Laid Off Workers and Unions In France Resort To "Bossnapping" For Better Severance

The financial crisis has given rise to a new strategy and term called "bossnapping" in France. So far this phenomenon has only occurred in France and has not spread outside the Country but it may embolden people and groups to act in similar fashion throughout the European Union.

Though it has also not spread to the United States at this time, the actions in France were started by union labor and the United States has seen a rise in union organized protests around certain aspects of the financial crisis, so this may not be outside the realm of possibility if the financial crisis continues to worsen leading to lay offs.

The companies affected were Sony and 3M with the Sony executive being the first and held in his office for a night. The Sony executive was released only after agreeing to hold future talks for better severance pay for the workers who lost their jobs.The incident at Sony happened about two weeks ago.

The more recent case of "bossnapping" at 3M occurred yesterday, and he is still being held as far as sources say at this time.

According to Jean-Francois Caparros of Force Ouvriere union Luc Rousselet, a 3M industrial director, was being held as a "bargaining chip" and also stated "Until we have a commitment from 3M that they will increase pay packets and are ready to discuss our conditions for negotiations, then Mr. Rousselet will have to remain here," Force Ouvriere's Jean-Francois Caparros said. "It is out of the question that he leaves without discussing our conditions."

The most troubling part of the incident is that in both cases the police refused to step in and stated that these were radical tactics and considered to be part of the negotiation process and that no harm would come to the executives being held.

According to other sources this seems to be a growing trend in severance negotiations through France and has occurred a few other times in the past year, though we could find no other reports of such occurrences.

Last week, in another sign of growing labour unrest, angry workers from the Continental tyre firm burst into a management meeting in the Champagne town of Reims and pelted their bosses with eggs to protest at the closure of their plant.

Outside their colleagues hung effigies of managers and threw shoes and other projectiles at them.

"This sort of thing will inevitably happen again," said Bruno Lemerle of the CGT union in the Peugeot car plant in Sochaux, France's biggest factory.

"Those who sow misery reap fury. The violence is done by those who cut jobs, not by those who try to defend them," he said.

The executive from 3M was released late last night.