Representativeness of European social partner organisations: Civil aviation – France
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 civil aviation industry 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 on their role in collective bargaining.
1. Sectoral properties
As far as industrial relations and trade unions are concerned, the civil aviation sector comprises many different categories of staff, including the following main groups of workers: ground staff, cabin crew, pilots, as well as staff at the Paris airport operator, Aéroports de Paris (ADP), and civil servants (air traffic controllers) at the National Office of Civil Aviation (Direction générale de l’Aviation civile, DGAC).
Following the adoption in July 2008 of the law on social democracy, the rules on the representativeness of social partner organisations have changed (FR0807039I). These changes will have an impact on collective bargaining in the air transport sector, as in all sectors of economic activity.
| 1995 | 2006** | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of employers | n.a. | 171 French airlines (2008)2 |
| Aggregate employment* | n.a. | n.a. |
| Male employment* | n.a. | n.a. |
| Female employment* | n.a. | n.a. |
| Aggregate employees | 73,544 | 90,4251 |
| Male employees | n.a. | 54,7281 |
| Female employees | n.a. | 35,6971 |
| Aggregate sectoral employment as % of total employment in economy | n.a. | n.a. |
| Aggregate sectoral employees as % of total number of employees in economy | n.a. | 0.39% |
Notes: * Employees plus self-employed persons and temporary agency workers. ** Or most recent data. n.a. = not available.
Sources: 1 National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, INSEE), National Commercial Aviation Federation (Fédération Nationale de l'Aviation Marchande, FNAM) and DGAC; 2 DGAC (companies with a valid operating licence as an air carrier).
2. The sector’s trade unions and employer associations
This section includes the following trade unions and employer organisations:
1. trade unions which are party to sector-related collective bargaining;
The civil aviation sector includes many trade unions covering specific categories of staff, alongside the federations affiliated to the five French representative trade union confederations – 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).
The following trade unions cover specific categories of staff and participate in collective bargaining:
- the National Union of Civil Aviation Technical Ground (Syndicat national des mécaniciens au sol de l’aviation civile, SNMSAC), which is affiliated to the National Federation of Independent Unions (Union nationale des syndicats autonomes, UNSA) and a member of Aircraft Engineer International (AEI);
- the Union of Civil Aviation Cabin Crew (Union des navigants de l’aviation civile, UNAC);
- the National Pilots’ Union (Syndicat National des Pilotes de ligne, SNPL);
- the Civil Aviation Pilots’ Union (Syndicat des pilotes de l’aviation civile, SPAC);
- the National Union of Civil Aviation Cabin Engineering Officers (Syndicat National des Officiers Mécaniciens Navigants de l’Aviation Civile, SNOMAC);
- the National Union of Commercial Cabin Crew (Syndicat National du Personnel Navigant Commercial, SNPNC);
- the Air France Pilots’ Union (Syndicat des pilotes d’Air France, SPAF);
- the National Union of Civil Aviation Cabin Crew (Syndicat National du Personnel Navigant de l’Aviation Civile, SNPNAC).
2. trade unions which are a member of the sector-related European Union federations;
The following trade union organisations are members of the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF):
- the General Federation of Transport affiliated to CFTC (La Fédération Générale CFTC des Transports);
- the National Federation of Transport Unions affiliated to CGT (La Fédération Nationale des Syndicats de Transport CGT);
- the General Federation of Transport and Public Works affiliated to CFDT (La Fédération Générale des Transports et de l’Équipement CFDT);
- the Federation of Public Works, Transport and Services affiliated to CGT-FO (La Fédération FO de l’Équipement des Transports et des Services);
- the National Union of Civil Aviation affiliated to CFTC (Le Syndicat National de l’Aviation Civile CFTC);
- SNPNC;
- UNSA Transport.
SNPL is a member of the European Cockpit Association (ECA).
