Turlan, Frédéric

A plan to help revive the ailing car industry in France, backed with €60 million of government and industry money, was signed on 20 December 2012. The new car charter (in French, 211 Kb PDF) [1] covers car manufacturers and their suppliers from the metallurgical, plastics, rubber and textiles industries, as well as companies from the automotive service sector, the trade unions and the government. [1] http://travail-emploi.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/charte_automobile_-_20_dec_2012.pdf

Struggling steelmaking giant ArcelorMittal [1], which operates in 60 countries and employs around 260,000 people worldwide, had a difficult 2012 in Luxembourg where it employs 3,000 workers. Despite uncertainties surrounding the future of ArcelorMittal’s sites in Luxembourg, and after several months of negotiations, early in the year there had been some progress with social partners in the steelmaking sector and the government. On 28 March 2012, a newspaper article (in French) [2] said that a tripartite memorandum of understanding had been signed setting out a plan to tackle growing economic problems. [1] http://www.arcelormittal.com/corp/ [2] http://www.lequotidien.lu/l-economie/33214.html

On 2 February 2012, Luxembourg’s Minister of Social Security, Mars Di Bartolomeo, presented the government’s draft reform (in French, 905Kb PDF) [1] of the state pension system. According to the proposals, the burden of financing the pension system would be shared between the workers, employers and the state. [1] http://www.mss.public.lu/pension/reforme_pension/projet_loi_version_deposee.pdf

The European Commission is calling on all Member States to address the problem of youth unemployment, which it says is costing the region billions of euros. On 5 December 2012, the Commission presented a package of measures in its initiative on a Youth Guarantee and a Quality Framework for Traineeships. It wants Member States to ensure all young people are offered work and training.

The future of the Sevelnord [1] car plant in northern France, a subsidiary of manufacturer PSA Peugeot-Citroën [2], was at risk on two fronts. Its output had reduced to 76,000 vehicles in 2012, compared with 150,000 in 2008, and Italian car maker Fiat [3] had decided to end its partnership with the PSA group to manufacture vehicles at the site. [1] http://www.sevelnord.psa.fr/ [2] http://www.psa-peugeot-citroen.com/ [3] http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=it&u=http://www.fiatgroup.com/&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dfiat%2Bgroup%26hl%3Den%26tbo%3Dd&sa=X&ei=4dGkUM7VO_KY1AXf9YDADw&ved=0CEcQ7gEwAA

A European Commission consultation document (84Kb PDF) [1] has highlighted the fact that transnational company agreements (TCAs) began to be concluded in significant numbers from 2000. By the start of 2012, about 144 companies had concluded at least one European Framework Agreement [2] (EFA) or International Framework Agreement [3] (IFA), covering a total of 10 million employees. [1] http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=8767&langId=en [2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/search/node/areas OR industrialrelations OR dictionary OR letter-e?oldIndex [3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/international-framework-agreement

Since 2011, the European Works Council [1] (EWC) at French banking group BNP Paribas [2] has set up working groups on employment, equal opportunities and psychosocial risks. The company, which has 200,000 employees including more than 150,000 in the European Union, wants the groups to pave the way for European social dialogue on these topics. [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/european-works-councils [2] http://www.bnpparibas.com/en

Didier Lombard, who was Chief Executive Officer of France Télécom [1] for five years between 2005 and 2010, resigned from the company’s operational management in March 2010. His position had become untenable after the suicides of as many as 35 employees between January 2008 and the end of 2009. The group had been engaged in restructuring operations and had cut 22,000 jobs between 2006 and 2008, while transferring 10,000 employees to other positions (*FR0911029I* [2]). [1] http://www.orange.com/en/group [2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/undefined/wave-of-employee-suicides-sweep-france-tlcom

A number of disputes affected the civil aviation industry in 2011, including a dispute involving airport security officers in December. The government replaced striking workers with police officers, drawing heavy criticism from trade unions. Following this, National Assembly member Éric Diard proposed the introduction of legislation similar to that within the land passenger transport sector (Law no. 2007-1224 of 21 August 2007 on social dialogue and the continuity of public services within scheduled passenger land transport (in French, 143Kb PDF) [1]). The Ministry of Transport has reported that there have been 1,131 disputes in the civil aviation sector in the last three years, representing 176 days of disruption, 63 of them in 2011. The new law, which was supported by the government, applies to airlines and to companies whose activity is related to air travel, such as airport operators, airport security and aircraft maintenance. [1] http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf//jopdf/2007/0822/joe_20070822_0193_0002.pdf

The establishment of this new European social dialogue committee followed the adoption in 2009 of a recommendation by the High Level Group on the Competitiveness of the Agro-Food Industry (57.5Kb PDF) [1], a multi-stakeholder forum that brings together EU institutions and business and civil society stakeholders in the EU food supply chain. [1] http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/food/files/high_level_group_2008/documents_hlg/final_recommendations_hlg_17_03_09_en.pdf