This is a serious question, and the answer is a resounding no.
Even in the most hostile of industrial disputes, I do not believe that workers should resort to the practice of kidnapping or otherwise detaining company bosses against their will, and the number of cases in which this has occurred in recent months is somewhat concerning in my view.
That said, any company boss who falls victim to this type of practice would be well advised to ask serious questions about why it occurred and how the company can improve its performance in terms of human resource management.
Spreading beyond France?
The practice of disgruntled employees taking company bosses hostage during industrial disputes, to be released only after the demands of workers have been met, has long been common in France. Serge Foucher, the head of Sony in France, represents only the latest example. (In an attempt to secure more favorable redundancy terms, workers shut him into a meeting room on March 12, barricading the plant with huge tree trunks. He was released the following day)
But a report in The Economist last week described how the last few months have seen several occurrences of the practice in other countries as well, and with the onset of difficult economic times, there are fears that the practice could become more common beyond French borders.
(These kidnappings typically occur in response to disgruntlement over mass redundancies, factory closure or relocation, or disputes relating to entitlements for laid off workers)
No way to settle a dispute
Tempting as it may be from the viewpoint of disgruntled workers, I do not believe that the practice of kidnapping company bosses should be condoned under any circumstances.
For one thing, it is dangerous. Whilst physical harm or injury is generally not the intent of those workers who partake in this kind of activity, human behavior is unpredictable, and with stakes and emotions running so high, things could get out of hand very easily. I would think that it would only be a matter of time before someone gets hurt if this type of practice becomes more common outside of France.
Moreover, there are better ways to solve disputes. Granted, workers may not have many good options in the event that management is not willing to engage in constructive negotiations and make reasonable compromises. But even then, there are surely better options than kidnapping.
A wake up call to management
Nevertheless, whenever this type of thing happens, it should serve as a wake up call to management.
Granted, you never expect decisions such as plant, factory or mine closures, or any other forms of mass redundancy to be especially popular, and no matter how well the firm handles these types of matters from a personnel perspective, I would not imagine that one or two incidents of unruly behavior from individual employees would be entirely unusual.
But I could not imagine that a whole group of staff would act together in this manner unless there were serious problems with the company’s handling of employee relations. Even plant closures, if handled properly should not lead to this, and where bosses find themselves caught up in this situation, any half sensible management team would start asking serious questions about what has lead to this situation and why employee relations have deteriorated to such an extent.
Should police become involved?
An intriguing final question is that of whether police should become involved.
On one hand, holding a person against their will represents a criminal act in most western countries. You can’t have people taking the law into their own hands in this manner without their being consequences, and police involvement may serve as a deterrent toward any future action of this kind.
On the other hand, reluctance on behalf of police to involve themselves in what is essentially an industrial dispute is more than understandable. For one thing, police interference could potentially cause the situation to escalate if it leads to panic on the part of one or more of the perpetrators.
Also, there is a much greater prospect of the restoration of some form of harmony in terms of workplace relationships in cases where the staff involved can be persuaded to let the boss go voluntarily rather than by force.
Personally, I don’t have a particularly strong opinion as to whether police involvement in these matters is warranted, but I would be very interested to hear your viewpoints on this issue.
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