Collective Bargaining

Energy unions FNME-CGT and FNEM-FO have denounced the EDF energy company for resorting to the courts, in order to try to undermine the industrial action taking place across the sector. Both unions have made their determination clear as to maintain their campaigns of strikes and demonstrations in support of their claim for a 5% pay increase and payment of a Euro 1,500 lump sum. At sectoral level, the employers have so far refused to make any offer after having implemented a 0.3% pay increase at the beginning of the year (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 2 May 2009).
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/312;
French: http://www.fnme-cgt.fr/pages/communique.php?id=14;
http://www.fnem-fo.org/content/view/499/1/

Public and private sector union federations are continuing their mass campaigns over government policy and responses to the crisis. The eight public sector union federations have again joined to support the national days of action on 26 May and 13 June and to re-affirm their main demands to the government. These include immediate negotiations to secure an increase in the index covering public sector pay and revision of the public sector salary structure. The unions also want an end to job cuts and closures as well as to transfers of services that are combining to undermine the quality of public services and the working conditions of public sector employees (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 2 March and April 2009).
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/307#a5110
French: http://www.cgt.fr/spip.php?article36105
http://www.force-ouvriere.fr/page_principal/semaine/.
http://www.cfdt.fr/rewrite/article/19860/actualites/.

The four main federations in the energy sector - FNME-CGT, FNEM-FO, CFDT and CGC - are keeping up their various forms of action in support of their demands for salary increases in the sector and a stop to outsourcing and closures. Apart from strike action and demonstrations, the unions are also using targeted power cuts to get their message across. An industry day of action on 19 May was followed by the four federations joining the national cross-sectoral demonstrations on 26 May. The unions are frustrated by the employers' refusal to negotiate and called on president Nicolas Sarkozy to put pressure of the employers to break their "wall of silence".
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/307#a5110
French: http://www.fnme-cgt.fr/pages/communique.php?id=10
http://www.fnem-fo.org/content/view/457/1/

Following the successful national mobilisation on 29 January and the even larger turnout in protests and strikes on 19 March, the eight main national trade union confederations have issued another joint call for nationwide demonstrations on 1 May. They are also calling on their member organisations to mobilise throughout April in preparation for the 1 May events. The unions continue to call for increases to public sector pay and an end to government policies that are increasing precarious employment in the public sector and cutting funding that is undermining service quality.
English: http://www.epsu.org/r/174;
French: http://www.cgt.fr/spip.php?article35908; http://www.force-ouvriere.fr/page_principal/fede/index.asp?lk=fd&id=4311&fed=F‚d‚ration G‚n‚rale des Fonctionnaires FO; https://www.cfdt.fr/rewrite/article/18834/actualites/un-1er-mai-intersyndical-exceptionnel.htm?idRubrique=6864

The management of French carmaker Renault and four union organizations (CFDT, CFTC, CFE-CGC and FO) have signed a "social crisis agreement" aimed at saving 8,000-10,000 jobs in France in 2009. The agreement establishes a system to maintain employees' net pay during partial unemployment, mobilizing days granted for working time reduction and calling some categories of employees, notably executives, for solidarity. A few days earlier, the PSA Peugeot Citro‰n group had signed an agreement with five unions (CFDT, CFTC, CFE-CGC, FO and GSEA) on training and compensation during partial unemployment, with the objective to compensate employees sent to partial unemployment up to 100% while attending training. With this agreement, the social partners think that they will save 2,800 jobs.
English: message to EUCOBAN network of European Metalworkers' Federation (EMF);
French: www.planetlabor.com

The eight public sector trade union federations (CFDT, CFTC, CFE-CGC, CGT, FO, FSE, Solidaires, and UNSA) have joined together to condemn the government's failure to respond to any of their demands. The federations met with public service minister Eric Woerth on 3 March and called for a moratorium on job cuts, negotiations on an increase in pay in view of the decline of real pay since 2000 and a reform of the public sector pay system. Woerth simply restated government policy, failing to take account of the impact on citizens and service quality. As a consequence, the eight federations organized a second nationwide day of action on 19 March. The response was even better than on 29 January: around three million workers are estimated to have taken part in over 200 demonstrations around the country. The federations meet again on 30 March to decide about the next steps in their campaign.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/302;
French: http://www.force-ouvriere.fr/page_principal/communique/index.asp?fl=&id=1621&nbre;
http://www.cgt.fr/spip.php?article35857;
http://www.cfdt.fr/rewrite/article/18551/actualites/le-19-mars,-une—journee-reussie—de-mobilisation.htm?idRubrique=6864

Following the widespread support for the public and private sector national day of action on 29 January, with an estimated 2.5 million demonstrators, the eight trade union confederations involved are planning another nationwide mobilisation on 19 March. The government response to 29 January produced nothing concrete for the public sector federations. The federations have reiterated their key demands: 1. end the policy of job cuts and stop those currently planned under the 2009 budget; 2. increase public sector pay and reform the pay structure to improve the career prospects of public sector workers; 3. withdraw any plans for relocating or closing local services that have a serious impact on staff as well as local service users; 4. provide the financial resources to maintain services instead of imposing austerity measures on central government, local and regional government and the health service. The federations supporting the action are CFDT, CFTC, CFE-CGC, CGT, FO, FSE, Solidaires, and UNSA.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/287
French: http://www.spterritoriaux.cgt.fr/spip.php?article3036
http://www.spterritoriaux.cgt.fr/spip.php?article3035

As was to be expected, the government has lifted the payments for workers in companies under the French short-time compensation program ("ch“mage technique" or "ch“mage partiel") per 1 January 2009 from 50% to 60% of gross wages, and the minimum hourly amount from Euro 4.42 to Euro 6.84. Moreover, the 600-hours' term per worker for application of the program has generally been lifted to 800 hours and for the textile, clothing and leather industry and the car industry to 1,000 hours (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 1 No. 10).
(French: http://eco.rue89.com/2009/01/04/le-chomage-partiel-etendu-travailler-moins-et-gagner-moins)

In November and December a substantial number of firms, including car manufacturers Renault and PSA, steel producer ArcelorMittal and tire manufacturer Michelin have called upon the French short-time compensation program. If accepted, in cases of economic difficulties under exceptional conditions and with sales falling at least by 50%, participants in funds for "ch“mage technique" or "ch“mage partiel" can fall back on state-governed funds for payment of 50% of wages during maximum 600 hours. In mid-December President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed to widen these arrangements, and subsequently the Ministry of Labour has prolonged the 600-hours term generally to 800 hours and for a number of industries even to 1,000 hours, including car manufacturing.
Moreover, local experiments with so-called "transition contracts" under which redundant workers receive full pay for a year and intensive assistance to find new jobs, are to be extended as part of the government's Euro 26 billion plan to combat unemployment and stimulate the French economy.
(English: Watson Wyatt Data Services, New Industrial Relations Europe, 12/2008; French: http://info.assedic.fr/employeurs/index.php?idmenu=86&idarticle=18&chemin=83%7C86%7C&idPage=631ec05905c790bb350542e808b87180; http://www.lemonde.fr/cgi-bin/ACHATS/acheter.cgi?offre=ARCHIVES&type_item=ART_ARCH_30J&objet_id=1060260)

The long-term campaign for a proper system of social dialogue in the public sector will continue to be one of the main collective bargaining issues in 2009, as eight trade union federations will come together to support a day of action across the public and private sectors on 29 January. The unions have a range of demands including compensation for past losses in purchasing power, properly funded public services, an end to job cuts in the public sector and measures to tackle precarious employment conditions.
(English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/280; French: http://www.ugff.cgt.fr/spip.php?article259)