Extreme Collective Bargaining

You have to love the French. When they're really unhappy about the way things are going at work, they turn to bossnapping.

A senior manager of 3M has become the latest executive to be kidnapped in France after he was barricaded into an office by staff angry about redundancy payments following cost cuts at the industrial conglomerate.

Luc Rousselet, the industrial director of 3M in France, was held overnight at Pithiviers in central France as a "bargaining chip", according to unions.

He was released in the early hours of this morning to boos from staff, after a deal had been signed offering more favourable treatment for the 110 employees who face losing their jobs.

I heard once that in the U.S., the people are afraid of the government; but, in France, the government is afraid of the people. Guess that goes for management, too.