François Hommeril, president of the CFE-CGC, is subject to economic dismissal

UNIONISM – Completely unprecedented situation for a French union leader. François Hommeril, president of the CFE-CGC, will speak out for the workers… while being unemployed himself. Employee of the company Niche Fused Alumina, in receivership, he has just been dismissed for economic reasons, revealed The World this Monday, November 11.

The company which produces white corundum, an abrasive found in particular in sandpaper, has just been bought by the industrialist Alteo and is letting go of 54 employees. For François Hommeril, the announcement of his dismissal is “ of incredible violence”. Trained at the National Polytechnic Institute of Lorraine, this trained engineer began his career in Gardanne (Bouches-du-Rhône), before being recruited to the La Bâthie site (Savoie). Married and father of five children, he confides to the evening daily that he felt good in this small mountainous town. Attached to “the factory”he said: “ I am very linked to her, to her destiny.”

Renowned for his sense of formula and his ironclad wit, François Hommeril was elected head of the executives' union in 2016, always trying to maintain the best possible relations with other unions. He did not hesitate to make a joint list with the CGT, the first organization on the site, in the professional elections.

Hommeril at the head of the CFE-CGC until 2026

At the start of the year, the trade unionist mobilized strongly to maintain activity at La Bâthie, in particular pleading the cause of the factory to the Ministry of the Economy. He also found significant support in Michel Barnier, the new Prime Minister appointed at the beginning of September, since he remained attached to the department of Savoie, of which he was president for almost twenty years.

François Hommeril recognizes it: the mobilization of the government was crucial. “They responded”he concedes. The CGT representative of the company David Bourquenoud confided to Monde that his colleague from the CFE-CGC has not remained idle in recent weeks. “ François played an important role in the search for a buyerhe believes. He did the job, as they say, by asking all his contacts in Paris. Without him, we would not have had as much political support and I am not sure that Michel Barnier would have stood by the factory, as he has done for several weeks. »

The now unemployed engineer plans to register with France Travail in the coming days. He will be able to keep his role as president of the CFE-CGC, his mandate lasting until June 2026. If he is not excessively worried about the future, he still expresses a regret: “ Given my involvement in recent months, the president of Alteo could have sent a short message, it's happening. »

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