• Call to oil trade-unions
  

  We want to let you know that ELF employees of the E&P branch, located in Paris and Pau (south west of France) have gone on strike on April 12 against a so-called Plan de Performance leading to the cut of 2000 jobs. The people in Pau, a town of about 100,000 inhabitants, are particularly concerned by this plan since 1 job lost at ELF means 3 jobs lost in the city area.

  The main point of the strike is the occupation of the Data Processing Center day and night, after the closure of the computing system.

  ELF has made huge profits over the last 10 years and specially in 1998. We can’t accept this human sacrifice for the increase of the ROCE (Return on Capital Employed). We are fighting against the increasing power of money.

  Please send your messages to elf-resistance@wanadoo.fr and give us your Internet address. Your experience of a similar struggle would be much appreciated as well as information on the situation in your company.

  
  

• We received support from :
  
  

• Martine Lignières-Cassou, representative (PS) of the district PAU-EST
• Colleagues from EPN (Elf Norway)
• Colleagues from EAA (Elf Angola)
• The following Unions :
• CGT-UGICT CA Levallois ELF-ATOCHEM
• CGT Houillères de Lorraine
• CGT-GNC des Maîtrises et cadres du Centre EDF-GDF de Montluçon-Guérêt
• Fédération régionale des syndicats CGT des Mines de Fer et de Sel de Lorraine
• CGT-GNC de la Fédération CGT de l’énergie (EDF-GDF-CEA)
• CGT-EDF-GDF de Rouen

The European Mine Chemistry and Energy Federation (EMCEF) sent what follows :
« In spite of a depressed economic environment, the Elf-Aquitaine group made in 1998 a benefit of 8 billions francs.
This result follows several years of positive results.
In spite of that, the shareholders demand more and more. To meet their demands of a return fitting the Anglo-Saxon norms, the Elf group planned a further cost reduction.
The Elf « performance project » plans a downsizing of more than 2,000 jobs in France and out of France, and half of the 3,000 in France are threatened.
The main meeting of April, 22 and 23 in Rome of the EMCEF sends a full support to the workers of Elf-Aquitaine in their struggle for their jobs.
We call all our related organisms in the countries where Elf-Aquitaine works for an intervention in the Unions and local Directions of Elf-Aquitaine for the preservation of employment within the company.»