• It has been six weeks since several dozen employees of a logistics site in Vertbaudet, in the North, are on strike for salary increases.
  • From the beginning of the movement, the CGT denounced the use of temporary work on the part of the management to replace the strikers.
  • The union demanded the passage of a labour inspector and summoned Vertbaudet to court to stop this practice.

On Tuesday, some 70 workers at the Vertbaudet warehouse in Marquette-lez-Lille, in the north, began their sixth week of strike, supported by the CGT union in their demand for a wage increase. And it is also Tuesday that the sign of childcare appeared before the court of Lille, summoned by the union which accuses it of replacing the strikers by resorting to the interim.

Shortly after the start of the strike, on March 20, the local CGT union in Tourcoing denounced the mass arrival of temporary workers at the Marquette logistics site. Initially, the union claimed that "139" temporary workers had been recruited to "break the strike". To prove these allegations, the strikers requested, and were granted two days later, a visit to the site of a labour inspector. The latter sent his findings by email to the management and the CGT on April 7. Email that 20 Minutes was able to consult and in which the labor inspector explains: "Thus, for the period from 27 to 31 March 2023 I am able to establish that 43 temporary employees were in office before the beginning of the conflict; 84 temporary workers were recruited to replace 82 strikers."

The strike renewed "unanimously"

At Tuesday's hearing, the site's management challenged any illegal hiring and gave the president the same arguments as the labor inspector. That temporary workers were used to replace 43 employees on permanent contracts "whose employment contract is currently suspended for sick leave, parental leave, sabbatical, paid leave, work accident". According to AFP, Vertbaudet's lawyer reported in court "testimonies from all the other unions: CFE-CGC, FO and CFTC", attesting that management "has not replaced the striking employees".

In court, the brand's lawyer also mentioned a "temporary increase in activity" that justified the use of temporary work. She added that another promotional operation is to take place from this Wednesday until May 2. The use of temporary workers is "however well below the initial objectives" and "down by 136 people" compared to the same period of 2022, says Vertbaudet.

The court's decision is expected next Thursday. It will have to establish whether or not Vertbaudet actually used temporary work to replace the strikers. It should be noted that the labour inspector had reminded management that "the right to strike is a constitutional right" and that "Articles L.1242-6 and 1251-10 of the Labour Code prohibit the use of employees on fixed-term contracts and temporary workers to replace strikers." For their part, the strikers "unanimously decided to renew the strike," declared the CGT on Tuesday evening.

  • Justice
  • Hauts-de-France
  • Lille
  • North
  • Nord-Pas-de-Calais
  • Interim
  • CGT
  • Strike