The Ministry of Labour's report on collective bargaining in France in 2002, published in June 2003, finds that there was general stability in the number of agreements concluded. There was a slight increase in the amount of intersectoral bargaining, while a rise in the number of national-level sectoral agreements was offset by a decline in sectoral bargaining at subnational level. With regard to company-level bargaining, changes in the data-collection methods make comparison with previous years virtually impossible.
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The Ministry of Labour's report on collective bargaining in France in 2002, published in June 2003, finds that there was general stability in the number of agreements concluded. There was a slight increase in the amount of intersectoral bargaining, while a rise in the number of national-level sectoral agreements was offset by a decline in sectoral bargaining at subnational level. With regard to company-level bargaining, changes in the data-collection methods make comparison with previous years virtually impossible.
On 23 June 2003, the National Collective Bargaining Commission (Commission nationale de la négociation collective) reviewed the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour and Solidarity's[annual report](http://www.travail.gouv.fr/publications/picts/titres/titre1948/integral/BilanNC 2002 T.1.pdf) on collective bargaining in the previous year, as it does each summer. According to the Ministry's report on 2002, bargaining activity remained stable across the various levels of negotiation (intersectoral, sectoral and company).
Intersectoral bargaining
Intersectoral collective bargaining remained at a relatively high level in 2002, with 43 texts (both agreements and additional clauses to existing agreement) signed, continuing the trend toward a recovery at this level of bargaining witnessed in 2001 (FR0207106F), when 39 texts were signed, compared with 25 in 2000 (FR0108161F), 34 in 1999 (FR0007178F) and 33 in 1998 (FR9907198F).
The two major topics for intersectoral agreements in 2002 were unemployment insurance (FR0301106F) and supplementary pensions for managerial and non-managerial staff (under the AGIRC and ARRCO schemes). In terms of supplementary pensions, an agreement and revisions signed in 2002 renewed and made more precise particular provisions of the AGIRC and the ARRCO schemes, especially the provisions on the funding of private sector supplementary schemes for pensioners aged 60-65.
Sectoral bargaining
Sector-level bargaining remained at a stable level in 2002 with 892 agreements signed, compared with 897 in 2001, 870 in 2000 and 761 in 1999.
The number of sectoral agreements signed at national level continued to rise in 2002, with 637 agreements concluded, up from 607 in 2001 and 582 in 2000. This growth in sectoral bargaining at national level was accompanied by a fall in subnational sectoral bargaining. Following stability in subnational sectoral bargaining since 2000, only 255 agreements were signed in 2002 compared with 290 in 2001. This decline was particularly noticeable among sectoral agreements at local and département levels, whereas relative stability in the number of sectoral agreements signed at regional level was observed.
Table 1 below indicates the proportion of all sectoral collective agreements signed by each of the five representative national trade union confederations over 1993-2002, highlighting some notable developments. In 2002, the General Confederation of Labour (Confédération générale du travail, CGT) signed a higher percentage of agreements than in previous years, coming close to its 1999'peak', with CGT signing more national sectoral agreements in particular. The proportion of agreements signed by the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (Confédération française démocratique du travail, CFDT) also rose in 2002, reaching a level unequalled for 10 years. This development is especially notable in relation to the signing of national agreements. The General Confederation of Labour-Force Ouvrière (Confédération générale du travail-Force Ouvrière, CGT-FO) has signed a relatively stable share of agreements over the past few years, with fewer agreements signed at subnational level, and more at national level. The proportion signed by the French Christian Workers’ Confederation (Confédération française des travailleurs chrétiens, CFTC) has also been stable, but with fewer agreements signed at subnational level. The proportion signed by 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) has fallen, especially at national level.
| Union | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
| CGT | 29.7 | 29.5 | 34.7 | 32.1 | 31.8 | 33.5 | 37.5 | 32.5 | 32.3 | 37.1 |
| CFDT | 65.2 | 72.7 | 68.2 | 67.3 | 68.5 | 69.5 | 70.5 | 69.4 | 71.0 | 77.4 |
| CGT-FO | 74.1 | 73.4 | 71.8 | 74.6 | 71.2 | 76.3 | 65.0 | 70.9 | 67.4 | 69.1 |
| CFE-CGC | 57.6 | 59.2 | 57.9 | 61.8 | 63.4 | 63.8 | 61.5 | 61.0 | 62.6 | 59.2 |
| CFTC | 61.0 | 61.3 | 60.3 | 59.1 | 63.5 | 60.2 | 61.4 | 62.0 | 63.8 | 63.0 |
Source: Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour and Solidarity.
