Defense of union premises in Carcassonne: inter-union letter sent today to the ministers of labor and the interior

Mr. Minister of the Interior, Mr. Minister of Labor, in Carcassonne, the new mayor has initiated proceedings aimed at expelling trade union organizations from their premises. This decision constitutes a serious attack against freedom of association and against our organizations which have participated for decades in the democratic and social life of our country. In Carcassonne, as elsewhere, union premises and labor exchanges are not municipal premises like any other. As everywhere in France, these are historic places of reception, organization and defense of workers. In Carcassonne, for almost 90 years, employees have been able to be welcomed at the labor exchange and supported in particular thanks to legal assistance in the face of unfair dismissals, unpaid debts, work accidents, discrimination and job insecurity. In a territory hard hit by social inequalities, this presence is essential.

Presenting this expulsion as a simple administrative measure amounts to political bad faith. This decision is part of a series of acts taken on by the RN mayor of Carcassonne: removal of subsidies to the League for Human Rights and all associations which criticize the extreme right, removal of the European flag from the facade of the town hall, replacement of the portrait of the President of the Republic with that of Marine Le Pen, suppression of legal publications in the local press considered too critical… Today, it is the unions, which are directly targeted because they constitute an organized counter-power, capable of defending social rights and collective freedoms. Ministers, attacking a labor exchange is never trivial. These places come from the history of the workers’ movement and the construction of popular solidarity. A report from the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs in 2013 on labor exchanges and union centers estimated their attendance at more than a million people in the context of legal and social services. Weakening them or making them disappear amounts to undermining the ability of employees to defend themselves collectively and to concretely access their rights. This decision is contrary to the Convention on Freedom of Association and the Protection of the Right to Organize of 1948. What is at stake in Carcassonne goes far beyond the local framework. If a municipality can, for ideological reasons, expel trade union organizations from a place that they have sometimes occupied for almost a century, then this is an extremely dangerous precedent that is created for the entire country. We solemnly ask you to intervene so that respect for trade union freedoms and republican principles is guaranteed. We also call on state services and the Aude prefecture to take their responsibilities in the face of a decision which directly calls into question the normal exercise of union activity. It’s not just about defending a building. It is about defending a fundamental principle: in a democracy, unions must never be silenced by political power.

Convinced of your attachment to the fundamental principles of our democracy and our Republic, we ask you to accept, Ministers, the expression of our best feelings.

Signed by the national secretaries of the signatory unions:

SOLIDAIRES / CGT/ CFE-CGC / CFDT / FSU / FO / UNSA