The National Union of Air-Traffic Controllers (Syndicat National des Contrôleurs du Trafic Aérien, SNCTA) is a member of the Air Traffic Controllers European Unions Coordination (ATCEUC).
3. employer organisations which are a party to sector-related collective bargaining.
On the employer side, and depending on the subsectors concerned, collective bargaining is carried out by the National Commercial Aviation Federation (La Fédération nationale de l’aviation marchande, FNAM) at sectoral level; for instance, FNAM is the signatory on the employer side of the national collective agreement for air transport ground staff. FNAM is also the umbrella organisation for various employers and employer organisations in civil aviation, including:
- the Air Transport Employers’ Association (Chambre syndicale du transport aérien, CSTA), which essentially represents and defends the interests of air transport companies based in France;
- the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) – France, which represents the commercial aviation sector;
- the Stopover Support Service Employers’ Union (Chambre syndicale de l’assistance en escale);
- the National Union of Helicopter Operators (Syndicat national des exploitants d’hélicoptères, SNEH).
Moreover, the Union of Independent Airlines (Syndicat des compagnies aériennes autonomes, SCARA) represents independent operators.
The field of application of the national collective agreement for air transport ground staff is defined as follows: ‘The collective agreement regulates the relations between employers and ground staff, who are employees of companies and establishments, and whose activities are related to air transport in the following areas: regular passenger, freight and mail air transport on regular lines and with fixed schedules; non-regular passenger, freight and mail air transport, such as (regular and non-regular) charters, taxi-planes, rented planes with pilots, air excursions. The agreement applies also to employers and employees of companies and establishments whose activities involve airport assistance for stopovers of air transport companies in the following areas and which are not covered by an extended collective agreement: ground administrative assistance and supervision; assistance for passengers; assistance with luggage; freight and postal assistance; assistance with runway operations; assistance with cleaning and plane services; assistance with fuel and oil; assistance with plane maintenance during flights; assistance with aviation operations and administration of the crews; assistance with ground transport; assistance with purser service.’
DGAC provides airspace control in the area around airports, including: operating air traffic control towers and radars that monitor airspace near airports; control of approaches, landing and take-off; and services regarding radio control of planes by ground beacons. DGAC also manages staff, notably air traffic controllers, in line with French civil service rules.
According to Article L251-2 of the civil aviation code, the limited liability company ADP is responsible for building, operating and developing the following airports: Paris Charles-de-Gaulle, Paris-Orly and Paris-Le Bourget, along with civilian aerodromes situated in the Paris region Île-de-France – the list of which is fixed by decree. It can carry out any other activity, related to airports or not, according to conditions that are set out in its statutes. ADP provides the above-listed airports with airport services that are adapted to the needs of air carriers, other operators dealing with aircraft, passengers and the public, and coordinates – in each of the airports that it operates – the operations of all the different people involved. ADP used to be a public establishment, but recently became a limited liability company. However, it still has its own rules regarding social regulation and is, therefore, not covered by a national collective agreement, but has its own collective bargaining.
The operation of airports outside Paris is covered by the Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Chambres de Commerce et d’Industrie de France, CCI). The CCI staff, who are responsible for managing airports, are due to soon come under the collective agreement for air transport ground staff.
Finally, cabin crew – pilots and flight attendants – of airlines are not covered by a national collective agreement, but by company-level agreements.
2a. Data on the trade unions
2a.1. Type of membership (voluntary vs. compulsory)
Trade union membership is voluntary.
2a.2. Formal demarcation of membership domain (e.g. blue-collar workers, private sector workers, board staff, etc)
The trade union federations that are affiliated to the five representative confederations – CGT, CFDT, FO, CFTC and CGC – organise all type of employees working in the sector, unlike the trade unions for specific categories of staff.
However, some of the trade unions that organise only specific categories of staff have broadened their membership domain; for instance, SNMSAC originally organised aeronautic maintenance staff in airlines and assistance companies, but in June 2008 the trade union has opened its membership to all ground staff, including therefore also operating staff.
