FACING A STRIKE
UNE GRÈVE
Exercice 1
Commencer par écouter la leçon en entier
Exercice 4
Traduire la structure du texte en anglais
Quelles questions, exactement ?
- 38Page 2
Exercice 2
Lire le texte à voix haute
FACING A STRIKE
Chris: Well, Kate, did you find any answers to the questions
you were asking when you first arrived in Norwich?
Kate: What questions were those?
C: You know! What the workers think about not making
nuggets any more. How they’d feel if the name Norfolk
Chocolate disappeared altogether...
K: Well, in fact, several of them expressed their concern
about losing their jobs if one day the factory is relocated.
Eastern Europe and Asia seemed to be the places which
were quoted the most often.
C: Oh, I don’t think they need to worry about that. There’s not
much to be gained by relocating the manufacturing of
products like chocolate. It tends to be rather fragile and
bulky to transport. It usually makes more sense to produce
it close to its market.
K: OK, but what about labour costs?
C: Labour’s not a big element in the cost price. And anyway,
chocolate bars are not particularly price-sensitive
products. They often tend to be impulse buys.
K: Which means that if you increase the price, nobody minds.
You’re sounding more like a marketing manager!
C: When you’re a manager, Kate, you have to know about all
the aspects of your company.
K: Yes, I know, I was just teasing! But isn’t it possible that the
factory may just close down, without any relocation, in
order to rationalise production within the UK?
C: And concentrate production on a smaller number of
plants, you mean? Yes that’s possible... Very possible, I
would say.
K: So the workers are right to be worried, because they’ll lose
their jobs anyway! ... Are there ever any strikes at Norfolk
Chocolate, Chris?
C: I’ve certainly never seen one, Kate. From what I gather, the
last strike was in the late seventies, before the Thatcher
years!
K: Several workers told me that they wouldn’t hesitate to go
on strike if their factory was threatened with relocation or
closure.
C: Well that’s good, isn’t it? It proves their loyalty to the firm,
to the brand, to “their” factory. Strictly speaking, the
plant is not theirs, of course! (pause) By the way, talking of
strikes - or industrial disputes, as we tend to call them -, I
suppose you know that the French public transport
workers have gone on strike again?
K: Yes, I heard that on the radio this morning. But they said
that the TGV would not be affected.
C: Probably not. But we still have to get across Paris, from
Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon. The RER and the métro
will be disrupted, too.
K: But we’ll be getting a taxi, won’t we?
C: Yes, along with the thousands of other people who
normally take the RER or métro. We’ll be lucky if we can
find a taxi!
K: (smiling) Well, we can always walk!
Exercice 3
Traduire le vocabulaire en anglais
Faire grève
- 46Page 2
Exercice 5
Traduire le texte complet en anglais
UNE GRÈVE
Chris : Eh bien, Kate, est-ce que tu as eu des réponses aux
questions que tu te posais quand tu es arrivée pour la
première fois à Norwich ?
Kate : Quelles questions, exactement ?
C : Tu sais bien ! Comment les ouvriers vivent le fait de ne plus
fabriquer des Nuggets. Ce que cela leur ferait si le nom de
Norfolk Chocolate venait à disparaître complètement…
K : Eh bien, en fait, plusieurs d’entre eux ont exprimé leur
crainte de perdre leur emploi si un jour l’usine est
délocalisée. L’Europe de l’est et l’Asie semblaient être les
endroits le plus souvent cités.
C : Oh, je ne pense pas qu’ils aient besoin de s’inquiéter pour
ça. Il n’y a pas grand-chose à gagner en délocalisant la
fabrication de produits comme le chocolat. Il est plutôt
fragile et encombrant à transporter. La plupart du temps, il
est plus logique de le produire près de son marché.
K : D’accord. Et le coût de la main-d’œuvre, alors ?
C : La main-d’œuvre n’est pas un élément important dans le
prix de revient. Et de toute façon, les barres chocolatées ne
sont pas des produits dont la vente varie en fonction de
leur prix de vente. Souvent, elles ont tendance à être des
achats d’impulsion…
K : … ce qui veut dire que si on augmente le prix, ça ne gêne
personne. Tu parles plutôt comme un responsable du
marketing !
C : Quand on est manager, Kate, il faut connaitre tous les
aspects de son entreprise.
