Letter of solidarity to Sophie Binet

This month in labour history

2-01-1941 The miners of Nord Pas-de-Calais begIn a series of 30-minute flash strikes until the arrest of 200 workers by the German occupation forces. [more]

3-01-1813 A government decree sets the minimum age for miners at 10. [more]

3-01-1975 The law on dismissals for economic reasons requires the employer to consult the employee representatives beforehand. [more]

4-01-1966 Feyzin refinery disaster, near Lyon: the explosion killed 18 people, including 11 firefighters, and around 100 injured. [more]

5-01-1970 A group of mercenaries headed to Sochaux to begin work at a Peugeot factory in order to infiltrate and break the union. Peugeot initially hired 120 mostly army veterans including convicted murderers and other criminals. [more]

5-01-1944 The CGT cheered the numerous strikes in recent months and the "willingness of the workers to overcome the current difficulties and despite the repression, the occupation and the terror to wrest their legitimate demands with a fierce struggle". [more]

5-01-1987 90 SNCF depots out of 94 still on strike and traffic totally paralyzed. This will last until January 9. According to the data, 90% of rolling staff and 70% of office workers participated in the strike. [more]

6-01-2014 Workers at Goodyear plant in Amiens took 2 bosses hostage demanding better severance pay. They occupied the plant and kept their bosses inside until the company agreed to triple the proposed redundancy pay. [more]

13-01-191 10,000 miners start a week of strike action in the Alsace coal mines against wage cuts and the mark-franc exchange rate. The latter is postponed. [more]

13-01-1982 Under pressure from trade unions the Socialist government introduces the 39-hour week and a fifth week of paid leave. [more]

17-01-1917 To channel discontent in factories working for national defence, the government adopted the "Albert Thomas" decree authorizing the election of one delegate per group of 50 workers in the workshops. [more]

18-01-1943 Emilienne Mopty-Wantiez, mine strike leader and wife of a miner, escaped prison twice, executed with an ax in Cologne prison after a third arrest and death sentence by the Wehrmatcht court in Arras. [more]

19-01-2023 Millions of workers take to the streets in protest against proposed legislation that would raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. Protestors are met with violent police resistance. [more]

20-01-1793 The Republican calendar of Fabre d´Églantine establishes a Labour Day on the 3rd day of the Sansculottides. This workers' day was instituted on the 1st pluviôse (January 20) by Saint-Just, and was celebrated for a few years. [more]

23-01-1917 Le Havre. A women's strike to increase wages at the Schneider factory spread to other factories and led to a wage agreement in the metals sector, signed on the 27th. [more]

29-01-1901 Beginning of the first metro strike in Paris which will last until the 31st. Staff are demanding an improvement in their agreement in order to share the success of this new means of public transport. [more]