Lutter pour nos droits - Un Peu d'Histoire #11

Summary

Ce script explore l'histoire du travail salarié en France, des luttes des ouvriers de la Vallée des Rois au Moyen-Âge, jusqu'aux grèves modernes. Il expose les améliorations des conditions de travail et les droits des travailleurs, ainsi que les défis actuels comme la précarité et la flexibilité des emplois, appelant à la mobilisation pour défendre nos droits.

Takeaways

• 📝 L'histoire du travail salarié et de la lutte des classes ouvrières est longue et complexe, avec des avancées et des reculs.
• 💲 Les premiers mouvements de grève documentés remontent à l'Égypte antique, où les artisans se battraient pour leurs droits face à la corruption et à la mauvaise qualité des vivres.
• 💵 La Révolution française, bien que bourgeoise, a influencé les droits des travailleurs, en supprimant les corporations et en interdisant les grèves et les coalitions par la loi Le Chapelier.
• 💳 Vers la fin du Moyen Âge, les compagnonnages apparaissent, des groupements d'ouvriers qui cherchaient à négocier des conditions de travail meilleures avec leurs patrons.
• 💰 L'industrialisation a conduit à une augmentation de l'exploitation des travailleurs, avec des conditions de travail dégradantes et l'interdiction de se syndiquer pour se défendre.
• 💲 Au 19e siècle, des lois sont votées pour protéger les travailleurs, notamment les enfants, en interdisant le travail des moins de huit ans et en limitant les heures de travail.
• 💵 La fin du 19e siècle et le début du 20e siècle voient naître les syndicats et les lois qui permettent aux travailleurs de s'organiser et de lutter pour leurs droits.
• 💳 La Seconde Guerre mondiale et les grèves de la Libération de Paris montrent l'importance du rôle des travailleurs dans la lutte pour les droits sociaux.
• 💰 L'après-guerre voit des progrès significatifs avec la création du Smic, des congés payés et la réduction de la durée hebdomadaire du travail.
• 💲 Depuis les années 1980, le terme "flexibilité" est devenu prédominant, menant à des conditions de travail moins favorables et à une augmentation du chômage et de la précarité.
• 💵 La mobilisation des travailleurs reste essentielle pour défendre et améliorer les droits sociaux, comme le montre la lutte contre les lois El Khomri et pour un travail digne et sécurisé.

Q & A

Quelle est la définition du travail selon le dico Larousse mentionnée dans le script?

Le travail est le fait qu'un homme ou une femme produit, crée ou entretient quelque chose.

Pourquoi le script met-il l'accent sur le travail rémunéré?

Le script souligne le travail rémunéré car, si l'on ne gagne rien en travaillant, c'est qu'on a été triché d'une manière ou d'une autre, ce qui revient à de l'esclavage.

Quels sont les exemples donnés de travail rémunéré dans le script?

L'exemple donné est celui des travailleurs de Deir El Medineh au 12ème siècle avant J.-C., qui étaient rémunérés en nature, comme de la nourriture ou des vêtements.

Quelle est l'importance des corporations de métiers dans l'histoire du travail?

Les corporations de métiers avaient leurs propres règles et fonctionnaient avec des maîtres, des compagnons et des apprentis, mais elles ne protégeaient pas vraiment les droits des travailleurs individuels.

Comment le script décrit-il l'émergence des compagnonnages?

Les compagnonnages sont décrits comme des groupes de compagnons qui se réunissent pour échanger des connaissances, s'entraîner et construire une force d'opposition afin de négocier directement avec leurs patrons.

Quels sont les changements apportés par la Révolution française en matière de travail?

La Révolution française a supprimé les corporations, mais a également interdit les organisations de travailleurs et les grèves avec la loi Le Chapelier.

Quelle est l'influence des révolutions de 1848 sur les droits des travailleurs?

La révolution de 1848 a conduit à la création d'une commission gouvernementale pour les travailleurs et à la limitation de la journée de travail à 10 heures maximum à Paris et 11 heures à la campagne.

Quel rôle a joué la loi Waldeck-Rousseau de 1884 dans l'histoire des droits des travailleurs?

