Suicidal workers

Tucked away on page 16 of yesterday's Guardian was the harrowing tale of an investigation into the suicide of three workers at one of Renault's state-of-the-art plants in France.

The case history includes:

- A 38-year-old father who died at his home west of Paris last week, leaving a letter blaming work difficulties for his death.

- In January, another worker killed himself near the ultramodern complex known as the Beehive just outside Paris, where car designs are developed.

He had left an account on his computer screen of a bitter exchange with management, according to one union official.

- A third worker killed himself at the main building in October.

Renault's only public statement of the matter includes: "there was no correlation for the time being between work conditions" and the three suicides. "We have impassioned engineers who conceive vehicles and it is very difficult to draw a link between the workload and the Renault contracts for 2009."

For more details of the story see Renault plant to be investigated after suicide of three workers by Angelique Chrisafis.

I think it's ironic that today is also Work Your Proper Hours Day.

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