Global framework agreement signed at PSA Peugeot Citroën

In March 2006, the French-based car manufacturer, PSA Peugeot Citroën, along with the International Metalworkers’ Federation and the European Metalworkers’ Federation, concluded a global framework agreement. This agreement requires the company to adhere to various International Labour Organisation conventions and to develop its human resources.

On 1 March 2006, PSA Peugeot Citroën, the International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF) and the European Metalworkers’ Federation (EMF) signed a global framework agreement (in French, 391Kb PDF). PSA Peugeot Citroën is Europe’s second largest car manufacturer, recording a turnover of €56.3 billion in 2005 and employing some 207,200 workers worldwide.

Building on the 10 principles of the United Nations Global Compact initiative – aimed at bringing companies together with UN agencies, labour and civil society in order to support universal environmental and social principles – this global framework agreement seeks to formalise the corporation’s obligations in relation to fundamental human rights. The parties involved in the agreement acknowledge that, in the current global environment, labour and management representatives must cooperate on an ongoing basis, seeking solutions that promote human progress while ensuring the long-term economic performance of companies.

Protecting fundamental human rights

In accordance with International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No. 87, PSA Peugeot Citroën acknowledges the global right of workers to form trade unions and to join a trade union of their choice. Furthermore, the corporation is committed to abstaining from all forms of anti-union discrimination (ILO Convention No. 135). In line with ILO Convention No. 98, the company also agrees to promote collective bargaining.

In addition, PSA Peugeot Citroën has made a commitment to protect freedom of employment and to condemn forced labour (ILO Convention No. 29 and No. 105). In accordance with ILO Convention No. 138, the corporation also condemns and prohibits child labour.

In line with ILO Convention No. 111, the company agrees not to discriminate on the basis of culture, nationality, gender, religion, political or union activities, differing experiences, physical appearance, career paths, age, health or sexual orientation, in relation to recruitment and career advancement.

PSA Peugeot Citroën agrees to ensure that compliance with human rights is also a determining factor in the selection of its suppliers.

Development of human resources

The agreement requires PSA Peugeot Citroën to develop the skills of its employees through ongoing training, and to ensure that all employees receive equal opportunities in relation to career advancement and mobility.

In the area of participation, the corporation is committed to providing employees with regular information on issues likely to affect working conditions and employment. Furthermore, the company is obliged to promote employee participation and to take account of employee initiatives.

In accordance with ILO Convention No. 100, PSA Peugeot Citroën acknowledges the principle of equal pay for equally valued and productive work.

The company also agrees to ensure that remuneration and working time are better than, or at least equal to, the conditions laid down in national legislation or collective agreements. In order to redistribute the corporation’s growth output, a profit-sharing scheme, linked to company performance, has been set up and covers all employees.

In line with ILO Convention No. 155, the company is committed to ensuring that effective occupational health and safety policies, based on prevention, are in place at all of its sites. These policies should put in place concrete action plans involving each employee at her/his level of responsibility within the company, including labour and management representatives.

Implementation and monitoring of agreement

The signatories will agree on actions to implement the agreement. In countries where the company has a large presence, the implementation will lead to the creation of a work programme.

Furthermore, the signatories agree that, in each of these countries, local social observatories will be set up to monitor the application of the agreement on an annual basis.

In addition, the parties have also agreed to examine the possibility of establishing a Global Council in three years’ time. A first step in this direction will involve allowing Latin American trade union representatives to attend European Works Council (EWC) meetings as observers.

Commentary

This agreement is the latest in a series of international framework agreements (see, for example, EU0601206F, EU0207203F, EU0509205F, EU0509201N, and EU0410203N), aimed at guaranteeing minimum international labour standards. In the case of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the agreement also contains commitments that go beyond core labour standards.

Trade unions welcome such agreements, considering them an important instrument in the context of increasing globalisation.

According to PSA Peugeot Citroën’s Executive Vice-President of Human Resources and Relations, Jean-Luc Vergne, the agreement ‘is a major contribution to the sustainable growth of our Group, not only in terms of ethics and human rights, but also in terms of corporate social responsibility in all of the regions in which the Group operates’.

Volker Telljohann, Institute for Labour Foundation, Bologna