La loi Waldeck-Rousseau a répété la loi Le Chapelier, permettant ainsi la création de syndicats pour les travailleurs et pour les patrons, ce qui a permis la naissance des organisations syndicales.

Quels sont les progrès significatifs réalisés après la Première Guerre mondiale?

Après la Première Guerre mondiale, la durée du travail a été réduite à 8 heures par jour et 48 heures par semaine, et les syndicats ont gagné le pouvoir de saisir la justice pour défendre les intérêts des salariés.

Quels sont les changements apportés par la loi Aubry de 2000?

La loi Aubry de 2000 a réduit la durée légale du travail hebdomadaire à 35 heures, créé le « pass navigo » pour les cadres et étendu cette possibilité à certains employés en 2005.

Quels sont les défis auxquels les travailleurs sont confrontés selon le script?

Les travailleurs sont confrontés à des défis tels que la précarité croissante, l'augmentation du chômage, la pression pour devenir auto-entrepreneurs, l'exploitation des contrats à durée déterminée et la flexibilité imposée au détriment des droits des travailleurs.

Outlines

00:00

🏭 Histoire du travail assalarié et luttes des travailleurs

Le paragraphe 1 explore l'histoire du travail salarié en France, en commençant par la définition du travail et la distinction entre les travailleurs qui travaillent pour eux-mêmes et ceux qui le font pour autrui. Il décrit l'exemple des artisans de Deir El Medineh au 12ème siècle avant Jésus-Christ, qui étaient rémunérés en nature et ont mené des luttes collectives pour leurs droits face à des conditions de travail dégradées. Le texte souligne également l'absence de droits pour les travailleurs dans l'Antiquité romaine et le Moyen Âge jusqu'à la parution du Livre des Métiers d'Etienne Boileau en 1268, qui a enregistré les règles des corporations locales sans pour autant protéger les individus.

05:03

🤝 Corporations, compagnonnages et révolution française

Le paragraphe 2 se penche sur le fonctionnement des corporations au Moyen Âge et l'apparition des compagnonnages, des groupements de travailleurs qui cherchaient à négocier des conditions salariales collectives. Il expose comment la Révolution française, bien que bourgeoise, a apporté quelques améliorations mais a également imposé des lois comme le décret Allarde et la loi Le Chapelier qui ont limité les droits des travailleurs à s'organiser. La situation se dégradait avec l'industrialisation, l'exploitation des enfants, et les conditions de travail dégradées, malgré des tentatives de révoltes comme celle des Canuts en 1831 et 1834.

10:04

👷‍♂️ Luttes des travailleurs et avancées législatives

Le paragraphe 3 traite des lois limitant le travail des enfants et des jeunes, ainsi que des mouvements de grève qui ont eu lieu en France, y compris la révolution de 1848 qui a conduit à la création d'ateliers nationaux pour les travailleurs chômeurs. Il explique comment les réformes de Napoléon III ont permis aux travailleurs de s'organiser, et comment les lois sous la IIIème République ont renforcé la protection des enfants, interdit le travail des femmes dans les mines et créé des inspections du travail.

15:05

📜 Évolution des droits des travailleurs et luttes continues

Le paragraphe 4 expose comment les lois Waldeck-Rousseau et d'autres ont permis la création de syndicats et d'organisations patronales, et comment les mouvements de grève ont conduit à des avancées sociales telles que le repos hebdomadaire, la réduction de la durée légale du travail, et l'instauration du salaire minimum interprofessionnel. Il mentionne également les événements de mai 68 qui ont abouti à une augmentation des salaires et des congés payés, ainsi que les réformes du droit du travail qui ont permis de réduire la durée hebdomadaire de travail à 35 heures.

20:10

🚫 Lutte contre la précarité et la flexibilité du travail

Le paragraphe 5 aborde les défis des droits des travailleurs face à la flexibilité et à la précarité du travail, en soulignant les réformes comme la loi Aubry qui a instauré 35 heures de travail mais a également créé des exemptions comme le passe-navire. Il critique les projets de loi qui visent à limiter les droits des travailleurs à se défendre contre des licenciements abusifs, à réduire les indemnités de licenciement, et à donner plus de pouvoir aux accords d'entreprise au détriment des accords collectifs. Le texte appelle à la mobilisation contre ces projets de loi et pour une vision plus solidaire et respectueuse des droits des travailleurs.