2a.3. Number of union members (i.e. the total number of members of the union as a whole)
Trade union membership figures are unavailable.
UNSA Aérien, which is part of UNSA and brings together autonomous trade unions in the civil aviation sector – such as SNMSAC and SNPNAC – estimates that it has a total of 4,000 members, of whom almost 1,600 are members of SNPNAC which organises mainly pilots and flight attendants working in small companies.
SNCTA, which organises DGAC air traffic controllers, has about 2,000 members. In workplace elections, SNCTA obtains more than 50% of the votes.
2a.4 Number of union members in the sector
See 2a.3.
2a.5 Female union members as a percentage of total union membership
For both of the trade unions, for which membership figures are available, the proportion of female union members amounts to about 7% for SNMSAC and 30% for SNCTA.
2a.6 Domain density: total number of members of the union in relation to the number of potential members as demarcated by the union domain (see 2a.2)
n.a.
2a.7 Sectoral density: total number of members of the union in the sector in relation to the number of employees in the sector, as demarcated by the NACE definition
A sectoral density figure is only available for SNCTA, which organises a specific category of staff in the industry, namely air traffic controllers. Its sectoral density stands at 30%.
2a.8 Sectoral domain density: total number of members of the union in the sector in relation to the number of employees which work in that part of the sector as covered by the union domain
n.a.
It should be noted that the sectoral density of trade unions and their sectoral domain density differ if the trade union organises only a particular part of the civil aviation industry.
2a.9 Does the union conclude collective agreements?
The five trade union federations affiliated to the confederations CGT, CFDT, CGT-FO, CFTC and CFE-CGC negotiate sectoral agreements for air transport ground staff. The trade union sections affiliated to these federations, along with the autonomous and staff category specific trade unions, which are recognised as being representative in companies, negotiate at the company level.
2a.10 For each association, list their affiliation to higher-level national, European and international interest associations (including cross-sectoral associations)
See 2.1.
2b Data on the employer associations
2b.1. Type of membership (voluntary vs. compulsory)
Membership is voluntary.
2b.2. Formal demarcation of membership domain (e.g. SMEs, small-scale crafts/industry, civil aviation enterprises, etc.)
In the civil aviation sector, groupings of employers exist according to the type of operator and type of activity (see 2.3)
2b.3. Number of member companies (i.e. the total number of members of the association as a whole)
n.a.
2b.4. Number of member companies in the sector
According to information provided on FNAM’s website, its member companies include: 25 airlines, 14 business aviation companies, two air freight companies, 44 aeronautic maintenance companies, 33 airport services companies, 29 helicopter transport operators and 12 airport operators outside Paris.
2b.5. Number of employees working in member companies (i.e. the total number of the association as a whole)
n.a.
2b.6. Number of employees working in member companies in the sector
n.a.
2b.7. Domain density in terms of companies: total number of member companies of the association in relation to the number of potential member companies as demarcated by the association’s domain (see 2b.2)
n.a.
2b.8. Sectoral density in terms of companies: total number of member companies of the association in the sector in relation to the number of companies in the sector, as demarcated by the NACE definition
n.a.
2b.9 Sectoral domain density in terms of companies: total number of member companies of the association in the sector in relation to the number of companies which operate in that part of the sector as covered by the association’s domain
n.a.
2b.10. Domain density in terms of employees represented: total number of employees working in the association’s member companies in relation to the number of employees working in potential member companies, as demarcated by the association’s domain (see 2b.2)
n.a.
2b.11. Sectoral density in terms of employees represented: total number of employees working in the association’s member companies in the sector in relation to the number of employees in the sector, as demarcated by the NACE definition
n.a.
2b.12. Sectoral domain density in terms of employees represented: total number of employees working in the association’s member companies in the sector in relation to the number of employees working in companies which operate in that part of the sector as covered by the association’s domain
n.a.
2b.13. Does the employer association conclude collective agreements?
