Representativeness of the European social partner organisations: Tanning and leather sector – 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 tanning and leather 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 on their role in collective bargaining.
1. Sectoral properties
The economic subsector of tanning and dressing of leather has greatly declined in France since the beginning of the 1990s. This decline is especially notable for leather dressing. The number of leather dressing companies decreased from 140 enterprises in 1990 to 42 companies at the end of 2007, while the workforce fell from 3,343 to 837 persons. Meanwhile, the number of tanning companies decreased from 41 enterprises to 20 companies, and the workforce declined from 1,908 to 884 persons.
The subsector is largely composed of small companies. In tanning, only eight of the 20 companies have more than 50 employees. In leather dressing, only four of the 42 companies have more than 50 employees.
| 1995 | 2007 | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of companies | 127 | 62 |
| Aggregate employment* | n.a. | n.a. |
| Male employment* | n.a. | n.a. |
| Female employment* | n.a. | n.a. |
| Aggregate employees | 3,204 | 1,721 |
| Male employees | n.a. | n.a. |
| Female employees | n.a. | n.a. |
| Aggregate sectoral employment as % of total employment in economy | n.a. | n.a. |
| Aggregate sectoral employees as % of total number of employees in economy | 0.02% | 0.01% |
Notes: * employees plus self-employed persons and temporary agency workers. n.a. = not available.
Source: National Leather Council (Conseil national du cuir)
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;
2. trade unions which are a member of the sector-related European federation, the European Trade Union Federation: Textiles, Clothing and Leather (ETUF:TCL);
3. employer organisations which are party to sector-related collective bargaining;
4. employer organisations or business associations which are a member of the sector-related European business federation, the Confederation of National Associations of Tanners and Dressers of the European Community (COTANCE).
2a Data on the trade unions
A total of five trade unions are present in the sector, namely the:
- Services Federation (tanning sector) (Federation des services (branche tannerie)), affiliated to the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (Confédération française démocratique du travail, CFDT);
- Textiles, Clothing and Leather Federation (Federation textile habillement cuir, THC), affiliated to the General Confederation of Labour (Confédération générale du travail, CGT);
- Chemicals, Mining, Textiles and Energy Federation (Federation Chimie, Mines, Textile, E nergie, CMTE), affiliated to the French Christian Workers’ Confederation (Confédération française des travailleurs chrétiens, CFTC);
- General Federation of Leather, Textiles and Clothing (Federation générale des cuirs, textiles, habillement, FGCTH), affiliated to the General Confederation of Labour – Force ouvrière (Confédération générale du travail – Force ouvrière, CGT-FO);
- National Union of Leather and Hide Managerial Staff (Syndicat national du personnel de l’encadrement des cuirs et peaux) in the National Agricultural and Food Federation (Fédération nationale agroalimentaire, FNAA), affiliated to 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).
2a.1 Type of membership (voluntary vs. compulsory)
- is voluntary for all five trade unions.
2a.2 Formal demarcation of membership domain (e.g. white-collar workers, private sector workers, textile employees, etc)
Four of the trade unions have no formal demarcation, while the National Union of Leather and Hide Managerial Staff, FNAA, CFE-CGC represents white-collar workers.
2a.3 Number of union members (i.e. the total number of members of the union as a whole)
Data are unavailable for four of the trade unions, while the National Union of Leather and Hide Managerial Staff, FNAA, CFE-CGC organises 6,700 members.
2a.4 Number of union members in the sector
Data are unavailable for four of the trade unions, while the National Union of Leather and Hide Managerial Staff, FNAA, CFE-CGC has 41 members in the sector.
2a.5 Female union members as a percentage of total union membership
Data are unavailable for four of the trade unions, while 19% of the members of the National Union of Leather and Hide Managerial Staff, FNAA, CFE-CGC are women.
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
n.a.
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.
2a.9 Does the union conclude collective agreements?
Yes, the five federations conclude collective agreements.
2a.10 For each association, list their affiliation to higher-level national, European and international interest associations (including cross-sectoral associations).
- The Services Federation (tanning sector) is affiliated to CFDT and ETUF:TCL.
- THC is affiliated to CGT and ETUF:TCL.
- CMTE is affiliated to CFTC and ETUF:TCL.
- FGCTH is affiliated to CGT-FO and ETUF:TCL.
- The National Union of Leather and Hide Managerial Staff, FNAA is affiliated to CFE-CGC and ETUF:TCL.
2b Data on the employer associations
The French Leather Confederation (Fédération française de la tannerie mégisserie) was founded in 1971. It is composed of two employer organisations:
- Calf and Bovine Tanneries (Syndicat de la tannerie française, STF), established in 1968;
- the Small Skin Association (Union de la mégisserie française, UMF), established in 1413.
2b.1 Type of membership (voluntary vs. compulsory)
Voluntary.
2b.2 Formal demarcation of membership domain (e.g. SMEs, small-scale crafts/industry, textile enterprises, etc)
No.
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
n.a.
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
2b.13 Does the employer association conclude collective agreements?
Yes.
2b.14 For each association, list their affiliation to higher-level national, European and international interest associations (including the cross-sectoral associations).
The French Leather Confederation is affiliated to COTANCE, as are STF and UMF.
3. Inter-associational relationships
3.1. Please list all trade unions covered by this study whose domains overlap.
The domains of all of the five trade unions listed above overlap.
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?
No. They all have the right to take part in collective bargaining.
3.4. Same question for employer associations as 3.1.
Only one employer organisation is present in the sector.
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
4.1. Sector’s rate of collective bargaining coverage
Taking into account the systematic extension of agreements, 100% of employees in the sector are covered by the collective agreement.
