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Staff walk out of major French publishing house over working conditions
More than 100 staff of the La Martinière group walked out for an hour yesterday (4th January) in protest over working conditions in the children and young adults book division, according to the French trade publication Livres Hebdo.
The protestors demanded that the editorial director of the division, Béatrice Decroix, be removed from her post and replaced as soon as possible by a new recruit. Decroix is the wife of the group’s owner Hervé de la Martinière.
The crisis has erupted after several years of tension. The group’s company doctor had issued a report earlier calling for a new division management and the need for psychological counselling for the 15-member team, Livres Hebdo said.
An earlier staff petition demanding an end to the moral harassment in the division, which combines the La Martinière and Seuil brands, gathered 139 signatures. Since 2008, nine people have resigned and three have been laid off.
The problems began more than 10 years ago, the French online publication Actualitté quoted a protestor as saying. A new division manager, Jean-Michel Chappuis, who comes from the pharmaceutical industry, took up his post a few days ago. But this did not placate the staff, since Decroix remains editorial director.
The governmental labour inspectorate began an enquiry into moral harassment on 9th December and should present its conclusions this month, Actualitté added.
The La Martinière management told The Bookseller they would not comment on the crisis.
La Martinière is the seventh largest French publisher in the Livres Hebdo rankings.
