some achievements

more than 4,000 employees undergoing professional development training
Orange has established 45 professional development courses in order to give all the opportunities and skills needed to employees who wish to switch to a new type of role. More than 4,000 employees have already opted for one of these courses over the last two years.

reinforced social dialogue
2008 was marked by the signing of 16 agreements and amendments, mainly in the domains of remuneration and professional choice. Our European Group Committee, incorporating 32 employee representatives from 20 countries (Great Britain, France, Poland, Spain, Belgium, Romania, Slovakia, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Germany, and Austria) met in person on three occasions in Paris, Cairo and Lyon. Four telephone conferences were also organised during 2008. The Committee is a place for exchange and dialogue on economic, financial and social issues which are of a global nature and which surpass the framework of a country (industrial strategy and innovation, major policy directions in investment, acquisitions, employment, etc...) Lastly, in line with the agreement signed in 2006 with the UNI Global Union on fundamental social rights, regular meetings have been organised with this organisation.
In 2008, the Group held discussions about the creation of a global body for the promotion of social dialogue. Its aim in particular will be to promote dialogue with staff representatives on international projects which go beyond the European framework.

personal/professional life balance: Orange acts in favour of the family
In France on the 11th of April 2008, Orange, along with other large organisations, signed the Charter for Working Parents. Its principles are to promote the balance between professional and personal life, and to ensure that being a parent is not an obstacle to professional advancement. As such, every year for the past six years, we have organised a Kids Day in some of our units in France and abroad: the children of our employees come and find out about their parents’ office and jobs whilst enjoying fun activities. This approach is very common within our Group. For instance, Orange Slovakia has received the award for the most family-friendly employer given out by the Slovakian Ministry of Labour for three years running.

professional equality between men and women
On a Group level, we think that women should be more prominent in the company’s senior management. This is why we are associates of the Women's Forum and participate in various networks such as EPWN (European Professional Women's Network) to identify good practices and contribute to changes in society. We have contributed to the drafting of the Good Practice Guide to promote scientific careers to women under the aegis of the European Union. It is in this context that we have launched shadowing schemes designed to make young women want to become engineers or technicians.


Equal opportunities
We are also involved in numerous initiatives in France aiming for the integration of young people from low-income neighbourhoods and modest backgrounds. Orange is, among others, the leading contributor to the Cercle Passeport Télécoms in 2008 and in 2009 in terms of the number of tutors (160 in total) it contributes. The Cercle is a sector-wide initiative which brings together various telecoms operators; it aims to help students from modest backgrounds to succeed in their studies during their first year of college or French “Grandes Ecoles”. The Cercle was recognised as good practice by HALDE (the French High Authority against Discrimination and for Equality) during the Equality Summit held from 29th to 30th September 2009.

recognition of our commitments
In April 2008, France Telecom received the prize for the company most involved internally in the actions of FACE (Foundation for Action to Combat Exclusion) in the Greater Toulouse region. This prize recognised the commitment of employees from the Group’s southern region unit since 2005. For instance, they participated in the Chrysalis Initiative during which they sponsored women from low-income neighbourhoods to set up their own company.
In addition, Yazid Chir from Orange Business Services received the title of "best initiator of change" at the World Communication Awards, for the creation of “Our Talented Communities”, an association which helps young people from low-income neighbourhoods to find jobs worthy of their skills. A large number of Orange corporate executives are also involved with this association.