Banners, a steaming barbecue, the CGT flag fluttering in the wind: the second day of scrambling for the entire team at the Bricorama store in Colombes. 15 of the 17 employees (the other two being on leave) braved the rain and cold on this Saturday morning to maintain the picket line and alert public opinion. Like four other stores in France, the city's DIY brand could close its doors from next May according to the CGT.
While the closure is not generally contested, the employees want to leave in "dignified" conditions. "Of course, these stores are losing money, but the PSE (Editor's note: the employment protection plan) that is offered to us is a discounted PES! We are not even being offered 20% of the conditions of the 2020 ESP, when we were assured that there would be no others! " complains an employee.
At the negotiating table, the CGT-CFDT, CFE-CGC inter-union union has repeatedly asked management to present it with a new ESP with accompanying measures at least equivalent to those implemented three years ago when thirteen stores had already closed down. "We can't accept that they put employees on the street like this when some of them have been in the business for 25 or 30 years, especially since we are part of a group that makes money," said Vicente Ferreira Gomes, a CGT member of the social and economic committee.
Some of them have 30 years of seniority
The Les Mousquetaires group, which includes several DIY (Bricomarché, Bricorama, Brico Cash and BricoPrivé.com) and food (Intermarché and Netto) brands, achieved a turnover of nearly €2022 billion in 49.
The strikers are all the more bitter because they feel that they have been abandoned and betrayed even though they had been promised great things, especially to the new arrivals. Like Dorian, 22 years old, who was hired on the basis of a new project to revitalize the store: "I was told that we were starting with a renewed team with a new state of mind, that the store was going to be renovated, that there would be investments, I had even been told about 850,000 euros of investment for its renovation, But that money never arrived," the young recruit recalls.
The aging store dating from the 1980s has been "redone" but with the means at hand. In real estate marketing parlance, management encouraged them to do "home staging", meaning "as you can". This concept, imported from the United States in a context of real estate slump, consists of quickly valuing a property in order to sell it. "We created anti-theft display cases ourselves, filled in the holes in the floor, redid all the POS (point-of-sale advertising) with cardboard and sheets that we printed ourselves," said several employees, visibly disgusted.
Further actions in the pipeline
But the "home staging" didn't have time to take effect. The Colombes store continues to lose customers despite people's attachment to the brand. In front of the picket line, several customers offered to support the employees with a petition. "When I saw the banners yesterday, it was a shock. I was used to coming here. In terms of immediate proximity, they are the only ones to offer DIY products, the prices are very competitive, it was very convenient for the neighborhood which, in addition, is very dense," regrets David.
The company's management did not wish to react further than by announcing that "the information and consultation procedure of the CSE has begun". "Negotiations are ongoing and not yet finalized. The next meeting is scheduled for 20 November and we hope to reach an agreement on the measures," she said.
The store will reopen its doors this Sunday, but other actions (in forms other than a strike) are to be expected, the employees announce, if they do not win their case at the next meeting.