Keywords

💡Travail

Le travail est présenté comme l'activité humaine de production, de création ou de maintenance de biens ou de services. Dans le script, le travail est au cœur du récit historique et des luttes sociales qui ont permis d'améliorer les conditions de vie des travailleurs. Par exemple, le script mentionne les ouvriers du Deir El Medineh, qui étaient rémunérés en nature, illustrant le travail salarié dans l'Antiquité.

💡Sousordination

La sousordination désigne la relation d'autorité et de dépendance dans le travail, où certaines personnes dirigent et d'autres exécutent. Le script évoque cette notion en parlant de la manière dont le travail a été organisé historiquement, avec des individus qui 'travaillent pour eux-mêmes' et d'autres qui 'travaillent pour autrui', soulignant comment cette dynamique a façonné les droits et les conditions des travailleurs.

💡Salariat

Le salarié est une personne qui est rémunérée pour son travail. Le script met en avant le salarié en soulignant l'importance de la rémunération pour le travail effectué, en区别于l'esclavage. L'exemple des ouvriers égyptiens du Deir El Medineh montre comment le salarié est lié à l'échange de biens et de services contre le travail fourni.

💡Compagnonnage

Le compagnonnage était un moyen d'organisation des travailleurs manuels, souvent artisans, qui s'unissaient pour défendre leurs intérêts et négocier des conditions de travail. Dans le script, cela représente une forme de mobilisation des travailleurs qui, malgré la répression, a contribué à améliorer leurs conditions, comme le montre l'histoire des luttes des travailleurs du Deir El Medineh.

💡Révolution française

La Révolution française est évoquée comme un moment clé dans l'histoire des droits des travailleurs, bien que le script souligne les limites de cette période en termes de progrès réels pour les travailleurs. Elle est mentionnée comme un exemple de réforme bourgeoise qui, malgré la promesse de liberté et d'égalité, a maintenu les travailleurs dans des conditions précaires.

💡Code civil

Le Code civil est cité pour montrer comment le droit a façonné les relations de travail, en particulier l'article 1781 qui donnait toujours raison au patron en cas de litiges sur la rémunération. Cela met en évidence la façon dont le droit peut favoriser les employeurs au détriment des droits des travailleurs.

💡Grève

La grève est présentée comme un outil de mobilisation et de protestation des travailleurs contre de mauvaises conditions de travail ou des réductions de salaire. Le script mentionne les grèves comme un moyen de pression qui a permis à certains travailleurs de gagner en droits, malgré la répression et les limitations légales.

💡Inspection du travail

L'inspection du travail est mentionnée comme un progrès important dans la protection des droits des travailleurs, avec la création de postes d'inspection pour s'assurer que les lois travail sont respectées. Cela illustre le développement progressif d'un cadre juridique plus protecteur pour les travailleurs.

💡Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT)

La CGT est un syndicat majeur en France, fondé à l'issue du 19e siècle, qui a joué un rôle clé dans la défense des droits des travailleurs. Le script la mentionne comme un exemple de l'organisation des travailleurs pour lutter contre le capitalisme et améliorer les conditions de travail.

💡Lutte des classes

La lutte des classes est un concept qui décrit la confrontation entre les classes ouvrières et les classes patronales pour le pouvoir et les ressources. Le script l'aborde en racontant l'histoire des luttes des travailleurs pour s'opposer aux entreprises et améliorer leurs conditions de travail, malgré l'opposition des employeurs.

💡Précarité

La précarité fait référence à la nature instable et inséure de l'emploi moderne, souvent avec des contrats temporaires et des conditions de travail incertaines. Le script évoque la précarité comme un problème croissant, en particulier avec l'expansion du travail indépendant et des contrats à durée déterminée, qui rendent les travailleurs plus vulnérables.

Highlights

Le travail est une notion récente dans l'histoire de l'humanité.

Travail soumis à la subordination dès l'Antiquité.

Différenciation entre le travail rémunéré et l'esclavage.

Définition du travail salarié et importance de la rémunération.

L'exemple des travailleurs de Deir El Medineh au XIIe siècle av. J.-C.

Les artisans égyptiens reçoivent un salaire en nature.

