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27 November, 2006
Unions from France and Belgium convened early this month in Montreuil, France, to discuss a complete lack of information to workers over the merger plans of Owens Corning’s Reinforcements Business with Saint-Gobain’s Reinforcement Composites Businesses, known as Vetrotex.
Under the auspices of the Fédération Nationale du Verre et de la Céramique CGT, the CGT Owens Corning l’Ardoise and Vétrotex St Gobain Chambéry met with representatives of the Belgian FGTB et CSC, representing Owens Corning workers in Battice, Belgium.
The consultations concluded with the unionists condemning the fact that neither Owens Corning, a US multinational, nor French Saint-Gobain had taken the trouble to answer the questions posed by the unions since the announcement of the merger was made last July. Workers are extremely concerned about the planned merger’s impact, including a possible sale of one or more of the two companies’ entities.
The trade unionists from the French and Belgian unions said that they have not been provided information on either a social or industrial plan, thus creating the fear of the negative consequences that workers could face if the merger becomes reality.