Workers pollute river in pay row

Brussels:The river Meuse has turned blood red. The air hangs heavy with a pungent odour. The fish that swam in it are dead, like most of the flora and fauna in the surrounding area. They have been sacrificed on the altar of workers' solidarity. Located near the French-Belgian border, the town of Givet has been the centre of France's most intriguing industrial dispute ever in the past few weeks.

Over 150 workers at the Cellatex synthetic fibre plant were so incensed at the redundancy package on offer that some of their number released 5000 litres of highly-toxic sulphuric acid into the Meuse. Although this caused massive environmental damage, they were prepared to engage in more if their demands were not met.

Conscious that there was another 51,000 litres of sulphuric acid in the plant, they threatened to blow the entire factory up. A small explosion was staged to prove that they meant business. Their tactics proved successful. France's employment minister Martine Aubry agreed that they would be paid their full salaries for the next two years and that they would be able to undergo a further twelve-month retraining period on 80% of their pay.

These awards are far higher than the redundancy payments guaranteed by French law. According to Aubry, the deal enabled the workers occupying the plant to "leave with their heads held high". The Belgian current affairs magazine Le Soir Illustre said during the week that the workers had "taken the risk of becoming the first eco- terrorists in the struggle for worker's rights". By showing that crime pays, the Cellatex workers have planted ideas into the heads of other employees facing a future of what the French call "chomage" - unemployment.

A group in the eastern French town of Strasbourg has threatened to blow up a Heineken brewery unless the Dutch multinational rescinds its closure plans. The Cellatex employees have also delighted xenophobic elements of the British press, who have gleefully used the episode as an excuse to run stories portraying France and trade unions in a negative light.

What has largely been ignored is the fact that Givet has a 22% unemployment rate and that the factory in question had been a vital source of employment in the area since 1904.

And it was not just the usual Tory-supporting suspects in the British press that engaged in this French-bashing.

The Independent newspaper reported that it is common for French workers with a grievance to kidnap a managing director or destroy foreign produce.

These claims do not hold up to scrutiny as France has a long tradition of trade union activity and in most cases union representatives neither encourage or resort to such drastic measures.

Most French strikes and industrial disputes are of a peaceful nature. It is ironic, too, that the Independent sought to link the Givet protest with the folk hero status attained by French small farmer Jose Bove.

He was on trial recently for destroying a McDonald's fast food restaurant while it was under construction last year. Bove, however, has cited the environmental damage attributed to McDonald's and his desire to prevent further occurrences as a point in his defence.

The same certainly could not be said of the Cellatex workers, who caused very real damage to their local environment. Unlike Bove's case, there are no criminal charges arising from their vandalism.

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