“Here Vinci fires at a low price”, “Orange breaks, Vinci bends and we are thanked”, “Orange imposes itself, Vinci explodes us”… Motorists have seen these slogans flourish since last September around buildings from the Vinci group to Pacé (35), near Rennes. At the origin of the discontent: the announcement, by its subsidiary Axians/Cegelec Ouest Télécoms, of the closure of its Breton branches in Pacé, Ploeren (56), Quimper and Kersaint-Plabennec (29), and the concomitant elimination of 161 positions as part of a job protection plan (PSE).
Drastic measures, justified by management by the termination of a contract with Orange, for which Axians ensured until the end of December the deployment, maintenance and upkeep of the telecom network (copper and fiber). “Vinci did not renew the contract, believing that the prices were too low and that it was losing too much money,” reports an employee wishing to remain anonymous.
Blocking of the Pacé site
With the wind rising against the social plan and the proposed departure conditions, employees have mobilized on several occasions since the fall. This Tuesday, January 7, they took “the next step” by blocking access to the Pacé site, where Axians is located with other companies from the Vinci Energy division (more than 2,000 employees in Brittany). For Johnny and the forty or so of his mobilized colleagues, this new action is key: it must make it possible to “bring management back to the negotiating table» in order to obtain better starting conditions.
Contacted, the company had not responded to our requests at the time of publication of this article. In December in a press release, it promised to support the employees affected by the job cuts and assured to work in order to“ identify new professional opportunities” for them.
Employees blocked access to the Vinci Énergies site in Pacé, where Axians is located with other companies in the group. (Photo Le Télégramme / Guillaume Bietry)
Reclassification leave: “insufficient”
According to our information, discussions on the PSE between Axians and the members of the social and economic committee (CSE) came to an end at the beginning of January. In the absence of unions within the company, they resulted in a unilateral decision by management, a document which must be sent for validation to the administration during the next week.
This provides in particular, for employees who have not found employment within the group or outside it, reclassification leave paid at 75% of gross salary. “Insufficient”, according to Thierry, stationed at Pacé. “If we add the basket bonus for meals, people will lose €700 per month,” he assures, while estimating that supralegal severance pay is “not up to the standards of a group like Vinci , which achieves 4.7 billion euros in net profit.
Direction Defense
While the first departures could take place in March, the management of Axians/Cegelec Ouest Télécom has not yet responded to employees’ requests. A Breton delegation will therefore take the road to Paris, this Wednesday, January 8. “We are going to position ourselves at the headquarters of the Vinci group, in La Défense,” explains Johnny. We hope to be received by general management and to discuss all this. »