Representativeness of the social partners: Agricultural sector – France
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The aim of this representativeness study is to identify the respective national and supranational actors (i.e. trade unions and employer organisations) in the field of industrial relations in the agriculture sector in France. In order to determine their relative importance in the sector’s industrial relations, this study will, in particular, focus on their representational quality as well as their role in collective bargaining.
1. Sectoral properties
The activities of the agricultural sector include all the economic areas set out in the EU coding system (NACE 01). The diversity of the information and statistics available, which sometimes only allows us an approximate grasp of the details sought, does enable a non-exhaustive review of this sector to be presented (FR0506104S).
| 1993 | 2003 (2004**) | |
| Number of companies | In 1988: 1,016,700 637,393 | In 2005: 545,300 589,771 |
| Aggregate employment * (full-time equivalent job) (including seasonal employees) | In 1988: 2,039,000 2,089,000 (na) | In 2005: 1,100,000 1,189,859 (90,995) |
| Male employment* | na (not available) | 770,365 |
| Female employment* | 62,600 | 419,494 |
| Aggregate employees * (full-time equivalent job) (including seasonal employees) | In 2005: 161,000 1,311,000 (nd/na) | In 2005: 147,000 1,124,524 (90,995) |
| Male employees | na | |
| Female employees | na | |
| Aggregate sectoral employment as a % of total employment in the economy | (1993) 1.23% | (Recent data: 2004) 1.71% |
| Aggregate sectoral employees as a % of the total number of employees in the economy | (1993) 3.75% | (Recent data: 2004) 4.36% |
* Employees plus self-employed persons and agency workers.
** Or most recent data.
Source: INSEE – National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (En).
Details:
In 2004 (most recent statistics), the economically active population employed in agriculture (strict: agriculture) stood at around 876,000 (i.e. 3.8% of the total economically active population), of whom 472,700 were farmers or joint operators of farms; 124,300 were permanent employees; 88,200 were seasonal workers; and 7,900 were employed by agricultural farm work companies (entreprises de travaux agricoles – ETA) and agricultural equipment coops (coopératives d’utilisation de matériel agricole - CUMA).
The 47,000 or so legally registered joint farming groupings (Groupements agricoles d’exploitation en commun – GAEC) farm over 3.5 million hectares.
Over 200,000 farms are part of companies, mainly in the form of a GAEC or a farming partnership (Société civile d’exploitation agricole – SCEA) or agricultural limited companies (Exploitation agricole à responsabilité limité – EARL) and limited companies (Société anonyme à responsabilité limitée – SARL).
2. The sector’s unions and employer organisations
2a Data on the unions
2a.1 Type of membership (voluntary vs. compulsory)
Membership is voluntary for all the unions in the sector.
2a.2 Formal demarcation of membership domain (e.g. blue-collar workers, private-sector workers, agriculture sector employees, etc.)
Not available, except for another category: in this sector, 0.7% of salaried jobs are managerial ones (cadres).
Source: INSEE – National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (En).
2a.3 Number of members
Most of the unions do not wish to communicate the size of their membership.
| Organisation and initials of the agricultural federation | Numbers of members | Female union members as a percentage of total union membership (%) | Density with regard to the union domain (see 2a.2, e.g. blue-collar workers, private-sector workers, agriculture sector employees, etc.) |
| CFDT (FGA-CFDT: Fédération générale de l’agriculture) | 60,000 (E) | na | Skilled farm workers, farm managers |
| CFE-CGC (SNCEA-CGC: Syndicat national des cadres des entreprises agricoles) | na (Preceding data) | na | White-collar workers and managerial staff and professional |
| CFTC (FSCOPA-CFTC: Fédération des syndicats chrétiens des organismes et professions de l’agriculture) | 1,800 (Preceding data) | na | . |
| CGT (FNAF-CGT: Fédération nationale agroalimentaire et forestière) | 1,700 (Preceding data) | na | |
| CGT-FO (FGTA-FO: Fédération générale des travailleurs de l’alimentation) | 6,150 (Preceding data) | na | |
| UNSA (UNSA2A : Union nationale des syndicats autonomes de l’agriculture) | na (Preceding data ) | na |
2a.4 Female union members as a percentage of total union membership
Not available (Cf. See point 2a.3).