Première grève documentée à Deir El Medineh en réponse à la corruption et à la mauvaise qualité des denrées.

L'absence de droits pour les travailleurs dans l'Antiquité romaine.

Le Livre des Métiers d'Etienne Boileau en 1268 mentionne peu sur le statut des travailleurs.

Les corporations de métiers du Moyen Âge et leur fonctionnement.

La lutte des compagnons pour s'opposer aux corporations et négocier des salaires.

La Révolution française et ses impacts limités sur les conditions de travail.

La loi Le Chapelier de 1791 interdit les organisations et grèves de travailleurs.

La loi de 1841 sur le travail des enfants marque un premier pas vers la protection des travailleurs.

La grève des Canuts en 1831 et 1834 à Lyon contre les conditions de travail.

La loi de 1906 qui établit le repos hebdomadaire en réponse au désastre de Courrières.

Les Accords de Matignon de 1936 qui donnent 2 semaines de vacances payées et réduisent la semaine de travail à 40 heures.

La constitution de 1946 qui garantit le droit de grève, la liberté syndicale et le droit au travail.

La loi Aubry de 2000 qui réduit la semaine de travail à 35 heures.

L'insécurité de l'emploi et la précarité grandissante à partir des années 1980.

La contestation du projet de loi El Khomri en 2016 qui visait à affaiblir les droits des travailleurs.

L'appel à la mobilisation pour défendre les droits des travailleurs et améliorer les conditions de travail.

Transcripts

My dear friends, good morning. If the notion work is relatively recent in

our story, we can agree together without much mistake that there is a long time

that the Man with a capital M uses his little hands and his little brain to accomplish

tasks in order to feed, improve his daily life or to make small

bows with small arrows to prick neighbor's plate and make a little

meal. Very early on, however, this work was subject to subordination, i.e.

some work while others lead, plan, micromanage, do nothing, scratch out the wrong element depending of the case.

If we are going to differentiate today “salaried” work proper

of slavery that I have dealt with in other episodes, we're going to ask ourselves a few minutes

to retrace the history of this relationship of subordination, of these conditions

of work and especially of the struggles which allowed to advance the environment for the workers.

And we will mainly focus on France to not scatter too much. Here we go !

First, let's define what the job. It's the fact that a man or

a woman, produce, create or maintain something. This is the definition

of the dico Larousse, I did not go too far to search this one. But what interests me today is

the concept of paid work because if you earn nothing by working it is because you

got scammed one way or another, it's slavery. The world of work is very complex but

overall we can make a big generality, on the one hand there are people who work

for themselves and other people who work for other people. In

all cases the desired result is to have a counterpart and if today

it was money once it could very well being food for example.

Take the case of the workers of Deir El Medineh in the 12th century BCE. Workers

perfectly qualified, and for the most part downright privileged over the rest

of the population, who are hired by officials of Pharaoh Ramses III

to build and decorate funeral temples and monuments in the Valley of the Kings.

These craftsmen, occupying positions to varying degrees of skill,

each earn a different salary in kind, since it's food or clothes,

but a salary all the same. So those who do not earn much can feed themselves

them and their families and those who earn more can barter the exceeding food for

services, goods, etc ...

An organization that holds up to a certain economic crisis which is shaking

the country, which empties the granaries, and which by consequence does not allow to pay the workers

like it should be. Corruption of officials and poor quality of food which

is becoming more and more rare come to trigger the dissatisfaction of the craftsmen. Start

then a long struggle with periods breaks during which workers

collectively stop working to claim their rights and impose their

conditions to their superiors. If there have been threats of repression,

this collective momentum ultimately enabled artisans to succeed and see

wages paid on time, proof that mobilization can create a

weight in a negotiation that an individual alone can not have.

Well, we are not yet in the struggles of proletarians since these workers were

already in the top of the basket eh, but the fact that they are privileged

does not make their struggle least legitimate and interesting. So we have collective action,

which clearly targets an authority, i.e officials and the vizier who oversees the region as well

that claims like payment of wages. Basically we have the definition here

of what a social movement is and maybe the first documented social movement

of human history.

However, beyond this specific grouping and ephemeral to defend interest

of a subordinate group are there any rights that could protect these workers?

Apparently no.

