They decided to write to Emmanuel Macron. On December 28, the 2,300 employees of Scopolec will be fixed on their future. That day, the Lyon commercial court will make its decision on the total or partial takeover of the largest workers’ cooperative in France, placed in receivership since the end of September after the loss of a large part of the markets it operated. on behalf of Orange.
This subcontractor, whose head office is located in the Tarn, provided on behalf of the operator Orange the installation of optical fiber, which represents 40% of its turnover. Among the takeover offers, during the hearing, the administrators and legal representatives came out in favor of the plan to take over the Circet group, which would save nearly 1,100 jobs. Nearly 80% of employee members had for their part supported the Newscope project, the new leaders of Scopelec who took over 1,500 employees.
The day before the hearing on December 8, Carlos Verkaeren, the chairman of the management board of Scopelec, protested against Orange, explaining that he had been informed by letter that the operator did not support the Newscope project. Questioned, the company had responded by press release that it had not “associated itself with any project”, but that it “issued opinions on the operational capacities of each candidate”, which is not worth supporting a she clarified.
“Economic sovereignty”
Newscope’s offer, for its part, received the support of several Nupes deputies, the socialist president of the Occitanie region, Carole Delga, as well as the environmentalist mayor of Lyon, Grégory Doucet. All indicated that this solution would save more jobs, but also sovereignty in the telecommunications sector. They had called on the state to “take its responsibilities”.
This Friday, it was the employees who decided to directly challenge the Head of State. “At a time when the destiny of these hundreds of employees and the project they collectively carry out require everyone’s support, we ask you, as Head of State, largest shareholder of Orange, to obtain that this company reconsiders an unjustified position which goes against the principles which you support in particular as regards economic sovereignty. Mr. Chairman, at a time when you are raising the stakes of employee shareholding, supporting this project is the guarantee that the fruits of the labor of the women and men of Scopolec will not be donated to shareholders in France or abroad. but to their employees and their members on our territory”, they plead in a letter signed by both the staff of the group, the social partners and the Supervisory Board representing the members.