FNAM negotiates and signs sectoral agreements for ground staff in air transport.
2b.14. For each association, list their affiliation to higher-level national, European and international interest associations (including the cross-sectoral associations).
n.a.
3. Inter-associational relationships
3.1. Trade unions covered by this study whose domains overlap
The domains of the federations affiliated to the five French representative trade union confederations overlap (see 2.2).
3.2. Do rivalries and competition exist among the trade unions, concerning the right to conclude collective agreements and to be consulted in public policy formulation and implementation?
Until the law on social democracy will be fully implemented, thereby ending the irrefutable assumption of trade union representativeness and establishing new representativeness criteria, there is no competition between the five trade union federations affiliated to the five nationally representative trade union confederations, all of which have the right to participate in collective bargaining. Certain autonomous trade unions – such as UNSA Aérien and Sud Aérien – cannot currently participate in bargaining. Other autonomous or staff category specific trade unions are recognised as being representative at company level and participate in bargaining at this level.
3.3. If yes, are certain trade unions excluded from these rights?
See 3.2.
3.4. Same question for employer associations as 3.1.3.5. Same question for employer associations as 3.2.
No.
3.6. Same question for employer associations as 3.3.
No.
3.7. Are there large companies or employer associations which refuse to recognise the trade unions and refuse to enter collective bargaining?
No.
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. Sector’s rate of collective bargaining coverage
The sector’s rate of collective bargaining coverage is estimated at 100%.
4.2. Relative importance of multi-employer agreements and of single-employer agreements as a percentage of the total number of employees covered
It is difficult to assess the relative importance of collective agreements in the industry as a percentage of the total number of employees covered. However, it can be assumed that collective bargaining concerns every worker in the industry, whether bargaining takes place at sectoral level for air transport ground staff or at company level in the industry’s large companies. Some of the workers in large companies do not come under the sectoral agreement, for example those who are covered by the company agreements at Air France and ADP.
The status of Air France has been reproduced in a ‘company covenant’, which is accompanied by a series of company-level agreements covering all staff or for specific categories of staff. Agreements at Air France covering all staff provide for gender equality, participation and profit-sharing, top-up health insurance schemes and welfare benefit funds. Regarding specific categories of staff, a ‘Charter for schemes where training alternates with work experience’ is in the process of being renegotiated for flight attendants and ground maintenance staff, and an agreement on vocational training has just been signed for ground staff.
As for ADP, a number of collective agreements were signed in 2007, providing for top-up health insurance schemes, an addition to the profit-sharing agreement, pay, management of employment regarding stopovers, night work arrangements and the creation of a company savings scheme, as well as renewing the company save-as-you earn scheme.
DGAC signed a ‘social protocol’ covering all of office’s staff for the period 2007–2009. The social protocol concerns pay and non-pay issues, such as the reorganisation of services and occupational mobility, the way services function, allowances and training. Consultations are organised, as is the case throughout the civil service in France, in the framework of statutory bodies, some of which such as the national Joint Administrative Committees (Commissions administratives du personnel, CAP) are specific, depending on the field and staff categories.
4.2.1. Is there a practice of extending multi-employer agreements to employers who are not affiliated to the signatory employer associations?
Sectoral agreements are extended to employers who are not affiliated to the signatory employer organisations.
4.2.2. If there is a practice of extending collective agreements, is this practice pervasive or rather limited and exceptional?
Extending collective agreements is the rule, except if a particular problem arises.