In ancient Rome we have many craftsmen which join together to form

shops but working conditions are managed directly by these establishments.

No law, no right for everyone, if one citizen works for a business he must

comply with the will of its manager (s). And overall until the 12th century we

don't really know more about the conditions in which workers work in

the business since there is no legal document dealing with that. We suspect

that the craftsmen have gathered in corporations of trades that had their own functioning,

and their own rules. And precisely in 1268 a book written by Etienne Boileau appears,

provost of Paris: The book of trades.

At that time there is indeed a problem in Paris, the proliferation of shops

and trades leads to many conflicts and insofar as the rules applied

to each trade are transmitted orally, it is very complicated to be able to decide

in the event of a dispute between two parties. Etienne Boileau then undertakes to record all

these rules in a huge collection of regulations Parisian trades. So we find there for

each profession the rights and duties to be respected, state taxes, fines,

administrative authorizations, customs even but concerning the status of workers

who work directly under orders from a superior, not much is written.

So we have protections in place for entities, trade or craft, but

not for individuals serving these entities. In addition, the rules are above all local

and each city has its own corporations and its own regulations, which doesn't favors

the understanding of a general norm.

What is certain is that the corporations all operate on the same principle.

In each establishment there are masters, owners of the means of production and

direct representatives of the corporation. Below them are the companions,

labor force. Then still below the apprentices

who are learning the job in order to become companion. Major problem, the masters

are very often the sons of masters and companions have no way of

gaining access to the tool's property production unless they have a blood connection

with a member of this “caste”. We could then tell yourself that it was enough for the companion

to leave his post to try to climb something in his corner. But two things stand in the way

to that. First the whole economy operates on the corporate system,

if the companion cannot have status master, he will not have permission

to create his establishment. Then the book of Etienne Boileau's trades

which we talked about earlier exposed us black on white that a worker cannot

leave his master without his consent. Basically it's a bit of a trap and the worker doesn't

can only conform to the wish of his hierarchy.

It is in this context that was born what will become companionship. The companions

meet together, by profession and sometimes between several cities to exchange their

knowledge, train and build a small opposition force allowing them in particular

to negotiate rates directly with their boss.

Towards the end of the Middle Ages and throughout the Old Regime, companionship is gaining importance

and become the subject of gossip. Power tries to condemn these rallies several times

and even the church gets involved. But nothing did it and in the 18th century it represents

a significant opposition force, allowing to exert pressure on the

corporations by controlling hirings, by provoking strikes. etc. In short, a real

worker rally which “weighs in on the game ”as we say with us.

And here we come to the great upheaval, the French Revolution !

Ah, the people's revolution, finally, which frees us from the yoke of tyranny ... And no, since in 1789,

it is above all a revolution bourgeois, so if there are a lot of improvements

in many areas, for the work there are some snags ... The claim

revolutionaries, that all citizens must be equal, is taken

at face value. We must therefore release work and it goes by deleting

corporations that could slightly abuse their position to exploit

honest workers, thing that comes to fruition through the Allarde decree in March

1791. Yeah, the workers have conquered, the companions now have greater strength!

Not yet… Still on this principle of equality between

citizens, is laid in June 1791 the Le Chapelier Law which prohibits organizations

workers, companionship and strike. Great isn't it? We're all equal now,

we are all a big family! Okay, some still own their tools

of productions, obviously then that the others only have their little hands

to work !

We can add that article 1781 of the Code Civil, which came out in 1804, plan that

in case of dispute over the payment of wages between a worker and his boss, it's the boss

who will always be right on the simple evidence that he says it.

And this is how we come, towards the end of the 18th and especially the beginning of the 19th

in France at a time of economic boom, a kind of new revolution, an industrial one.

The factories multiply, big industries explode and with all that

the condition of the workers, who come from of the peasantry and that form a new

social class, is not really improving. Machines grow and produce

at a frantic pace, no problem for companies that take the opportunity to hire

additional labor which can continuously stay next to these machines

that they don't run out. Many trades no longer require minimum physical strength

to accomplish the task, we hire then more women and especially children,

very early to get everyone to work. And since there are people to work we can

allow yourself to overstep the mark. Days of 12 to 15 hours of work per day sometimes more

with only one day of rest per week, one miserable salary which hardly serves to

food, no vacation, security at work all relative with machines not

protected that cause accidents by the dozen. Besides, if you get hurt because

your clothes got caught in a gear and you tore off half of your hand,

it's your fault, boy, yeah, you are not paid and it's your family

who will take care of you between two hours sleep.

