegal hiring.
His lawyer told the court of “testimonies from all the other unions: CFE-CGC, FO and CFTC”, attesting that the management “did not replace the striking employees”. The use of temporary workers is “limited to the replacement of non-striking employees (work stoppage for illness, accident at work, parental leave)” and also responds “to a temporary increase in activity” linked to a promotional operation by Vertbaudet, a then detailed the direction in a press release.
This operation “took place from March 22 to April 2 inclusive”, “hence the use of temporary workers over the period from March 27 to 31” incriminated by the CGT, she said. It must be repeated from April 26 to May 2, after another promotional operation, scheduled for March 31 to April 9. The use of temporary workers is “however much lower than the initial objectives” and “down by 136 people” compared to the same period of 2022, underlines Vertbaudet.