social dialogue

Just as listening is key to successful communications, it is key to good employee relations. We want to ensure that our employees get the most out of their career with Orange, and that means giving them a voice, and listening to what they have to say.Social dialogue is conducted with elected staff representatives and/or union representatives, in line with local practices and the legislation in force in the countries we operate in.

There are close to 400 staff representative bodies within the Group, primarily in Europe, but also in our businesses in Africa. We maintain a neutral attitude in relation to the introduction of unions within Group companies and, on a local level, we respect the local culture and legislation in force.   We reaffirmed our position in the fundamental rights agreement we signed with Union Network International (UNI) in December 2006.

 

Our labor relations policy ensures that staff or union representatives have:
a guarantee of non-discrimination and similar treatment to their colleagues in terms of compensation, training and careers
resources needed for action, such as free time and means of communication

 

staff representative bodies in France
2006 was the first full year in office for staff representatives elected in 2005. The latest staff representative elections took place on January 11 and 25, 2007, with the following staff representative

bodies in place:
a central economic and social unit committee, replacing the central works council (2005-2006)
a Group France committee
38 works councils apart from the Orange France works council
450 establishments for setting up staff representatives. More than 3,000 members of staff have been elected as staff representatives. The central works council met 29 times, over 49 full days, in 2006.

 

the Group European Works Council
The Group European Works’ council guarantees the same level of information on the business strategy in all our companies throughout Europe.
Today, 18 countries are represented within this council, with 32 staff representatives: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and the UK. Romania also joined these countries on January 1, 2007.

 

labor relations agreements
Our global agreement with Union Network International (UNI) reaffirms our commitment to:

upholding fundamental human rights, notably preventing any use of forced labor, child abuse and any form of discrimination, while also ensuring health and safety at work, and respecting freedom of union membership;
implementing a dynamic employment policy, offering access to training, international mobility and gender equality; and
applying ethical principles in dealing with suppliers and subcontractors, in accordance with the Group Code of Ethics.

This agreement applies to all companies that are directly or indirectly controlled by the Orange France Telecom Group. It sets out dialog as a key priority, with the Group and the UNI initiating this when difficulties arise, in order to find solutions together before any external initiatives are needed.

Not all countries have a “contractual” approach to social dialog, but we have also signed various agreements with our labor relations partners across the world. On the whole, the areas covered by such agreements include social rights, compensation, the organization of work, the right to be part of a union, staff representation and major organizational changes.
Any decision relating to organizational changes with significant impacts on jobs and the organization of work results information and dialogue with staff representative bodies.