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Worker Representation in France

Yonatan Reshef
School of Business
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta
T6G 2R6 CANADA

 
  1. COMITÉ D'ENTREPRISE - (WORKS COUNCIL)
    (Term sometimes misleadingly translated as "enterprise committee.") An institution of employee representation, compulsory since 1945 in enterprises with more than 50 employees. Possessing legal status, the works council in France is a collegiate body composed not only of employee members elected by the workforce but also of the head of the enterprise (who chairs the council and takes part in certain votes) and of representatives appointed by the trade unions (who act in a purely consultative capacity).

    Its position in the enterprise is singular. It is responsible for company welfare and cultural facilities. The law invests it with only consultative powers in regard to employer initiatives concerning the organization and management of the enterprise. Other than in the case of profit-sharing agreements, it possesses no formal bargaining power.

    In practice, the dividing line between consultation, which is the prerogative of the works council, and collective bargaining, which is the prerogative of the representative trade unions, is a very fine one. Numerous agreements, formal or otherwise, are concluded between the head of an enterprise and the works council, and the courts accord these a certain legal force, at the least as unilateral undertakings on the part of the employer. The institution is a complex one. It is a counterweight to managerial prerogatives, yet also enables their exercise to be rationalized. It is a complement to union power, yet is also virtually its competitor.

  2. DÉLÉGUÉ DU PERSONNEL - WORKFORCE (PERSONNEL) DELEGATE
    Person elected by all of the employees of an establishment (whether union members or not, and therefore not to be translated as "shop steward") to a recognized office which consists in presenting individual and collective grievances to management and bringing to the attention of the Labour Inspectorate any complaints or comments in connection with the regulations for whose enforcement the Inspectorate is responsible.

    A very recent Law invests the workforce delegate with the authority, in cases of infringement of the rights and freedoms of individuals, to request the employer to take corrective action and, should it then become necessary, to bring the matter before an Industrial Tribunal. Nowadays, this form of workforce representation is required by law in all enterprises or establishments with 10 or more employees.

    Its origins are complex, since it is simultaneously an extension of the historical practice of delegates chosen by and from among the employees of an enterprise to speak on their behalf in dealings with management; the historical institution of miners' delegates (who were originally responsible for health and safety); the institution of workplace delegates (délégués d'atelier) first created in the public sector during the First World War; and the demand for workers' control which, in some of its aspects, the Popular Front Government of 1936 sought to satisfy.

    The regulations currently governing the election, functions, means of action and protection of these delegates date from 1946 and 1982. This is the most widespread form of employee representation in France; its legitimacy is very firmly founded, even though the powers and responsibilities of workforce delegates are limited in comparison with those of the works councils and trade union delegates.

  3. DÉLÉGUÉS SYNDICAUX - UNION DELEGATES/SHOP STEWARDS
    Unions have a legal right to name union delegates in companies with more than 50 employees. In smaller firms, the personnel delegates can be named union delegates for their term of office, unless a more advantageous system is created by industrial agreement.

    Legally, union delegates are in charge of "defending the material and moral interests" of the workers. This includes organizing union life within the firm, collecting dues and convening union meetings. Coordinating the activities of union members in works councils is another general prerogative of union delegates. Like the personnel delegates, the union delegates are responsible for representing workers' individual and collective grievances. But their true representative role lies in the area of collective bargaining.

    Union delegates can bargain with management and sign company or plant agreements. The 1982 legislation makes it obligatory for management to bargain locally on matters such as wages, working hours, time schedules, and worker participation at regular intervals. Like elected representatives, the union delegates are protected against dismissals, and the firm pays them for a certain number of hours spent on union activities.

  4. COMITÉ D'HYGIENE, DE SÉCURITÉ ET DES CONDITIONS DE TRAVAIL - WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY COMMITTEE
    Body representing the workforce of an enterprise. Prior to 1982, it formed part of the works council. Since 1982 it has been a separately constituted body, with the purpose of helping to protect employees' health and safety at work and to improve working conditions.

    Compulsory in enterprises with more than 50 employees, it is composed of the head of the enterprise and employee members appointed by a special body comprising elected representatives of the workforce. It has special means of access to information, may take certain initiatives (such as the right to issue a notification of danger) without, however, possessing the authority to halt production, and performs a major consultative role.



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