French firm asks workers to move to India
30/07/2009
A safety footwear manufacturer in eastern France has come in for criticism after it told workers at its factory in the town of La Walck that if they wanted to keep their jobs, they should move to India and work for a salary of €700 per month.
The company concerned, Lemaître Sécurité, pointed out to the French media that this salary was ten times higher than that received by local Indian workers in similar positions.
After its sales for the first quarter of the year fell by 30%, Lemaître announced that it would have to reduce its workforce of 117 at La Walck by 42 positions. It gave workers the option of moving to India during the last quarter of 2009 to continue making the same shoes in a factory in Kanpur, home of its partner company, Rahman, which has a 50% share in Lemaître.
The workforce had until July 1 to take this offer up, but no member of staff said yes.
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