4.2. Relative importance of multi-employer agreements and of single-employer agreements as a percentage of the total number of employees covered
Agreements are negotiated at sectoral level.
4.2.1. Is there a practice of extending multi-employer agreements to employers who are not affiliated to the signatory employer associations?
No.
4.2.2. If there is a practice of extending collective agreements, is this practice pervasive or rather limited and exceptional?
This is normal practice.
4.3. List all sector-related multi-employer wage agreements* valid in 2006 (or most recent data).
* Only wage agreements which are (re)negotiated on a reiterated basis.
For the notion of ‘sector-related’, see the conceptual remarks in the accompanying briefing note. In case of regionally differentiated, parallel agreements, an aggregate answer explaining the pattern may be given.
The national tanning and leather collective agreement (Convention collective nationale, CCN) is the basic text, set out in 1956. Additional clauses, agreements and appendices introduce periodic changes regarding specific points.
Since 1999, pay clauses are agreed on an annual basis.
| Bargaining parties | Scope of sector-related multi-employer wage agreements | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sectoral | Type of employees | Territorial | |
| Rider clause No. 56S to the collective agreement on minimum pay, 8 July 2008 French Leather Confederation FGCTH, CGT-FO Services Federation (tanning sector), CFDT National Union of Leather and Hide Managerial Staff, FNAA, CFE-CGC CMTE, CFTC | Tanning and leather | All | National |
| Rider clause No. 53S to the collective agreement on pay, 5 July 2005 French Leather Confederation FGCTH, CGT-FO THC, CGT National Union of Leather and Hide Managerial Staff, FNAA, CFE-CGC CMTE, CFTC Federation of Clothing, Leather and Textiles Industries (Fédération des Industries de l’Habillement, du Cuir et du Textile, Hacuitex), affiliated to CFDT | Tanning and leather | All | National |
4.4. Sector’s four most important collective agreements (single-employer or multi-employer agreements) valid in 2006
| Bargaining parties | Scope of agreements | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sectoral | Type of employees | Territorial | |
| Rider clause No. 04-A to the collective agreement on vocational training, 3 November 2004 French Leather Confederation FGCTH, CGT-FO THC, CGT National Union of Leather and Hide Managerial Staff, FNAA, CFE-CGC CMTE, CFTC Hacuitex, CFDT | Tanning and leather | All | National |
| Rider clause to the collective agreement on the reduction and organisation of working time, 21 September 1999 French Leather Confederation THC, CGT Hacuitex, CFDT | Tanning and leather | All | National |
On 8 July 2003, all five trade unions and the employer organisation also signed a rider clause to the collective agreement on respecting a code of conduct for activities abroad.
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?
n.a.
5.2. Do tripartite bodies dealing with sector-specific issues exist?
| Name of body and scope of activity | Bipartite/tripartite | Origin: agreement/statutory | Trade unions having representatives | Employer organisations having representatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPNEFP Continuing training | Bipartite | Agreement (2001) | All | French Leather Confederation |
| Forthac Continuing training | Bipartite | Agreement (1994) | All | French Leather Confederation |
Notes: * Sector-specific policies target and affect the sector under consideration. See text below for full titles of CPNEFP and Forthac.
The sectoral National Joint Commission on Continuing Training (Commission paritaire nationale de l’emploi et de la formation professionnelle, CPNEFP) sets the guidelines for sector initiatives regarding continuing training. It also stipulates the conditions concerning content and funding in relation to the various training schemes.
Textiles, Clothing and Leather Training (Formation Textile – Habillement – Cuir, Forthac) is the Certified Joint Collecting Body (Organisme Paritaire Collecteur Agréé, OPCA) responsible for collecting funds and managing continuing training in companies belonging to the following seven areas of economic activity: footwear, sewing, leather and tanning, textiles maintenance, clothing, leather goods and textiles.
A national pilot agreement for 2006–2008 was signed on 16 January 2006 by the state and six sectors, including leather and tanning. The agreement aims to develop anticipatory approaches and forward-looking management of employment and skills. Forthac supervises this system. The three-year target is to train 6,500 employees, 70% of whom should be manual workers. A total of 18 regional agreements have been signed.
Moreover, a national agreement on targets was signed on 4 September 2008 between the National Salaried Employees Health Insurance Fund (Caisse nationale d’assurance maladie des travailleurs salariés, CNAMTS) and five employer organisations representing activities in footwear, leather goods, tanning and leather dressing, raw hide and related industries. The agreement is valid for four years and enables companies to take on board risk preventive measures on the basis of a risk prevention contract with CNAMTS; the health insurance fund provides financial help amounting to between 15% and 70% of necessary expenditure.
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?
Trade unions and federations affiliated to representative confederations at national level can negotiate and sign collective agreements. Five confederations are considered to be representative at national level: CFDT, CFE-CGC, CFTC, CGT and CGT-FO.
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?
No. The trade union organisations considered to be representative at national level are entitled to be consulted and to participate in tripartite bodies.
6.3. Are elections for a certain representational body (e.g. works councils) established as criteria for trade union representativeness?
Not yet.
6.4. Same question for employer associations as 6.1.
No official representativeness criteria exist for employer organisations.
6.5. Same question for employer associations as 6.2.
No. The employer organisations considered to be representative at sectoral level are entitled to be consulted and to participate in tripartite bodies.
6.6. Are elections for a certain representational body established as criteria for the representativeness of employer associations?
No.
7. Commentary
Social dialogue is regular in this sector, in particular regarding minimum pay.
Annie Jolivet, Institute for Economic and Social Research (IRES)