4.3. Sector-related multi-employer wage agreements* valid in 2006 (or most recent data)
* Only wage agreements which are (re)negotiated on a reiterated basis.
| Bargaining parties | Scope of sector-related multi-employer wage agreements | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sectoral | Type of employees | Territorial | |
| Signatories of the national collective agreement for air transport ground staff: five representative trade union federations, FNAM and SCARA | Air transport ground staff | All types of employees, apart from cabin crew (pilots and flight attendants) of airlines covered by company-level agreements. | France |
4.4. Sector’s four most important collective agreements (single-employer or multi-employer agreements) valid in 2006 (or most recent data)
| Bargaining parties | Scope of agreements | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sectoral | Type of employees | Territorial | |
| Agreement on minimum conditions, 2007 and 2008 (air transport collective agreement) | Air transport ground staff | All ground staff | France |
| Agreement on vocational training (air transport collective agreement) | Air transport ground staff | All ground staff | France |
5. Formulation and implementation of sector-specific public policies
5.1. Are the sector’s employer associations and trade unions usually consulted by the authorities in sector-specific matters?
Public authorities consult with all of the five representative trade union federations concerning planned ministerial decrees or changes in regulations, especially the transposition of European directives into French law.
SNCTA indicates that it is consulted by the authority that monitors airport noise nuisance (Autorité de Contrôle des Nuisances Sonores Aéroportuaires) regarding noise nuisance.
5.2. Do tripartite bodies dealing with sector-specific issues exist?
No.
Tripartite commissions with representatives of the Ministry of National Education (Ministère de l’Éducation Nationale) and the social partners have occasionally existed regarding the creation of certain vocational secondary educational qualifications (baccalauréat professionnel) specialising in aeronautics, for example.
6. Statutory regulations of representativeness
6.1. In the case of the trade unions, do statutory regulations exist which establish criteria of representativeness which a union must meet, so as to be entitled to conclude collective agreements?
Up until now, the rules are as follows: the trade union federations affiliated to the five union confederations CGT, CFDT, CGT-FO, CFTC and CFE-CGC benefit from an irrefutable assumption of representativeness at national level and therefore have the right to participate in sectoral and company-level collective bargaining. The other trade unions can obtain representativeness through a court procedure, by proving their representativeness on the basis of certain criteria, such as workplace election results.
6.2. In the case of the trade 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?
See 6.1.
6.3. Are elections for a certain representational body (e.g. works councils) established as criteria for trade union representativeness? If yes, please report the most recent electoral outcome for the sector.
No aggregate results of workplace elections exist for the entire sector of air transport ground staff.
For DGAC air traffic controllers, the results of the last workplace elections in June 2008 to elect staff representatives on joint administrative committees (commissions administratives paritaires, CAPs) were as follows: 54.2% for SNCTA, 30.11% CGT, 8.12% CFDT, 4.47% CFTC and 3.10% CGT-FO.
6.4. Same question for employer associations as 6.1.
No.
6.5. Same question for employer associations as 6.2.
No.
6.6. Are elections for a certain representational body established as criteria for the representativeness of employer associations? If yes, please report the most recent outcome for the sector.
No.
7. Commentary
Following the adoption in July 2008 of the law on social democracy, the rules on representativeness have changed and will impact on collective bargaining in the air transport sector, as in all sectors of economic activity.
It should also be noted that the field of application of collective agreements in the civil aviation industry are likely to change in the medium and long term.
The privatisation of ADP can contribute to changes in the coverage of collective agreements that will be applicable in the future; for the time being, the company has still its own bargaining system. For instance, airport managers could come under the collective agreement for air transport ground staff, unless a specific collective agreement for airport operators will be established. Such changes would turn the collective agreement for air transport ground staff into the main air transport collective agreement.
Moreover, current staff in airport handling is covered by the National Collective Agreement on Railway Handling and associated work (Convention Collective Nationale de la Manutention Ferroviaire et travaux connexes). The agreement – the SAMERA agreement – is called after the name of the employer organisation, the Organisation of Handling and Maintenance for Rail and Air Transport (Syndicat des Auxiliaires de la Manutention et de l’Entretien pour le Rail et pour l’Air, SAMERA) and was extended on 16 March 1971. In the future, new staff – especially in airport handling – could also become part of the collective agreement for air transport ground staff, if the latter’s field of application is extended to the entire air transport sector.
Solveig Grimault, Institute for Economic and Social Research (IRES)