France
Background information on industrial relations in France
- 28 Dec 1997
France: Law on the financing of the social security system<#PDF_LINK>A law governing the financing of France's social security system was adopted on 2 December 1997. This legislation continues along the same lines as the plan put forward by the previous Government and aims to reduce the social security deficit radically.
- 28 Dec 1997
France: Prud'hommes industrial tribunal elections: no upsets, just a confirmation of trends<#PDF_LINK>The results of the December 1997 elections to France'sPrud'hommesindustrial tribunals have confirmed the trends observed for more than a decade. The only new development is theCFDTunion confederation's victory in the management staff electoral college.
- 28 Dec 1997
France: Bill on the 35-hour week adopted by the Council of Ministers<#PDF_LINK>In December 1997, the Council of Ministers adopted the bill aimed at putting into effect the French Government's plan to reduce the statutory working week to 35 hours.
- 28 Dec 1997
France: Toyota announces plans for the construction of assembly plant in France<#PDF_LINK>In December 1997, the leading Japanese car manufacturer, Toyota, announced that it had chosen the northern French town of Valenciennes as the site for its new car assembly plant. This will create between 1,500 and 2,000 new jobs.
- 28 Dec 1997
France: New CNPF president elected<#PDF_LINK>CNPF, the main French employers' association, elected Ernest-Antoine Seillière as its president in December 1997. Mr Seillière restated his fundamental opposition to the current bill to introduce the 35-hour working week, and announced far-reaching reform of CNPF's organisation.
- 28 Dec 1997
France: 1997 Annual Review for France<#PDF_LINK>This record reviews 1997's main developments in industrial relations in France.
- 28 Nov 1997
France: Prud'hommes election campaign enters the final straight<#PDF_LINK>In the last days of the campaign for the December 1997 election of the members of France'sPrud'hommesindustrial tribunals, the level of support for each trade union is still uncertain. They have all been running intense local campaigns since the beginning of 1997.
- 28 Nov 1997
France: The consequences of the October national conference<#PDF_LINK>In November 1997, the French Government, employers' associations and trade unions are trying to find a way to restart social dialogue following the "freeze" announced byJean Gandoisas he resigned as president of theCNPFemployers' confederation. The Government is doubling its efforts at national and European levels, while contrasting attitudes have come to light within the CNPF itself.
- 28 Nov 1997
France: Lorry drivers' strike raises European issues<#PDF_LINK>The effects of a lorry drivers strike in November 1997 extended beyond France. The dispute quickly took on a European dimension, provoking reaction from many countries and warnings from the European Commission. Over and above the purely national causes, and in particular poor industrial relations, the strike has raised many questions about free competition within the European market.
- 28 Nov 1997
France: Potential reform of secondary education job transfers stirs union reaction<#PDF_LINK>In 1997, France's Minister of Education, Claude Allègre, has been seeking to decentralise the national system of transferring teachers in the secondary education sector, but this has provoked opposition from trade unions.
- 28 Nov 1997
France: Election of employers' representatives to the Chambers of Commerce and Industry<#PDF_LINK>The election of employers' representatives to France Chambers of Commerce and Industry took place on 17 November 1997. The joint slates of theCNPFandCGPMEemployers' organisations were victorious, and the National Front failed in its attempt to officially establish itself among employers.
- 28 Nov 1997
France: Unexpected unemployment insurance deficit announced<#PDF_LINK>France's UNEDIC unemployment insurance scheme had been forecast to end 1997 with a small surplus . Late in the year, however, it drew up a revised forecast showing a deficit that is expected to reach FRF 1.4 billion.
- 28 Nov 1997
France: Bill to ban far-right candidates from Prud'hommes elections<#PDF_LINK>Martine Aubry, France's Minister for Employment and Solidarity, announced that she will be introducing a bill, as early as January 1998, to ban far-right candidates at the next elections to thePrud'hommesindustrial tribunals, to be held in 2002.
- 28 Nov 1997
France: Four candidates stand for CNPF presidency<#PDF_LINK>Following the resignation of Jean Gandois, four candidates will be standing for election in December 1997 to fill the vacancy for the presidency of France's largest employers' organisation.