In terms of the issues covered by sectoral bargaining, the most popular themes in 2002 were pay rises, increases in bonuses, the reorganisation and reduction of working time and vocational training - see table 2 below. However, the issue of pay, mainly dealt with at national level, fell in importance compared with the previous year and returned to its 2000 level (FR0207106F). The topic of reorganisation and reduction of working time, after the strong incentive to negotiate resulting from the 1998 (FR9806113F) and 2000 (FR0001137F)'Aubry' laws on the 35-hour week, was addressed less frequently in the agreements signed in 2002. The issues of vocational training, employment and retirement were also the subject of fewer agreements in 2002 than in 2001. However, issues such as welfare and supplementary pensions, workplace equality, job classifications and the resolution of disputes were addressed much more often in sector-level agreements in 2002.
| Theme | No. of agreements |
| Pay rises | 366 |
| Vocational training/apprenticeship | 86 |
| Reorganisation/reduction of working time | 98 |
| Bonus increases | 122 |
| Retirement provision | 79 |
| Job classifications | 44 |
| Employment | 21 |
| Bonus schemes | 17 |
| Paid leave | 17 |
Source: Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour and Solidarity.
In terms of gender equality at work, there was a marked rise in the number of agreements, with 22 signed in 2002 compared with 12 in 2001. The impact of legislative developments in this area - making it obligatory to hold specific negotiations on gender equality at company and sector levels at least every three years (FR0112152F andFR0308103T) - remains to be determined .
Company-level bargaining
New data-collection practices established in 2002 for company-level bargaining make comparison with previous years difficult. The 2002 report from the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour and Solidarity includes a presentation of the methodology now used for data-gathering.
Of all 2002 company agreements examined by the Ministry, 40% related to the implementation of various financial participation and savings plans, a theme prioritised by recent legislation (FR0102129N), while 30% related to working time, and 10% to wages and bonuses.
The Ministry calculates that around 4 million employees were covered by company-level agreements in 2002, mainly concentrated in larger companies, even though most agreements signed were in small and very small businesses.
Half the agreements counted were signed by at least onetrade union delegate, in thenormal way - see table 3 below. However, there are a number of other possible signatories of company-level agreements, and the'validation' method for agreements is related primarily to the size of the company. In the smallest firms, often without permanent union representation, the signatories are frequently not union delegates, with other methods used including: as the'mandating' of employees by trade unions to sign agreements (FR9807123F); signature byworkforce delegate s andworks council s; ratification by the staff; and an employer’s unilateral decision.
| Signatories | No. of agreements | % |
| Union delegates | 13,586 | 48.4 |
| Mandated employees | 3,821 | 13.6 |
| Workforce delegates or works councils | 3,425 | 12.2 |
| Ratification by staff or unilateral decision-making | 7,226 | 25.8 |
| Total | 28,058 | 100.0 |
Source: Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour and Solidarity.
In terms of company agreements signed by at least one union delegate or mandated employee, table 4 below sets out the share of agreements signed by the various unions in 2002.
| Signatories | No. of agreements | CGT | CFTC | CFDT | CFE-CGC | CGT-FO | Others |
| Union delegates | 13,586 | 49.1% | 26.3% | 59.4% | 32.0% | 39.0% | 13.4% |
| Mandated employees | 3,821 | 17.9% | 23.8% | 38.7% | 4.7% | 15.4% | 1.5% |
Note: An agreement can be signed by one or more unions, so the total percentages may come to over 100.
Source: Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour and Solidarity.
Commentary
The amount of collective bargaining remained high in 2002. The Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour and Solidarity’s annual review provides a detailed view of this. The two volumes of the 2002 review of collective bargaining also contains sections on more specific topics, especially collective bargaining in the EU Member States, to which theInstitut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES) made a contribution. (Maurice Braud, IRES)
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2003), Collective bargaining in 2002 examined, article.
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