The SIB printing plant near Boulogne-sur-Mer is going through a difficult period marked by a series of crises. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, soaring energy costs in 2022, and floods in 2023 have weighed heavily on the company's business. Added to this is a shift in the mass retail sector, with the end of paper prospectus printing for major customers like Leclerc. Read more : SIB: Saint-Léonard printing plant faces redundancies
These difficulties led the company to resort to short-time working for many employees, before being placed in receivership. The current restructuring threatens 78 jobs, i.e. almost 60% of the workforce.
A supra-legal bonus at the heart of demands
While the employees recognize SIB's economic difficulties, it is the way in which the redundancies have been handled that has provoked their anger. They are demanding the payment of a supra-legal bonus of 10,000 euros to compensate for the loss of jobs and facilitate their retraining.
Frédéric Fortin, CSE secretary and CGT union member, insists: "We know we're leaving, but we want to leave with dignity, with a minimum to get going again."
However, negotiations with management and the court-appointed administrator remain at an impasse. Marc Leroy, director of SIB, states: "We are exploring solutions, but in the context of receivership, we have to comply with legal constraints. A 10,000-euro bonus seems hard to achieve
The next meeting is scheduled for January 8, but the strikers hope to reach an agreement before then, in particular by mobilizing local elected representatives to support their demands.
