Tuesday, September 27, 2016

“Shirt ripped off” : the trial of 15 employees of Air France opened – The Point

the photo of The DRH Air France, ragged shirt, had made the tour of the world. Fifteen employees appear at the tribunal of Bobigny, france. The trial, which is spread over two days, began shortly after 9 a.m. in a courtroom overcrowded with the call of the fifteen defendants, of which five are being prosecuted for “violence in a meeting” and ten for ” damage “.

The multi union at Air France called a strike and a rally from 10 hours in the vicinity of the court. Several hundred people are expected, source police. The CGT, which has many members among the defendants, seeks to transform this day into the forum for the ” trade union freedoms “. Five of its members, including a representative of the staff, were sacked by the company in the wake of the events. Among them, four are on remand. “The trade union freedoms are fundamental (…), but nothing justifies violence against innocent people,” responded mr. Christian Charrière-Bournazel, one of the lawyers of Air France shortly before the opening of the hearing. For Miguel Fortéa, secretary general of the CGT Air France, the trial will allow to see ” if there was really an independent justice “, because, according to him, “the presumption of innocence does not exist” in this folder. “We are dealing with thugs and asking for sanctions to be heavy and best” from the next day of the incident on 6 October, Prime minister Manuel Valls ” has put the prosecutor under pressure “, he estimated.

” rogue “, according to Manuel Valls

The incident took place on October 5, 2015, during a protest against a proposed restructuring of Air France, designed to remove 2 900 jobs to recover its competitiveness. After forcing the access gate to the front of the Air France headquarters in Roissy, about a hundred protesters had invaded the room where the management was in the process of presenting the plan in a committee of the central enterprise. During a movement of the crowd, the director of human resources Xavier Broseta and the activity of long-haul, Stone Plissonnier, had been tossed, along with some security guards to protect them. And then, as they tried to flee, their shirts had been torn off by the hostile crowd, gathered at the outside of the building.

They had not been injured, but the images, filmed by many in the media, these two executives fleeing the jeers and shouts, shirtless and ragged shirt, had been around the world and sparked many indignant reactions, Prime minister Manuel Valls describing the trouble-makers of ” rogue “. At the end of may, the trial was opened in full trial of strength between the confederation of Montreuil and the government on the law work, before they can be opportunely returned to the start of the year.

Up to 3 years of imprisonment

when the context is less explosive, the debates promise to be tense between the defendants resolved to denounce the “violence employer” and a direction that disagrees with the use of physical violence. The lawyer for Air France, mrs. Dominique Mondoloni, has criticized the ” will of the defence to turn the perpetrators into victims and victims into perpetrators “. “Air France will be there to support its employees and to reiterate that the violence cannot in any case become a mode of regulation of social conflicts “, he added, stressing the commitment of the company, which employs 55,000 people, in the social dialogue.

Side defense, Me Lilia Mhissen would like to ” that we don’t judge employees on video clips “. For example, two of the defendants have clearly acted to protect MESSRS. Broseta, and Plissonnier, “says the lawyer of 12 employees, convinced that” if we had recovered all of the images of the video surveillance and all footage of the journalists, the story would have been different “. The lawyer did cite the company for involvement in a social conflict and an obstacle to the exercise of the right to organise. While these facts must be examined on the 9 December, I Mhissen should advocate the opening of the hearing, the junction between the two cases.

If the tribunal granted his request, the trial, expected to last until Wednesday, will be referred to the 9 December. In criminal cases, the employees sued for acts of violence may face up to 3 years of imprisonment and a 45 000 € fine. Civil, Air France, their calls for a symbolic one euro. The decision will be deliberated.

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