- 28 Oct 1997
France: Conference on employment, pay and working time<#PDF_LINK>France's tripartite "national conference on employment, pay and working time" was held on 10 October 1997. The agenda was very full, ranging from youth employment to working time by way of pay policy. Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's most dramatic decision was a bill to implement a 35-hour working week, beginning in the year 2000. Trade unions and workers greeted this announcement very favourably, while the employers' associations reacted angrily. The CNPF - whose president subsequently resigned - believes that it will have to "wage a very hard and pitiless campaign" against the 35-hour week.
- 28 Oct 1997
France: The CSG: tax reform or social insurance reform?<#PDF_LINK>In September 1997, the French Government presented a bill on social security funding, proposing a major rise in the rate of theCSG"universal social contribution", which is levied on all income, from 1998, accompanied by a cut in employees' sickness insurance contributions. This move has attracted mixed reactions - with some trade unions claiming that it will have a negative effect on pay negotiations - and raised the question of whether it constitutes a reform of taxation or of social security contributions.
- 28 Oct 1997
France: Industrial tribunals election campaign slow to take off<#PDF_LINK>The next elections for thePrud'hommes, the members of industrial tribunals, will take place on 10 December 1997. Although these courts, with equal representation of employers and employees, are often the only recourse for workers faced with dismissal, the elections hardly galvanise them into action. The unions have started campaigning locally, but on the national scale this has received no media attention.
- 28 Oct 1997
France: France Telecom shares hit the stock exchange<#PDF_LINK>France Telecom shares were floated on the stock exchange in October 1997, despite trade union opposition, provisionally ending a long period of debate and conflict inside the company between supporters and opponents of privatisation.
- 28 Oct 1997
France: The 35-hour week: post-conference reactions<#PDF_LINK>After their 10 October 1997 conference on employment, pay and working time, employers, trade unions and the government are reflecting on the implementation of the Prime Minister's decisions and on ways to continue their dialogue.
- 28 Sep 1997
France: Unions respond to partial privatisation of France Telecom<#PDF_LINK>After a long period of indecision, the French Government decided in September 1997 partially to privatise France Telecom. The main trade unions are attempting to mobilise staff in opposition to this move.
- 28 Sep 1997
France: Jospin Government launches job creation programme for young people<#PDF_LINK>In September 1997, the French Government presented a bill establishing a new scheme to create 350,000 jobs in the public and non-profit sectors for young people. We review the contents of the plan and the reactions of the social partners.
- 28 Sep 1997
France: Sweeping changes in social insurance contributions<#PDF_LINK>The French Government has decided to make wide-ranging alterations to the system of social insurance contributions. Starting in 1998, health insurance will no longer be chiefly funded directly from salary deductions but instead from income tax. This will take the form of a "universal social contribution", or CSG, imposed on the totality of revenues.
- 28 Sep 1997
France: The run-up to the October 1997 social summit<#PDF_LINK>France's tripartite "Conference on pay, jobs and working time" will be held on 10 October 1997. This meeting is the result of several months' preparation, and will serve as a platform for Prime Minister Lionel Jospin to give his own analysis of the social and economic situation and also to initiate negotiations.
- 28 Sep 1997
France: Large companies to face heavier taxation<#PDF_LINK>Following an audit of public finance, the French Government has taken the decision to take steps to reduce the budget deficit from 1998. This is to be achieved primarily by increasing the taxes and mandatory contributions paid by companies with a turnover in excess of FRF 50 million.
- 28 Sep 1997
France: Privatisation of the GAN-CIC group<#PDF_LINK>The left-wing Government led by Prime Minister Lionel Jospin is determined to push ahead with the privatisation of the GAN-CIC insurance and finance group, which had been unsuccessfully launched by the former Juppé Government.
- 28 Sep 1997
France: Decision against privatisation of Air France leads to chair's resignation<#PDF_LINK>The resignation of Christian Blanc, the chair of the Air France group, was announced in September 1997, following the Government's rejection of a wholesale privatisation of the airline.
- 28 Aug 1997
France: Representing the unemployed: trade unions versus associations of jobless people?<#PDF_LINK>The July 1997 agreement between employers and unions concerning the management of theUNEDICunemployment insurance funds has been strongly criticised by some associations of unemployed people. The question of the representation of unemployed people, especially within bodies which are jointly managed by unions and employers, has thus been raised again.