2a.5 Density with regard to the union domain (see 2a.2, e.g. blue-collar workers, private-sector workers, agriculture sector employees, etc.)
Not available (Cf. See point 2a.3).
2a.6 Density of the union with regard to the sector
Figures on union density for the whole of the agriculture sector (in terms of NACE classification as follows: 01; i.e. agriculture, hunting and related service activities) are not available in the Ministry of Employment.
Moreover, the few figures that are available should be treated with extreme caution.
| Organisation and initials of the agricultural federation | Density of the union with regard to the sector (%) (Cf : http://www.trav.ucl.ac.be/recherche/pdf 2002/2001 11 Agriculture_final1.pdf ) |
| CFDT (FGA-CFDT) | 39% |
| CFE-CGC (SNCEA-CGC) | 12% |
| CFTC (FSCOPA-CFTC) | 4.4% |
| CGT (FNAF-CGT) | 39% |
| CGT-FO (FGTA-FO) | 9.6% |
| UNSA ( UNSA2A) | na |
2a.7 Does the union conclude collective agreements?
The unions affiliated to the five representative trade union confederations in France – the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (Confédération française démocratique du travail, CFDT), the French Confederation of Professional and Managerial Staff – General Confederation of Professional and Managerial Staff (Confédération française de l’encadrement – confédération générale des cadres, CFE-CGC), the French Christian Workers’ Confederation (Confédération française des travailleurs chrétiens, CFTC), the General Confederation of Labour (Confédération générale du travail, CGT), the General Confederation of Labour – Force ouvrière (Confédération générale du travail – Force ouvrière, CGT-FO) – negotiate at sector level.
2a.8 For each organisation, list their affiliation to higher-level national, European and international interest organisations (including cross-sectoral organisations). Please document these data union by union.
Union density is defined as the ratio of union members to potential union members, as demarcated by the union’s domain and by the sector. If the domain of a union embraces only part of the sector, then the data on density should refer to this part.
The five representative trade union confederations in France each have an affiliate in agriculture.
| Organisation | Initials of the agricultural federation and web: | EU-level affiliations° |
| CFDT | FGA-CFDTwww.fga-cfdt.fr www.fga-cfdt.fr | EFFAT |
| CFE-CGC | SNCEA-CGC www.sncea.org | EFFAT (2006) |
| CFTC | FSCOPA-CFTC www: na | EFFAT |
| CGT | FNAF-CGT www.cgt.fr | EFFAT |
| CGT-FO | FGTA-FO www.fgtafo.fr | EFFAT |
UNSA |
UNSA2A www.unsa2a.org | na* |
European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions, EFFAT.
* UNSA-Agriculture is affiliated to the ETUC via its trade union centre (the National Federation of Independent Unions (Union nationale des syndicats autonomes, UNSA)).
2b Data on the employer organisations
2b.1 Type of membership (voluntary vs. compulsory)
Membership is voluntary for all the organisations in the sector.
2b.2 Formal demarcation of membership domain (e.g. SMEs, small-scale crafts/industry, sub-sectors of agriculture, etc.)
Not available.
2b.3 Number of member companies
320,000 (E), estimate of the National Federation of Farm Operators’ Unions (Fédération nationale des syndicats des exploitants agricoles, FNSEA).
2b.4 Number of employees working in member companies
More than 800,000 (E), estimate of the National Federation of Farm Operators’ Unions.
2b.5 Density of the organisation in terms of companies with regard to their domain (see 2b.2, e.g. SMEs, small-scale crafts/industry, sub-sectors of agriculture, etc.)
Not available.
2b.6 Density of the organisation in terms of companies with regard to the sector
More than 50% (E), estimate of the National Federation of Farm Operators’ Unions.
2b.7 Density in terms of employees represented with regard to their domain (see 2b.2, e.g. SMEs, small-scale crafts/industry, sub-sectors of agriculture, etc.)
