FRENCH car maker Renault 5A came under fire yesterday for deciding to close its plant near Brussels as thousands of workers took to the streets and Belgian authorities said they would sue the company for procedural breaches.
In Paris, unions called for a one hour strike at all Renault plants in France, Belgium and Spain to protest against the closure of the Vilvoorde factory near Brussels, and at reports that many jobs would also go in France.
The 3,100 strong workforce of Renault Industrie Belgique, marched through Brussels with about 1,000 workers from other threatened factories.
Workers chanted "Renault stays open and "we want jobs, not dole", and threw firecrackers. There were scuffles and some windows were smashed but otherwise there was little trouble.
"Juppe we want our pay", shouted protesters from the Vilvoorde site, addressing the French Prime Minister, Mr Alain Juppe, whom workers hope can influence Renault. The French state holds a 46 per cent stake in the firm.
The Belgian Prime Minister, Mr Jean Luc Dehaene, who lives in Vilvoorde, discussed the Renault closure with Mr Juppe by telephone on Monday, but declined to reveal the outcome.
"C4. Merci Louis" read one placard, referring to the form Belgians must complete to claim unemployment benefit and to Renault boss Mr Louis Schweitzer. Unions accuse Mr Schweitzer of, closing a profitable plant with "high labour flexibility and of protecting jobs in France at less profitable and less efficient units.
Belgian authorities joined demonstrators in calling the decision brutal and unacceptable. The federal government and the government of the northern Flanders region said they would sue Renault over the procedure it followed in announcing the closure.
A spokesman for Flemish Economics Minister, Mr Eric VanRompuy, said Renault breached Belgian and European Union, rules on informing and consulting staff on strategic decisions.
Under the rules, Renault should have told Vilvoorde staff of the planned closure ahead of time and workers should have been asked for advice on the plan.
Mr Dehaene said in a letter to the president of the European Commission, Mr Jacques Santer, that the EU should make such surprise cross border company closures harder. Renault's decision to shut Vilvoorde had hit Belgium "at a particularly tough time", he said.
