French workers capture boss

The chief executive of Sony in France was held overnight by striking workers at the company's factory in Pontoux-sur-l'Adrour in south-west France.

The plant's 311 workers are to be laid off as part of the electronics giant's plans to save Y100bn. The company has so far refused to cover the relocation costs of workers.

Representatives of the CGT union claimed that preventing the men from leaving was the only way to get management to listen to them. "We hope that this time our voices will be heard," says union representative Patrick Achaguer.

The bosses were only allowed to leave the site when the French government stepped in to force management to return to the negotiating table.

And this is not the only expression of the growing desperation and power of workers. Last month two bosses from Michelin, the tyre manufacturer were held for two days by workers trying to stop a factory closure.

British trade unions could learn a great deal from French tactics.

Building for protests at the G20

The membership of the G-20 comprises:

• the finance ministers and central bank governors of the G7, 12 other key countries, and the European Union Presidency
  
• the European Central Bank
  
• the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
  
• the Chairman of the IMF
  
• the President of the World Bank
  
• the Chairman of the Development Committee

These are the people that decide the fate of billions of workers around the world, and they are almost without exception the same people that are responsible for the current crisis.

We know what their response to the crisis will be: more attacks on workers, more assaults on public spending and public services and pouring yet more public money into the coffers of the capitalists who got us here.

It is more important than ever that we build a mass protest movement on the level of the 1999 Seattle protests, to fight for the rights of workers and ordinary people. We are the ones with power in this society, and we can make them pay for the damage that they have done, and intend to do. The only way to do this is to appeal to radical organisations, trade unions and workers both nationally and internationally to come together in a constructive way.

I believe that now is the time to begin thinking about this issue, and coming up with creative ways to engage with people, and move the debate forward.