Not available.
2b.8 Density in terms of employees represented with regard to the sector
More than 50% (E), estimate of the National Federation of Farm Operators’ Unions.
2b.9 Does the employer organisation conclude collective agreements?
Yes.
2b.10 For each organisation, list their affiliation to higher-level national, European and international interest organisations (including the cross-sectoral organisations). Please document these data employer organisation by employer organisation.
Employer density in terms of companies is defined as the ratio of member companies to the potential member companies, as demarcated by the employer organisations’ domain and by the sector.
Employer density in terms of employees is defined as the ratio of the number of employees working in the member companies to the number of employees working in the potential member companies, as demarcated by the employer organisations’ domain and by the sector.
If the domain of an employer organisation embraces only part of the sector, then the data on density should refer to this part.
The FNSEA’s situation has enabled it to occupy a major position that affords it influence and an active role in determining policy at both national and European levels.
| Organisation | EU-level affiliations (potential) |
| National Federation of Farm Operators’ Unions /National Young Farmers’ Congress (Confédération nationale des jeunes agriculteurs, CNJA) | GEOPA COPA |
| Farmers’ Alliance (Confédération paysanne) | na |
| Rural coordination (Coordination rurale) | - |
| Countryside Alliance (MODEF) | na |
Employers’ Group of the Committee of Agricultural Organisations in the EU (Groupe des employeurs des organisations professionnelles Agricoles de l’UE, GEOPA).
Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations (Comité des organisations professionnelles agricoles, COPA).
3. Inter-organisational relationships
3.1. Please list all unions covered by this study whose domains overlap.
Cf. See point 2a.8.
3.2. Do rivalries and competition exist among the unions concerning the right to conclude collective agreements and to be consulted in public policy formulation and implementation?
At the national level (and confederal), the CGT, the CFDT and the UNSA are in favour of a change in the law in order to introduce majority agreements at all levels, on the basis of elections regarding representativeness.
3.3. If yes, are certain unions excluded from these rights?
UNSA.
3.4. Same question for employer organisations as 3.1: Please list all unions covered by this study whose domains overlap.
The National Federation of Farm Operators’ Unions.
3.5. Same question for employer organisations as 3.2: Do rivalries and competition exist among the unions concerning the right to conclude collective agreements and to be consulted in public policy formulation and implementation?
No claim or request.
3.6. Same question for employer organisations as 3.3: If yes, are certain unions excluded from these rights?
No claim or request.
4. The system of collective bargaining
Collective agreements are defined in line with national labour law regardless of whether they are negotiated under a peace obligation.
4.1. Estimate the sector’s rate of collective bargaining coverage (i.e. the ratio of the number of employees covered by any kind of collective agreement to the total number of employees in the sector).
100% (source: Ministry of Employment).
4.2. Estimate the relative importance of multi-employer agreements and of single-employer agreements as a percentage of the total number of employees covered. (Multi-employer bargaining is defined as being conducted by an employer organisation on behalf of the employer side. In the case of single-employer bargaining, it is the company or its subunit(s) which is the party to the agreement. This includes the cases where two or more companies jointly negotiate an agreement.)
All private law employees are covered by a sector-level collective agreement. There are additional sector-level agreements on minimum pay. Moreover, the major companies annually negotiate a varying number of company-level agreements on different topics.
The legislation setting out the legal framework for industrial relations in agriculture (http://www.senat.fr/themes/td2recents.html) is based on general national rules. However, the agricultural sector has distinctive characteristics which are partly inherent in the implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the application of the principles of subsidiarity set out in EU treaties.
As of 2005, four different bodies represent farmers and agricultural employers.
After the law re-establishing union freedom in France was passed in March 1946, the then General Confederation of Agriculture (Confédération générale de l’agriculture) component held the constituent congress of the National Federation of Farm Operators’ Unions, which has since been recognised as the only employer organisation with representative status. Since 1954, this federation has included the Young Farmers’ Circle, which between March 1956 and 2002 was known as the National Young Farmers’ Centre and is now Young Farmers.