- 28 Jul 1997
France: Means-testing for family allowances<#PDF_LINK>The new Government's plan to means-test family allowances has immediately opened a wide-ranging and contradictory debate within French society, with trade unions generally opposing the move. In his overall policy statement of 19 June 1997, Prime MinisterLionel Jospinannounced that households with a monthly income of above FRF 25,000 would no longer be eligible for this benefit, which would henceforth be reserved for families "in genuine need".
- 28 Jul 1997
France: Collective bargaining in 1996<#PDF_LINK>In June 1997, the tripartite National Collective Bargaining Commission examined the Ministry of Labour's 1996 annual report on collective bargaining in France. The study indicates progress in bargaining in a context marked by low growth in GDP, control of inflation and relative lethargy in domestic consumption. Wage bargaining has slowed considerably and, for the first time, more company agreements were signed on the issue of working hours than on that of wages.
- 28 Jul 1997
France: UNEDIC reforms management of contingency fund<#PDF_LINK>The administrative board of the national unemployment insurance scheme (UNEDIC), which is managed jointly by employers' associations and trade unions, adopted in July 1997 several measures aiming both to raise the level of benefit and overhaul the way its contingency fund is run. It is the second objective which has provoked the most heated reactions, especially from groups representing unemployed people.
- 28 Jul 1997
France: Employment creation in the national education system<#PDF_LINK>The new Minister for Education,Claude Allègre, wishes to create new jobs from October 1997 without deviating from the present education budget. The sector's trade unions have reiterated their demands on this issue.
- 28 Jul 1997
France: Closure of Superphoenix<#PDF_LINK>In his general policy statement to the National Assembly in June 1997, France's new Prime Minister announced the decision to close the Superphoenix fast breeder reactor, drawing protests from trade unions.
- 28 Jul 1997
France: Jobs created at SNCF<#PDF_LINK>France's Minister for Transport, Housing and Public Infrastructure,Jean-Claude Gayssotannounced in July 1997 the creation of 2,000 new jobs at theSNCFrailway company, in exchange for a reduction in the state-owned company's indebtedness. He also confirmed the separation to be made between the management of infrastructure and the operation of the rail network.
- 28 Jun 1997
France: New Government faced with differing priorities from unions and employers<#PDF_LINK>One of the first acts by the new French Prime Minister following his election in June 1997 was to consult with employers and unions prior to announcing his legislative programme. This move was greeted favourably by both employers and trade unions, though their aims are quite different. A national conference on pay, employment and working time is to be held in the autumn.
- 28 Jun 1997
France: Privatisation for state-owned companies?<#PDF_LINK>In his inaugural address to the National Assembly on 19 June 1997, France's new Prime Minister,Lionel Jospin, said nothing to clarify his position on the privatisation programme planned by the outgoing Government.
- 28 Jun 1997
France: New mass redundancy programme announced at Peugeot : 2,816 jobs to be axed<#PDF_LINK>Immediately following the Left's victory in France's May/June parliamentary elections,Peugeot's management announced a new mass redundancy programme, cutting 2,816 jobs, to the company-wide works council.
- 28 Jun 1997
France: Expert appointed to resolve Renault-Vilvorde dispute<#PDF_LINK>On 10 June 1997,Renaultmanagement announced the appointment of an independent expert who will evaluate, on an economic basis, the potential measures envisaged to "compensate for the inefficiency involved in the structure of Renault's production facilities".
- 28 Jun 1997
France: Minimum wage increased by 4%<#PDF_LINK>In his inaugural policy statement to Parliament on 19 June, the new Prime Minister,Lionel Jospin, announced a 4% rise in theSMICnational minimum wage to take effect on 1 July 1997.
- 28 Jun 1997
France: ETUC-organised demonstration calls for job creation<#PDF_LINK>The demonstration for jobs originally organised by theEuropean Trade Union Confederationfor 28 May 1997, actually took place in France on 10 June, due to the timing of the general election.
- 28 May 1997
France: Reorganisation and reduction of statutory working time: early assessment of the Robien law<#PDF_LINK>The publication of an assessment commissioned by the National Assembly's Finance Commission, and the campaign for the May/June 1997 general election, have reopened the debate in France on the content and efficiency of the Robien law, which seeks to encourage working time reductions and reorganisation to create or save jobs. Politicians, economists, employers and unions remain divided whilst the number of collective agreements at company level based on the law is increasing.
