Conti Management “Welcomes” Clairoix Court Decision

Continental’s decision to close its Clairoix factory in France was met with allegations the company had failed to correctly consult employee representatives beforehand, as required by French law. The plant’s joint works council instigated legal action against Conti, however these claims were dismissed by The Tribunal de Grande Instance (high court) of Sarreguemines on April 21.

“Our Continental France subsidiary was ruled to have acted correctly throughout in informing and consulting with the members of the joint works council. We take the occasion of this court decision to emphatically reaffirm that Continental AG has consistently respected and complied with all legal stipulations,” declared Dr. Bernhard Trilken, in charge of worldwide production for the Continental Passenger and Light Truck Tires division.

“We hope that we can now quickly move on to an objective discussion of the necessity of this project and the next steps to be taken in it, with forbearance being exercised from this point on as regards unfounded allegations injurious to the company”, said Dr. Trilken. “We continue to stand by our commitments and intend to provide the widest possible assistance to all employees concerned.” The next meeting between the management of Continental’s French subsidiary and the joint works council of Continental France takes place, as scheduled, on April 22.

According to Continental, members of the joint works council were the first to be informed of the planned closure at an informal ‘get-together’ on the morning of March 11th. Following this, the plant’s works council was informally notified and then the employees at the plant. Conti states emphatically that the project was only made public after this absolutely legal procedure had been attended to.

In an official statement Conti adds that the senior public prosecutor in charge had already made clear during a court hearing on April 1 that the majority of the claims made by the joints works council were untenable. Moreover, the German manufacturer continues, it was at this time pointed out that neither French labour law nor the pertinent European regulations require the Europe Forum (the joint European employees’ council) be informed or consulted with before notifying representatives of the French employees. For this reason, says Continental, the court had solely to clarify whether any violation of legal obligations under the terms of the working time agreement signed on September 12, 2007 had occurred.

Upon hearing the court’s decision, workers vented their anger on a local government building. Ralph Blindauer, the lawyer representing plant employees, told Reuters they had gathered at a local government building in the town of Compiegne, near Clairoix, to await the decision. When the negative news arrived the workers stormed the building, throwing desks, chairs and computers out of the window. “There is nothing left. It all happened in 10 minutes,” CGT union worker representative Xavier Mathieu told Reuters.

Despite the spate of worker outrage following the closure announcement – a buffet of agitation that includes verbal abuse, egg throwing and tyre burning – Conti is sticking to its guns. The company’s Passenger and Light Truck Tires division reports facing a surplus of 15 million tyres this year. A “massive” drop in demand set in during the fourth quarter of 2008, in both the OE and replacement markets, and the company made several attempts to reduce the surplus prior to the March 11 announcement. These included stepped-up flexibility in production, extended works holidays and a large-scale depletion of accumulated overtime and working time accounts, the introduction of shorter working hours, and the dismissal of temporary workers. Continental notes that these measures, all of which are applicable only for a limited time, were not sufficient to bring production capacities into line with the anticipated prolonged slump in demand.