About thirty employees invaded the company’s headquarters in Roubaix after a general meeting held outside, in order to express their revolt.
Employees of the ready-to-wear brand Camaïeu, in liquidation, occupied the company’s headquarters in Roubaix on Tuesday, after a general meeting held outside at the call of the CGT , noted an AFP journalist. The protesters, accompanied by the CGT delegate Thierry Siwik, tore down a fence to enter the parking lot of the headquarters. Thirty of them then gained the hall, without the intervention of the security guards, before occupying the premises.
“I understand their anger. It’s hyper sad. The company did not deserve to disappear“, reacted the general manager of Camaïeu, Sandrine Lilenfeld, present on the spot. “It’s part of the balance of power, otherwise we won’t be heard“, explained to AFP Thierry Siwik, whose union is not in the majority. The occupation must continue for the next few days, he said.
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“We want to show that the company belongs to us, that we are not responsible for this situation, that it is the shareholder who is responsible“, he added, stressing that there would be “no breakage“. The CGT claims to have a “projectwhich would maintain about half of the jobs, some 1,200, but still be looking for investors.
“An action against the former leaders”
“We have financial partners who are likely to invest in Camaïeu but the funds are not sufficient“, explained Thierry Siwik. Employees, some wearing CGT vests, had previously gathered outside to listen to the CGT lawyer, Me Fiodor Rilov, suggest that they start proceedings against the shareholder, Hermione People and Brands (HPB) , a subsidiary of Financière immobilière bordelaise (FIB), which took over Camaïeu in 2020.
The lawyer notably pointed to “unfulfilled commitmentsof the shareholder. He intends to request interim accounting documents to launch a procedure of “damage compensationtowards employees. According to him, “the liquidator’s social plan will be at the level of the daisies“.
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In cessation of payments two years after its takeover by the FIB, Camaïeu was put into liquidation on September 28 by the Commercial Court of Lille and its activities put on hold on September 1er october. According to Laurent Gunst of the majority independent union UPAE, there are still 2,126 employees affected by the liquidation today, after the departure of employees on fixed-term contracts and other work-study contracts. “We are in reflection, we are also considering action against the former leaders“, he explained, asked about a possible support of the UPAE to the action led by Me Rilov.
“They go after the wrong people, there’s no one left in headquarters“, estimated Laurent Gunst about the occupation, while judging the anger of the protesters “legit“. Friday must be held the first consultations of the CSE for the social plan.
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