On 2006/03/30, at 21:10, Jerry Monaco wrote:
> You mean there is a place in the world where workers have due-
> process rights. Merciful Zeus! What could be next! Democracy?
> You mean in France an employer couldn't fire me simply because he
> doesn't like the color clothes I am wearing or the fact that I
> don't look good in or out of stilleto heels or because I voted for
> Ralph Nader or Pat Paulsen?
Although you could not really vote for either Nader or Paulsen in France, you'd have to restrict yourself to the Communist Revolutionary League presidential candidate, or the Communist Party candidate, or the Green candidate etc, who must all be French citizen...
You'd have the right to be a union member, and as such have specific rights within any company (mostly the right to attend union meetings and represent any worker in collective negociations etc).
But basically yes. There are, how would you call those, "fast process" ? labor courts (Tribunal des Prud'Hommes) that would settle any labor contract infringement within weeks if not days. Most of the times, employers don't want that hassle so they negociate.
The big businesses want to make French people swallow that France is not competitive in the global economy, but they've been saying that as far as I remember and I'd rather say that _they_ are not competitive compared to other shareholders centered economies: _they_ definitely make less than their US colleagues.
JC Helary