K : Oui, je sais, je te taquinais ! Mais c’est quand même
possible que l’usine ferme tout simplement, sans
délocalisation, pour rationaliser la production au Royaume-
Uni ?
C : Et concentrer la production sur un nombre réduit d’usines
tu veux dire ? Oui, c’est possible… Tout à fait possible, je
dirais.
K : Donc les ouvriers ont raison d’être inquiets, parce que de
toute façon, ils perdront leur emploi ! (bref silence) Est-ce
qu’il y a parfois des grèves à Norfolk Chocolate, Chris ?
C : Ce qui est sûr, c’est que je n’en ai jamais vu, Kate. Si j’ai
bien compris, la dernière grève a eu lieu vers la fin des
années 70, avant les années Thatcher !
K : Plusieurs ouvriers m’ont dit qu’ils n’hésiteraient pas à faire
grève si leur usine était menacée de délocalisation ou de
fermeture.
C : Eh bien, c’est plutôt rassurant, non ? Cela montre leur
loyauté envers l’entreprise, envers la marque, envers « leur
» usine. Ce n’est pas leur usine à proprement parler, bien
sûr ! (silence)Au fait, en parlant de grèves - ou de conflit
sociaux, comme nous les appelons plutôt - je suppose que
tu es au courant de la nouvelle grève des salariés des
transports en commun en France ?
K : Oui, j’ai entendu ça à la radio ce matin. Mais ils ont dit que
les TGV ne seraient pas touchés.
C : Probablement pas. Mais nous devrons encore traverser
Paris de la Gare du Nord à la Gare de Lyon. Le RER et le
métro seront également perturbés.
K : Mais nous allons prendre un taxi, non ?
C : Oui, avec les milliers d’autres gens qui normalement
prennent le RER ou le métro. Nous aurons de la chance si
nous trouvons un taxi !
K : (dans un sourire) Eh bien, on pourra toujours marcher!
FACING A STRIKE
Chris: Well, Kate, did you find any answers to the questions
you were asking when you first arrived in Norwich?
Kate: What questions were those?
C: You know! What the workers think about not making
nuggets any more. How they’d feel if the name Norfolk
Chocolate disappeared altogether...
K: Well, in fact, several of them expressed their concern
about losing their jobs if one day the factory is relocated.
Eastern Europe and Asia seemed to be the places which
were quoted the most often.
C: Oh, I don’t think they need to worry about that. There’s not
much to be gained by relocating the manufacturing of
products like chocolate. It tends to be rather fragile and
bulky to transport. It usually makes more sense to produce
it close to its market.
K: OK, but what about labour costs?
C: Labour’s not a big element in the cost price. And anyway,
chocolate bars are not particularly price-sensitive
products. They often tend to be impulse buys.
K: Which means that if you increase the price, nobody minds.
You’re sounding more like a marketing manager!
C: When you’re a manager, Kate, you have to know about all
the aspects of your company.
K: Yes, I know, I was just teasing! But isn’t it possible that the
factory may just close down, without any relocation, in
order to rationalise production within the UK?
C: And concentrate production on a smaller number of
plants, you mean? Yes that’s possible... Very possible, I
would say.
K: So the workers are right to be worried, because they’ll lose
their jobs anyway! ... Are there ever any strikes at Norfolk
Chocolate, Chris?
C: I’ve certainly never seen one, Kate. From what I gather, the
last strike was in the late seventies, before the Thatcher
years!
K: Several workers told me that they wouldn’t hesitate to go
on strike if their factory was threatened with relocation or
closure.
C: Well that’s good, isn’t it? It proves their loyalty to the firm,
to the brand, to “their” factory. Strictly speaking, the
plant is not theirs, of course! (pause) By the way, talking of
strikes - or industrial disputes, as we tend to call them -, I
suppose you know that the French public transport
workers have gone on strike again?
K: Yes, I heard that on the radio this morning. But they said
that the TGV would not be affected.
C: Probably not. But we still have to get across Paris, from
Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon. The RER and the métro
will be disrupted, too.
K: But we’ll be getting a taxi, won’t we?
C: Yes, along with the thousands of other people who
normally take the RER or métro. We’ll be lucky if we can
find a taxi!
K: (smiling) Well, we can always walk!