By pointing to the freshly poured concrete slab in the center of the roundabout which leads to the foundries of Poitou, Xavier Verger could not restrain a little pout, more ironic than desperate. There is something bittersweet about postmortem tributes. On the slab, therefore, will soon rise the cut-out sheet metal silhouette of a woman brandishing a breech. This aluminum car part that he and his colleagues made until July.
The sculpture was to celebrate the takeover of the two foundries in Ingrandes (Vienna) by the Anglo-Indian group Liberty House, in 2019. By the time the artistic project materialized, the two factories closed and nearly 600 employees were laid off, those of cast iron in the summer of 2021, those of aluminum in the summer of 2022.
This mid-September morning, however, there are still cars parked in front of the former union office covered with calls to action faded by time. Stigmas of past struggles. The former employees have started the next phase.
Inside, Géry Bégeault and Jean-Philippe Juin, former CGT delegates, are busy, the first facing a sheaf of A4 sheets, the other in front of a computer, connected to his smartphone. ” Sharing the line ! We were supposed to be left with internet and electricity. But we no longer have the Internet! »sighs Jean-Philippe Juin. “Have you received your Pôle emploi identifiers? »he says to the colleague who has just joined them in the room. “I tried to create my account, but it doesn’t work…” “But do you have your password?” » A little lost, the man prefers to laugh: “We discover the joys of the French administration! »
Maintain the brotherly bond
Since the closure, the former founders have created an association. She is there on duty three mornings a week. To maintain this brotherly bond that they have built at the factory. But not only.
Dismissed employees are entitled to the assistance of a redeployment adviser for one year under a professional security contract (CSP). “But they support you on the job search and retraining side. There was a need for very concrete help with the administrative procedures. For example, not everyone is computer savvy, explains Jean-Philippe Juin. Now, if you don’t have your space on the Pôle emploi site, you don’t get your rights! »
He himself realizes the complexity of things. “I was trained to deal with legal redress or to negotiate a job protection plan. But managing the rest of the liquidation, you discover that for yourself! », he said, smiling.
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