A-Infos (en) France, Alternative Libertaire #224 - Projectionists: fever rises Gaumont Pathé (fr) [machine translation]

Despite a year of record profits in cinemas, heavy threats to projectionists. The advent 
of digital technology as a pretext to remove posts. ---- In 2011, two shareholders of 
Gaumont and Pathé (brothers Seydoux) shared 27.2 million. But this is not enough: to trim 
payroll, they now decide to break projectionists, taking as a pretext equipment material 
digital projection booths. Technological innovations have marked the history of cinema. 
With digital contents are loaded into servers. Sessions are scheduled on software. ---- 
Program preparation and management of servers thus require more time to work, even if it 
is less than before. The real difference with the 35 mm is the removal of the two minutes 
required before each session to load the film in the projection apparatus. It is on this 
basis that management believes "the job disappears."

What monitoring of the projection at the heart of our profession? It will no longer be 
assured. This will be the viewer out of the room and report technical problems. We know 
from experience that this rarely occurs: the public has confidence in the technician in 
the cabin, except that now there will be more. However, the incidents are common in 
digital. The technology is still far from being reliable.

Redundancies
However, in 2011, appeared at the Gaumont Pathé concept of "actual target" as cinemas, 
half of the positions would be eliminated in the projection booth. No criteria we were 
given the choice of employees would remain. And for good reason ... In September 2012, 
more than a question of "effective targets." The new option is chosen more radical, "no 
one in the projection booth." After terrorizing employees [ 1 ], we announced that we had 
no need for personnel in the cab.

Projectionists have until April 30, 2013 to determine. There are two options: leave or 
accept a new position of "Technician versatile." That is to say, becoming cashier, home 
agent, seller of sweets. But in addition, provide technical tasks, building maintenance, 
and the projection booth needed.

Conversion to "versatile technicians"
A protest at the initiative of the CNT-Culture spectacle of Paris Region and supported by 
Southern Culture took place in cinemas on 1 December 2012. Striking workers in several 
demonstration sites and impressive to the Gaumont Opera in Paris, speaking of our 
colleague Frederick.

It will be in the following days rudely called [ 2 ] to a "  maintenance to a penalty up 
to and including dismissal  "by the direction of the Gaumont Parnassus. Again some futile 
pretext. Here is how management responds to claims of projectionists Gaumont Pathé.

Beyond the disappearance of projectionists to increase profits already very comfortable, 
worker-es are concerned about the degradation of the service offered to the audience. The 
company, with its huge profits, is able to keep these items necessary for the proper 
operation of cinemas.

This is demanded by the employees, who call in support of all.

Section Gaumont Pathé Union Culture-show in the Paris region of the CNT

Contact: exploitationcinema@laposte.net

[ 1 ] To the extent that some chose to leave, accepting major upheavals in their lives 
(relocation, job change, etc.), with the consequences we imagine in teams (competition for 
employees)

[ 2 ] For the second time in a month and a half, and always following his union activity.
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