In short, we will say it clearly, this is outright shit and the workers have no right

to come together to protest.

Some try to rise up and protest against bad working conditions

and wage cuts, that's the case of Canuts, trades workers

silk, in 1831 in Lyon. An uprising who can't bend power

and who is renewed in 1834 where he is violently repressed, resulting in the death of many

hundreds of people.

It is in this context that some people, politicians, economists, etc ... begin

to worry about this productive frenzy and the drifts it generates. The 22nd

March 1841, after many debates a first child labor law sees the

day, for companies with more than 20 employees, for the others we don't care ... It forbids

employ young people under the age of 8 and sets maximum working times by

day namely 8h until 12 and 12h up to 16 years old. We can add to that

the fact that night work is now prohibited to children.

How old is a child today? 16, 18, 20, 22 years old? Me, I do not know.

Ah no, at the time it was 13 years for night work!

We are not going to sulk, it is in itself an evolution, a first step which improves

the condition of children. Well almost ... since it's notaries who have to go and check

voluntarily that the law is applied in companies ... So actually well ... there's

no control since notaries are often friends with business leaders ...

On February 22, 1848, the revolution broke out again in France, workers rise up

with the National Guard and the little bourgeoisie. They rise up against the monarchy and for

protest against the very difficult conditions of work. In some areas, many

workers lose their jobs because of of industrialization and at that time

there are no allowances provided for people who don't work. This is

famine, diseases spread, in short, it's not fun.

This revolution causes the fall of Louis-Philippe and the advent of the 2nd republic. The

February 28 the government commission is created for workers, first administration

of work in France. In the process we cap the working day at 10 hours maximum on

Paris and 11 hours in the countryside. We also create national workshops which aim

to give work directly to the workers unemployed Parisians. Things seem

being able to improve when suddenly ... BIM the bourgeoisie ! Again them ... And yes during

that everyone was happy the bourgeois placed themselves again in strategic places

of power to continue to patronize their stuff and the workers didn't have

representation, didn't really have their place in the execution of this power.

Showing their dissatisfaction and colliding to the fact that the bourgeois well they don't like

too much that people get paid to do nothing, in June 1848, almost four

months after their opening, the national workshops are closed, progress in February are neglected

and all the young men between 18 and 25 year olds are forced into the army

to conquer Algeria.

On December 2, 1852, the empire is restored, Napoleon III took the lead. He knows he

needs the support of the workers to lead his projects and he seeks to seduce them

by proposing several reforms that will in their sense.

On May 25, 1864, he suppressed the offense of coalition, workers can assemble but still

not strike. In September of the same year the international workers association is created in London

which opens towards Europe-wide coordination

of workers' movements.

Under the Third Republic, 10 years later labor inspection posts are created.

Child protection is strengthened and women can no longer work at the

mine.

1884 marks a big step in the law work. Waldeck Rousseau law repeals

Le Chapelier law, the one that prohibits workers' organizations. Unions are born,

for workers but also for bosses, allowing them to really come together

to create opposing forces. Each is free to create or join

to an existing party elsewhere

In 1891 Paul Lafargue, the son-in-law of Karl Marx invited to general strike and demands a rise

wages as well as 8 hours days maximum. The initiative is repressed in

the blood and the workers are scattered.

In 1895, the General Confederation of Labor (French: Confédération Générale du Travail, CGT) was born and with it

in the following years we witness the birth of a true revolutionary unionism

Basically, they're deeply anti-capitalist and their goal is to do big things

to fight against employers and to improve working conditions for workers.

And for twenty years, they will be very active.

On March 10, 1906, a huge explosion damaged nearly 110km of underground galleries

in a mine in the north of France. It's Courrières disaster which kills nearly

1100 miners. After three days of research rescue workers give up hope and stop

their action. Yet almost 13 miners leave the mine almost 20 days later

Having been abandoned in darkness, it's a real miracle they

could have found the exit. A fourteenth minor is also found 4 days later!

