The battles at Talbot·Poissy: Workers divisions and capital restructuring

Abstract

On the basis of discussions with workers and trade unionists in Coventry, Linwood, France and Spain, Sol Picciotto reconstructs the events which culminated in pitched battles at the Talbot-Poissy plant in January. He shows how Peugeot was able to create and use every division between workers; how the intervention of the ‘Socialist’ government seriously weakened workers' organisations; and illustrates the difficulty of organising international solidarity between nationally-oriented labour movements.