4.2.1. Is there a practice of extending multi-employer agreements to employers who are not affiliated to the signatory employer organisations?
Some 150 sector-level collective agreements are extended.
4.2.2. If there is a practice of extending collective agreements, is this practice pervasive or rather limited and exceptional?
It is normal practice in France.
4.3. List all sector-related multi-employer wage agreements* valid in 2004 (or most recent data), including for each agreement information on the signatory parties and the purview of the agreement in terms of branches, types of employees and territory covered.
* Only wage agreements which are (re)negotiated on a reiterated basis. For the definition of ‘sector-related’, see the conceptual remarks. In case of regionally differentiated parallel agreements, an aggregate answer explaining the pattern may be given.
According to the players themselves, agriculture is one of the sectors of the economy where collective bargaining is the most dynamic, thus highlighting its innovative nature in some areas, such as vocational training and validating work experience, etc.
There are currently about 4,600 local groups of employers. These multi-employer groups are based on specific occupations.
| Bargaining parties | Purview of the sector-related multi-employer wage agreements | ||
| Sectoral | Type of employees | Territorial | |
| All | Inter-sectoral agreement on validating work experience | Employees covered by private labour law | - |
| All | Inter-sectoral agreement on pay bargaining | Employees covered by private labour law | |
5. Formulation and implementation of sector-specific public policies*
5.1. Are the sector’s employer organisations and unions usually consulted by the authorities in sector-specific matters? If yes, which organisations?
Sometimes, or more precisely, from time to time on a specific topic.
5.2. Do tripartite bodies dealing with sector-specific issues exist? If yes, please indicate their domain of activity (for instance, health and safety, equal opportunities, labour market, social security and pensions, etc.), their origin (agreement/statutory) and the interest organisations with representatives in them.
There are a whole series of sector-level bipartite bodies related to sector-level collective bargaining, but they do not play a special role in implementing public policy.
| Name of the body and scope of activity | Bipartite/tripartite | Origin: agreement/statutory | Unions with representatives (reps) | Employer organisations with reps |
| The Committee for European and International Social Dialogue (Comité de dialogue social européen et international, CDSEI) | Tripartite | Statutory | CFDT, CFE-CGC, CFTC, CGT, CGT-FO | FNSEA |
| The National Joint Commission on Employment (Commission paritaire nationale de l’emploi, CPNE) | Bipartite | Agreement | CFDT, CFE-CGC, CFTC, CGT, CGT-FO | FNSEA |
| The Regional Joint Commission on Employment (Commission paritaire régionale de l’emploi, CPRE) | Bipartite | Agreement | CFDT, CFE-CGC, CFTC, CGT, CGT-FO | FNSEA |
| The Joint Observatory of Agricultural Agreements on Training (Observatoire paritaire des conventions de l’agriculture pour la formation, OPCA) | Bipartite | Agreement | CFDT, CFE-CGC, CFTC, CGT, CGT-FO | FNSEA |
| Committee for Forecasting and Promoting Agricultural Occupations with a View to Forward-looking Management of Employment (Comité de la prospective et de la valorisation des métiers de l’agriculture pour la gestion prévisionnelle des emplois, PROVEA) | Bipartite | Agreement | CFDT, CFE-CGC, CFTC, CGT, CGT-FO | FNSEA |
| National Association for Employment and Training in the Agricultural Sector, financed by the Agricultural Fund for Training Agricultural Employees (Association nationale pour l’emploi et la formation dans le secteur agricole, ANEFA financé par le Fonds agricole pour la formation des salariés agricoles, FAFSA) | Bipartite | Agreement | CFDT, CFE-CGC, CFTC, CGT, CGT-FO | FNSEA |
* Sector-specific policies specifically target and affect the sector under consideration.
6. Statutory regulations of representativeness
6.1. In the case of the unions, do statutory regulations exist which establish criteria of representativeness which a union must meet so as to be entitled to conclude collective agreements? If yes, please briefly illustrate these rules and list the organisations which meet them.
