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The measures introduced for parliamentary
debate were a direct response to the Danone controversy, and to
charges by Union leaders that politicians were jumping on the boycott
"bandwagon" instead of actually doing something on the legislative
front to prevent corporations from increasing shareholders' profits
at the expense of workers' jobs.
Activists explain that any new legislation
would differentiate between companies that layoff workers because
of economic difficulties and those that layoff workers just to have
higher "profit margins."
Among the measures under consideration
is a plan to double the severance for laid off workers (currently
at one-tenth of a month's salary per year of service), a requirement
for offering a retraining program to to help laid-off employees
find new jobs and a plan to help redevelop abandoned industrial
sites.
The plan, which has drawn criticism from
the right, also calls for a minimum of two consultation meetings
with employees, and an expert's report at the company's expense,
ahead of mass layoffs.
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