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Motion by the CICE: 20/10/2011 (Letter from Knight Vinke)



The European trade unions for the Carrefour Group, meeting as the European Works Council (EWC) in Bucharest today, on 20 October 2011, took note with astonishment of the open letter in the newspapers from the Knight Vinke fund to the Carrefour Board of Administration.



This is a clearly hostile and extremely harmful tactic. The plan to set up a two-headed management structure, with one unit for France-Europe and the other for Asia-Americas, points to a real desire to dismantle the Carrefour group, which the Carrefour European Works Council denounces and firmly rejects, just as it rejected the plan to split up DIA. This type of initiative would render meaningless the sacrifices which employees in Europe have already been making for years in terms of jobs, wages and working conditions.



Carrefour needs stability and determination to implement its strategy. Carrefour means hundreds of thousands of jobs in Europe. We wish to assert our commitment to Carrefour as a company and to the jobs it represents, and to express our support for the strategy which the General Management has just presented to us, with regard to investment plans for store remodelling.



Nevertheless, we feel that Europe and the Mediterranean countries may be hit by a second wave of restructuring.

The Carrefour European Works Council and UNI hope that, through social dialogue, it will be possible to anticipate the social consequences for workers and urge the management to embark upon a truly constructive dialogue on this topic.



The trade unions of European Works Councils and UNI Commerce Global Union denounce the maneuvers by the activist US financial fund Knight Vinke. This financial speculation is aimed at destabilizing the Carrefour group, thereby facilitating its dismantling.

They accept their responsibilities in ensuring the success of the steps taken to put Carrefour back on track, for the benefit of its employees and its customers.



EWC Secretary

Michel Enguelz

+33 607 067 168