On the basis of the government decree of 31 March 1966, five trade union confederations are considered to be representative at national level: CFDT, CFE-CGC, CFTC, CGT and CGT-FO. They are entitled to negotiate and sign collective agreements at national, sector and company levels. Other unions can apply to the courts for recognition of their representative status on the basis of a set of criteria concerning representativeness which have been established by legislation and jurisprudence.
As far as sector-level collective bargaining in agriculture (applicable to private law employees) is concerned, only the five confederations are considered to be representative and thus participate in it.
Before the 2004 Fillon law (FR0404105F), the signature of just one union was required to render an agreement valid. Since then, in order for a sector-level agreement to be valid, it should not be opposed by the majority of the representative unions in the sector (i.e. three of the five unions). At company level, unions representing the majority of employees at the most recent workplace elections have the right to opposition. Some unions have recently used this right of opposition in the companies in the sector.
A sector-level agreement can decide that sector-level or company-level agreements are valid only if they are signed by unions which together represent the majority of employees.
6.2. In the case of the unions, do statutory regulations exist which establish criteria of representativeness which a union must meet so as to be entitled to be consulted in matters of public policy and to participate in tripartite bodies? If yes, please briefly illustrate these rules and list the organisations which meet them.
The government generally consults the unions that are considered to be representative at national level.
6.3. Are elections for a certain representational body (e.g. works councils) established as criteria for union representativeness? If yes, please report the most recent electoral outcome for the sector.
At company level, the results of works council elections are used as criteria for validating company-level agreements and for the right of opposition (cf. 6.1).
6.4. Same question for employer organisations as 6.1: Do statutory regulations exist which establish criteria of representativeness which employer organisations must meet so as to be entitled to conclude collective agreements? If yes, please briefly illustrate these rules and list the organisations which meet them.
The FNSEA is the only employer organisation as such and it is thus the only one involved in industrial relations. The other organisations are of a professional nature, i.e. they represent their members in relation to both local and national public authorities and ‘external’ or private contacts.
Thus, as far as criteria of representativeness are concerned, in the industrial relations field, the FNSEA takes into account the average of results of the following elections:
- elected employment tribunals (Conseil des Prud’hommes, CPH);
- Central Agricultural Mutual Insurance Fund (Caisse centrale de la mutualité sociale agricole, CCMSA), affiliated to the National Sickness Insurance Fund (Caisse nationale d’assurance maladie, CNAM);
- Chambers of Agriculture.
There are no official criteria regarding representativeness for employer organisations.
6.5. Same question for employer organisations as 6.2: Do statutory regulations exist which establish criteria of representativeness which employer organisations must meet so as to be entitled to be consulted in matters of public policy and to participate in tripartite bodies? If yes, please briefly illustrate these rules and list the organisations which meet them.
No.
6.6. Are elections for a certain representational body established as criteria for the representativeness of employer organisations? If yes, please report the most recent outcome for the sector.
No.
7. Comments
One problem is of a legal nature and concerns the unsatisfactory rules in French legislation regarding union representativeness and the validity of agreements. The union situation is also varied. Some trade unions profited from heritages (history and cultural) in this sector membership of agriculture.
In May 2006:
- Raphaël Hadas-Lebel, member of the Supreme Administrative Court (Conseil d’Etat), submitted to Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin the
report (FR0606039I), which the latter had requested in December 2005, entitled ‘For effective and legitimate
social dialogue: representativeness and funding of employers’ organisations and trade unions’. The report makes the following observations about
representativeness:
- insufficient presence of representative unions in private-sector companies and especially in SMEs;
- unsuitable nature of the criteria for representativeness which are currently in force.
- One other report (Chertier) has listed 20 measures for modernising social dialogue in the private sector and in civil and public services. It has proposed two major changes. Mr Chertier presented his report to the members of the Economic and Social Council.
The latter’s president, Jacques Dermagne (Movement of French Enterprises (Mouvement des entreprises de France, MEDEF)), will publish the council’s considered opinion in the autumn regarding the report’s proposals (FR0606049I).