Workers’ resistance is especially difficult in very small companies, where employers operate direct pressure on their employees. But actions against unfair treatment and illegal lays-off is still possible, as is shown in this video of a direct action organized by the union Solidaires Sud Commerce in France.

In this case, the employer of a small shoe shop wanted to close his business without paying for the proper employee compensations due in this case. He therefore sacked his three employees, each of them for different reasons depending of the contract they had: the first, who had a permanent contract, was dismissed for “gross misconduct” (which turned out to be her turning up late at work while she lived far away from her workplace and she was pregnant), the second for “economic reasons” and the latest, who had only started the job recently, was dismissed during her trial period.

To fight against these illegal dismissals, Sud Solidaires organized a direct action, storming the shop to put pressure on the employer and threaten him with organizing further actions in his other shops and taking legal action against him.

As the employer did not come back on his decision after the action, Solidaires Sud started a court case for the first of the three employees, to get her job back. The decision will be taken this month by a labour court.

To know more about the actions of Solidaires Sud in small companies (“TPEs are companies of less than 10 employees), visit the facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SolidairesTPE/