The storm that has just hit the employees of the French subsidiary of the German tour operator TUI does not have an exotic name: it is the Council of State. On 31 October 6, it overturned a decision of the Versailles Court of Appeal of 2021 July 600. On that day, the magistrates of Versailles had annulled the approval of the plan of <> redundancies carried out by the group's management. TUI then appealed to the highest administrative court. His cleaver has just fallen. "His decision is political!" fumes Lazare Razkallah, former secretary of the CSE of TUI France and member of the CGT of the group.
The social plan, or job rescue plan, of the management of TUI France, had been validated by the Direccte 92 (Regional Directorate of Enterprises, Competition, Labour and Employment). A lengthy legal battle marred by incidents ensued. This PSE provided for the dismissal of nearly 600 employees, out of a total workforce of 900, including 270 at the head office in Levallois-Perret, and the rest in a handful of agencies out of the 65 that were to be taken over or closed in France.
"The battle was beautiful and was for nothing"
It is out of the question for the members of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) to accept this sacrifice. They challenged the plan and the case went to the Administrative Court of Appeal. The latter had agreed with them, taking the view, in essence, that redundancies had been ordered without offering redeployment to another agency in the same employment area. However, there was still one card for the management to play: the Council of State.
This time, the blow is likely to be fatal for employees. The decision of the highest administrative court is very complex and very detailed. To be clear, the Court of Appeal had reviewed the substance of the ESP and not the form as it was supposed to limit itself. "The judgment of 6 July 2021 of the Administrative Court of Appeal of Versailles is annulled," concludes the text of 31 October.
"I'm disappointed but not surprised," Razkallah said. The members of the Council of State are on the side of the powerful. But the battle was beautiful and was not in vain. About thirty employees have been reinstated. We realized that we needed the little hands to restart the machine after the health crisis. But it's not all over... The next step will be the hearings at the Labor Court, in May 2024 for supervisors and employees, and a year later for executives.