Just a few days after the official announcement that the Condat paper mills were to be put up for sale, the CGT Federation of workers in the book, paper and communication industries (Filpac) has broken its silence. Faced with the risk of liquidation evoked by management in the event of negotiations failing, the union "refuses to witness this death" and is preparing a recovery plan based on a model unprecedented in the French paper industry.
Presented on Thursday, October 16 at the Le Lardin-Saint-Lazare sociocultural center in the Dordogne, this project is based on the creation of a cooperative society of collective interest (Scic). According to Filpac CGT, the aim is to "a first in the world of stationery", intended for "save the plant, preserve jobs and give workers back control of their work tools".
The Scic model that Filpac CGT wishes to promote provides for shared governance between employees, local authorities and economic partners. It aims to demonstrate that another model of industrial management is possible, against the current of short-term financial logic. "Laying off employees will cost much more than the value of the company" she stresses.
A paper mill in slow motion, already marked by layoffs
It was at the Extraordinary Social and Economic Committee meeting on October 13 that Dominique Bernard, the site's new president, has announced that he is looking for a buyer for the site by December 31st of this year . If it fails to do so, the mill will close.
The announcement followed several weeks of persistent rumors about the plant's future. The union describes the site as in decline: "Since September, the 202 employees have been living with the sound of corridors and idling machines ." The last line still in operation only produces about twenty days a month. And the paper, once manufactured, "off to Spain, as if the Dordogne were no longer worthy of hosting an industry" deplores the CGT, which accuses Lecta of "Empty stocks before emptying places and lives".
Already in 2023, the safeguard plan had led to the loss of 174 jobs. "Barely 45 have found stable employmentâeuros; the rest are living on the edge, oscillating between CDDs and France Travail." deplores the union.
For the CGT, the abandonment of âeuro double-sided coated paper, to be replaced in 2023 by âeuro glassine production, has precipitated the current difficulties. "Lecta imposed its strategy, abandoning the coated paper that had been the site's strength. A bad bet: glassine is not selling at the expected price. Meanwhile, demand for coated paper is exploding" wrote the union in early September.
"As long as there's a fireplace left standing"
For the union, it's not just a question of preserving a site, but of defending an industrial and human heritage: "Condat isn't just a factory: it's a vital artery, a collective breath, a working-class memory" and "as long as there's a chimney still standing in Condat, a hand
will rise."
