News

Who would have thought that the exceptional mobilization of militants from UNI Europa affiliate Force Ouvrière (FO) in the retail and other sectors too, would have led director Leclerc Roques in Garonne to close his shop on Sunday morning, when the opening was already foreseen since the beginning mid-September?

Contrary to those who advocate liberalism, workers and consumers, for the first time mobilized to say NO to exploitation of workers. Admittedly, even FO was surprised for this unprecedented mobilization.

FO Federations FGTA and the FEC had already organised protests against the opening Sundays, but never imagined they would be more than 200 at last count to prevent the opening of Leclerc Roques. The store manager quickly realized that the best solution in his interest was to turn back before the battle begins. This proves that when trade unionists but also consumers, that is to say, the citizens of this country are ready, management steps back.

Beyond this victory, FO is aware that this fight is far from over with the common positions of MEDEF and Valls government. However, what happened in Toulouse may be the beginning of waves of other protests of the workers across France. In any case, FO is ready to do everything needed to meet the legitimate demands of the workers.

Deregulation policy pursued by the government, MEDEF and FCD calls on all employees and all consumers on a common response. Should we believe retail managers, when they say that there is a high demand for employees and consumers to open stores in the evenings and on Sundays, and that a lack of answer to this request would put the country at risk of a further economic crisis! Workers cannot accept this situation; FO calls on all employees and consumers to think about the consequences of extensive Sunday openings.