The notice was put into effect: on September 30, ActuaLitté was able to note the determination of the employees. Works by the hundreds of thousands, immobilized: “ Everything is blocked at the dock and the chains no longer work”, they explain to us on site. “ Impossible to quantify the volume of books that this represents: more than a million copies, at least.»
READ – A strike will block the books of Riad Sattouf and Michel Bussi
Firstly, we are presented with the palettes of Riad Sattouf’s new comic strip,Me Fadi, the stolen brotherthen those of the new novel by Michel Bussi,Assassins of the Dawn.
They will not pass
The two bestsellers were widely used to communicate with striking employees: “And yet, management did not see fit to contact us. Once again they despise us“, we estimate in the warehouse.
«New releases will be processed late, and the movement will directly impact all titles to be published the week of October 7“, we promised. Here, the word is strictly kept.
Despite all the precautions taken by the employees, the blockage was not complete: this Friday, September 27, packages from the Sattouf comic strip were prepared and shipped on Saturday. In fact, the publishing house that the designer uses to publish some of his titles is one of the third-party publishers – therefore, outside the Editis group. “The shareholder cannot afford a fiasco with such an actor», we are confirmed.
By entrusting the distribution/distribution of his house, Les Livres du futur, Riad Sattouf was in fact relying on Interforum: the first work published under this label had achieved nearly 225,000 sales. A considerable weight and a best-seller partner that does not crease.
Radio silence at Editis
However, in the early morning, the employees discovered that temporary workers had been hired, despite the legal prohibition in the event of a strike. “This is illegal: rather than contacting us, management is taking measures to break the strike», annoys an employee.
Another added: “There is no money for us, but to solicit temporary workers as well as bailiffs, yes?» In fact, two justice commissioners will have visited the warehouse for various findings during the morning.
Renewal on October 1st
With regard to Michel Bussi, the tone is calmer: the writer was contacted by the Force Ouvrière union behind the walkout and assured of its support. For the moment, ActuaLitté has not been able to contact one or other of the authors, nor the management of the group.
« What is certain is that the strike will not end on September 30: tomorrow is a day of national mobilization and we will renew the movement on October 1.» With the prospect of an accumulation of copies in the warehouse and so many delays to be expected for the offices…
The employees are demanding the immediate opening of negotiations concerning the PPV bonus. They also want an equal distribution of participation between all employees, similar to what is practiced in other entities of the group.
In addition, they require a review of the calculation of profit-sharing to guarantee payment to employees or, failing that, the reinstatement of the supplement. Finally, a significant increase in the base salary as well as overall purchasing power is called for.
Photo credits: ActuaLitté, CC BY SA 2.0