The very harsh living conditions of minors, as well as the catastrophic management of this

crisis with these abandoned men, leads to a huge general strike over

the entire French mining basin. Near 60,000 miners are on strike. The pressure is

intense, the money is running out for the workers and the state mobilizes nearly 30,000 soldiers to contain

the action of the strikers. The arrests are numerous and altercations break out,

even causing 1 death in the ranks of gendarmes. It was following this mobilization

that the law of July 13, 1906 establishes the weekly rest for employees and workers.

The following years will be marked by many laws that will improve

working conditions and protection of Workers. Thus they creates a law on

industrial accidents, forcing the employer to take care of the risks, we set up

the compulsory day of rest, we write the first labor code, the day of

work goes at 8 hours as well as weeks 48 hours after the First World War

and we give the union the power to seize justice to defend the interests of

employees. We are also developing insurance social and we force the boss to respect

notice of termination while giving the right to justice to compensate the employee

in the event of unfair dismissal.

The huge strike movements launched by unions lead in 1936 to

the Matignon Agreements . The CGT and the Confederation general of employers establish together

a new social base on which they can get along. For the first time

employees have 2 weeks of paid vacation per year. The weeks are

reduced to 40 hours of work and delegates staff representative are created to

interact with management.

The achievements are absolutely enormous and the mobilization of the people, far beyond

hopes of unions, allow to lay the foundations of our modern rights.

Towards the end of the Second World War, large workers' strikes struck Paris.

Still under German occupation, the workers obtained weapons and occupied their workshops.

Their help will be invaluable in the liberation of Paris after the conflict which necessarily sees

a stagnation of developments on the side of workers' rights, is created a real social security.

Social contributions are imposed on employers and employees to finance salaries

inactive people, thus guaranteeing security to all based on solidarity.

In 1946, the constitution guaranteed in a formal way the right to strike, freedom of association

and the right to work. We then enter what's called the period of the thirty

glorious. The economic situation of the France is in good shape and the situation of

workers will improve considerably.

Collective agreements, although existing for a few years now, pose

the solid foundations of social achievements in each area, each profession. We

wins a 3rd week of paid vacation and we tighten the conditions of dismissal

to protect employees, in particular by demanding a valid and serious reason

from the employer.

Also very important progress in those years, the creation of the SMIG, the

Guaranteed Interprofessional Minimum Salary, which is the ancestor of the minimum wage and which guarantees

in fact a minimum wage for everyone regardless of their profession.

The events of May 68, which

raise much of the youth against the government, allow a rise

overall of wages as well as a 4th week of paid vacation. In 1981 we get

our 5th week of paid vacation but also many other advances like

the establishment of the permanent contract and the week of 39 hours. 39 hours which will pass to 35 hours in the year 2000 with

the Aubry law.

However since the 80s and 90s, a new word comes to upset and tickle our

rights: flexibility. In the name of competitiveness

and profit, uses have gradually changed in business and the situation

is no longer as favorable at all than in the early 80s for example.

Many exemptions have come to bring drastic changes around the world

work. The same Aubry law which posed 35h created the “day pass” first,

reserved for executives then extended to certain employees in 2005, a package which allows to be

paid on the basis of numbers of working days performed per year and no longer on the number of hours

made during the week. If the employee is subject to the legal rules of daily rest

like the 11h consecutive for example and the legal working days limit is

of 218 days per year it results in abuse some with working people

12 or 13h per day. And you have to add to this other exemptions which may increase

this number of days worked per year, when the company respects this ceiling of course

because some do not.

For non-executive employees the situation also deteriorates, unemployment rises

and more and more we encourage people to create their own job, to become self-employed

to free companies from salaried. A lonely and apart person

of the salary framework is necessarily always more flexible. She not only has trouble

to mobilize if it goes wrong but in addition thanks to precarious contracts we can

get rid of it more easily than someone with a permanent contract when that was the norm

a few decades ago. Interim grows enormously from the years

80 and the missions are very often precarious with contracts that can only be spread

on a day. Self-enterprise is also a very favorable status created

to let people get started alone. It's good but it reinforces precariousness

because an employer will prefer to pay the benefit of a self-employed entrepreneur than to employ

an employee. It will cost him less and on the other side the counterpart of the provider

is that he has no employment security at all , but also social security

all relative and discountes as well as no unemployment benefit in case of

loss of activity. Fixed-term contracts, contracts fixed-term, are also flowering

when it's just not an offer of internship that's proposed.