- 28 May 1997
France: Unions set the social agenda in the context of parliamentary elections<#PDF_LINK>At a time when public opinion seems to be losing interest in the campaign for the May/June 1997 parliamentary elections (if opinion polls published in the middle of May are to be believed, less than half the electorate said they were interested in the debates and manifestoes) the trade unions and employers' associations, while not telling their members which way to vote, are voicing their main demands and preparing the forthcoming social agenda.
- 28 May 1997
France: Pilots on strike at Air France<#PDF_LINK>The majority of pilots' trade unions represented in the Air France group took part in a relatively successful strike from 20-23 May 1997, protesting at the setting up of a two-tier salary system.
- 28 Apr 1997
France: Banking sector in conflict over statutory working week<#PDF_LINK>After the breakdown of negotiations in the banking sector, the French Government's adoption of a draft decree in March 1997, making the structure of the statutory working week more flexible, provoked strike action from all trade unions. This is one more illustration of the problems surrounding collective bargaining at sector level in France. The decree was passed on 9 April.
- 28 Apr 1997
France: Strikes in the air transport industry<#PDF_LINK>Strike action in early 1997 in the French air transport industry is part of a wider pattern marked by deregulation and the restructuring of the larger airlines.
- 28 Apr 1997
France: Strikes in the hospital sector<#PDF_LINK>In March and April 1997 there was major conflict of two types in the French hospital sector. The conflict involving trainee doctors and ward heads was intended as a protest against the medical agreement signed by the social security health insurance funds (caisses nationales d'assurance-maladie) and two medical unions. The other involved a large number of hospital staff who launched protests against budget restrictions affecting hospitals. Both these movements existed side by side for a number of weeks and never really met. The real aims of each were totally different in nature.
- 28 Apr 1997
France: Ban on women's night work to be reviewed<#PDF_LINK>On 8 April 1997,Jacques Barrot, the Minister for Employment, gave the press a preview of the forthcoming legislation on the reduction of social security contributions and the statutory working week. Among the subjects dealt with will be a revision of existing legislation on banning women from working at night, which Mr Barrot deems necessary.
- 28 Apr 1997
France: Agreement on retirement at 55 for lorry drivers<#PDF_LINK>An agreement, signed on 11 April 1997, will allow French lorry drivers to retire at 55.
- 28 Apr 1997
France: Nanterre Magistrate's Court suspends the closure of Renault Vilvorde<#PDF_LINK>After the Brussels Industrial tribunal (BE9704208N), on 4 April it was a French court's turn to findRenault's management guilty of disobeying the law in a ruling which could well postpone the closure of theVilvordeplant.
- 28 Apr 1997
France: Performing arts unemployment benefit system temporarily safeguarded prior to a fundamental review<#PDF_LINK>Following several months of strong protests, the unemployment benefit scheme specific to workers in the performing arts in France has been renewed up to 31 December 1998.
- 28 Apr 1997
France: Unions united on Labour Day?<#PDF_LINK>For the first time in many years, six trade unions in the Paris region have decided to take part in a single demonstration for Labour Day, 1997, protesting against racism and xenophobia.
- 28 Apr 1997
France: Early elections - no respite for the unions<#PDF_LINK>The President of the French Republic's decision to dissolve the National Assembly and to call early legislative elections in May-June 1997 has prompted numerous reactions from the unions, which fear the beginning of a shift towards liberal economic policies.
- 28 Mar 1997
France: Courts play an increasing role in supervising mass redundancies<#PDF_LINK>After a legal battle lasting more than three years between the management of La Samaritaine (one of the five large Paris department stores), and its works council andCGTunion branch, two rulings by the highest court in the French legal system on 13 February 1997, imposed the reinstatement of staff made redundant, as part of the cancellation of a corporate "downsizing" procedure (plan social). These rulings reveal the growing role of judges in the supervision of redundancies.
- 28 Mar 1997
France: The Renault-Vilvorde affair: "Euro-strike" against the closure of its Belgian plant<#PDF_LINK>The announcement by the French auto manufacturer, Renault, of the closure of its plant with a workforce of 3,100 in Vilvorde in the Flandersregion of Belgium, has caused a wave of indignation throughout Europe. The closure is part of a European restructuring project which also includes the axing of 2,800 jobs in France. The response by the unions, of an unusually rapid and massive nature, took the form of strikes in all the group's European plants, and a series of joint demonstrations.
- 28 Mar 1997
France: Law establishes retirement savings funds<#PDF_LINK>On 20 February 1997, Parliament adopted a law establishing retirement savings funds. This legislation has a dual objective. Firstly, to provide private sector employees with a new retirement cover financed by capitalisation, and secondly, to strengthen the Paris financial market and balance the growing power of foreign institutional investors.
- 28 Mar 1997
France: Civil service strike<#PDF_LINK>Following a strike call issued by French public service trade unions, a national day of action comprising strikes and demonstrations took place on 6 March.
- 28 Mar 1997
France: Workers in performing arts take action over unemployment benefit plans<#PDF_LINK>Workers in the performing arts have been protesting about threats to their special unemployment benefit scheme arising from employers' positions in the recent renewal of the agreement on the general UNEDIC scheme.
- 28 Mar 1997
France: Bill on combating exclusion under discussion.<#PDF_LINK>On 26 February 1997, the French Cabinet adopted a bill aiming at rebuilding social cohesion, which is to be debated in the National Assembly some time in April 1997.
- 28 Mar 1997
France: Hospitals faced with strikes.<#PDF_LINK>Two separate strikes have been hitting the French hospital sector over February and March 1997. On the one hand, certain unions are campaigning against cuts in hospital budgets while, on the other hand, numerous trainee doctors and senior consultants are on strike, demanding the revision of the medical agreement co-signed by the health insurance office (CNAM) and the medical profession, which in their opinion hinders the practicing of professional medicine.
- 28 Mar 1997
France: Can members of the far Right be elected to industrial tribunals ?<#PDF_LINK>Prior to the election of industrial tribunal members in December 1997, five trade union confederations have requested an overhaul of the voting system in order to prevent the election of judges from the far Right.
- 28 Feb 1997
France: Agreement on working time at EDF and GDF<#PDF_LINK>On 21 January 1997, the two French electricity and gas public utility companies signed an agreement with three trade unions ( theCFDT, theCFTCand theCFE-CGC). This agreement is designed to improve their competitiveness and productivity while at the same time maintaining their workforce at current levels. This is to be achieved mainly through the introduction of part-time working. Both theCGTand theCGT-FOunions are strongly critical of this agreement.
- 28 Feb 1997
France: Strikes focus on earlier retirement<#PDF_LINK>After lorry drivers won the right to retire at the age of 55 following a strike in December 1996, public transport drivers have been voicing the same demand in disputes which have hit towns throughout France since January 1997. The press has played up this particular demand of the strikers, to the embarrassment of the Government and the opposition Socialist Party, both of which view lowering the retirement age as completely unfeasible. The demand may reflect a wider unrest in a context of high unemployment and fears among many employees that their working conditions are deteriorating.
- 28 Feb 1997
France: National conference on youth employment<#PDF_LINK>In a context of increasingly difficult youth employment in France, and of social tension about what course of action to take, a recent national conference has defined a number of concrete objectives. These seek to secure employment for the most disadvantaged, and to expose students to the world of work for the first time. These aims are based on a series of commitments on the part of industry, Government and the social partners - who remain at odds in their analysis - the effects of which must be monitored.
- 28 Feb 1997
France: Railways' operating functions and network responsibilities to be split<#PDF_LINK>A new company,Réseau Ferré de France, has taken over the ownership and running of France's railways.
- 28 Feb 1997
France: Civil servants' pay negotiations break down.<#PDF_LINK>Following the freezing of civil servants' salaries imposed by the Government for 1996, the Government announced the convening of pay negotiations which have been continually put off since the spring of 1996, but which will now not take place at all.
- 28 Feb 1997
France: Government ends pay guidelines to nationalised companies<#PDF_LINK>At the end of January 1997, the Prime Minister ended the practice of issuing pay guidelines to France's nationalised companies.
- 28 Feb 1997
France: Battle against "clandestine" employment intensifies<#PDF_LINK>Following parliamentary controversy, a law clamping down on illegal and undeclared "clandestine" employment was adopted in February 1997.
- 28 Feb 1997
France: 3,300 supply teachers reinstated in French secondary schools<#PDF_LINK>Following negotiations with the Education Minister, 3,300 unemployed supply teachers won the right in late January 1997 to be temporarily reinstated in their jobs.