More and more the labor code is left aside within companies and

employees, for fear of losing their jobs, accept conditions they would not have

never accepted before. And it's that fear that keeps us from rebelling against it.

And yet, a strong and collective mobilization can have an impact. In 2005/2006 we have

so had a nice proposal from Mr. Villepin with the CPE contracts

and CNE. The CPE was kicked in touch and the CNE only lived three years and that thanks

to the mobilization of all. As a reminder, the CNE allowed to be able to dismiss the employee

without any justification from the boss and that until two years after signing

of the contract. The CNE which has been declared contrary to international law by the Organization

International Labor Office in 2007.

You see me coming, I am sure. A short time ago, a project

proposed by the Minister El Khomri. So among the notable developments

proposed, company agreements, ie directly concluded agreements

between the employee and the boss will have a little more weight than collective agreements

that globally protected employees. Concretely it means that

if a collective agreement tells us that overtime is paid 20% more

but that the boss will see his employee in saying "No actually 15%" and

well the employee who wants to work hours additional will be paid 15% more.

But let's go a little further, the project of law also proposes to cap compensation

of departure. Basically today when you are dismissed you will receive a bonus of

dismissal which corresponds to your seniority. Well, this premium is capped and the

companies, large companies should not for example pay only 15 months salary as

compensation to an employee who would have more than 20 years in the company. We will no longer be able

go above 15 months so the layoffs abusive will be easier for large

companies that can pay.

But let's go even further. If the company you work for is in trouble

or if she wants to conquer a new market, which is the case for many companies

in fact, she may ask you to increase your working time while lowering your

salary and that for a period of 5 years. A great war effort! And if you disagree?

No problem, it's out the door for you and not with an economic layoff

which opens good rights, no, no. With a dismissal for personal reasons, guaranteeing

an opening to minimum rights by the after. Cool huh?

Beyond employees, this law project tackles also to unions. Today when a

company wants to offer an agreement to its employees the issue is being studied by

unions. If the unions representing more than 30% of the votes validated the agreement,

it was good, unless the unions that represent 50% of the votes oppose to it. In

short, if a minority says yes and the majority no, too bad for the agreement, it does not pass

With the bill, if unions minority representing 30% of employees

say yes, well it goes like a letter in the mail!

Come on, one more for the road, if you are craftsman, small boss or independent

like me there is also a little thing that can interest you because you too you

have employer organizations that can defend your rights. Currently the law

says that in these organizations a company is equal to one vote during a vote. With

the bill, which will count the most it is above all the number of employees in

society so a business with more employees with more voting weight in

these employers' organizations. Basically, organizations like the MEDEF are very happy

since they still earn a little more of power while the Craftsmen, the professions

liberal, sulk, normal right?

This bill raises a great outcry and that's okay. Bring into

application all this would result into more precarious work. We have seen it,

the evolution and maintenance of our achievements go through mobilization, mobilization

who can be scary when you are alone or when we are afraid of losing our job, but a mobilization

who can prevent us in the short future term and long term to even more

bow your head and approve conditions which are not normal. You have the right

to make your voice heard you can testify yourself on twitter or facebook

with the hashtag #onvautmieuxqueca (we worth more than that), you can also make video testimonials that you

post on youtube by putting the hastag in the title, you can also join the channel

YouTube of the collective “onvautmieuxqueca” to understand a little better the ins and outs

of this struggle, how to do it strike, how to testify anonymously, how

mobilize to move people together things. This bill is just a drop

that overflows the vase, and if it has been postponed to be slightly modified before

to come back to us in “I changed” mode we must continue to mobilize for the

to counter. This mobilization can go more far, it can allow everyone

all to envision a more peaceful future, it can help to initiate a reflection

more global on work and on our rights. Let's take to the streets together for you

make it heard, to show that together we weigh, we represent something.

Let's take to the streets to show them that we better than that ...

Here are the friends, a bit of a long video on a very important subject that concerns us

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