Based on action already taken in the private sector, the government commenced bargaining on working conditions in the civil service in July 2008. Market and managerial constraints had already been transposed from the private sector to the civil service; however, extra resources had not been
In August 2008, the President of the French postal services company La Poste [1], Jean-Paul Bailly, announced that between €2.5 and €3.5 billion would be required to provide La Poste with the financial resources necessary to enable it to adapt to the full liberalisation of the postal services market
The process of reforming the Labour Code [1] (/Code du Travail/) based ‘on established law’ started in February 2005. It has taken more than two years and 16 consultations with employer organisations and trade unions for the Ministry of Labour, Social Relations and Solidarity (Ministère du Travail
In December 2006, the debate on introducing Sunday opening hours in shops was relaunched following several legal disputes on the issue. As a result, the French government referred the matter to the Economic and Social Council (Conseil économique et social, CES [1]) for discussion. [1] http://www
Three historical labour events which took place during 2006 served to emphasise the need to modernise the French system of social dialogue, as well as its forms of operation and processes of governance. The three occasions are described below.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, schools and universities began to develop links with the working world, in order to facilitate the transition from education to employment through work placements and vocational training [1] courses. However, unlike vocational training placements, those involving young
Legislation devolving new responsibilities to France's regions and départements came into force in August 2004. One result is the transfer of some 130,000 state employees to lower levels of government. These include 90,000 non-teaching staff in the national education system, and their transfer is a
The findings of a survey conducted by the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour and Solidarity into working conditions in the French civil service, published in October 2003, challenges many widely-held ideas about public employment and the difference between it and the private sector. Working
In October 2002, it was confirmed that the French government will cut over 1,700 posts in the civil service in 2003, mainly in education, finance and public works. The staffing cuts are linked to decentralisation and reform of the state on the one hand and, on the other, to the opportunity resulting
Debate about health and safety at work in France has been intensified over 2001-2 by the publication of several highly critical reports on the prevention of work-related accidents and occupational illnesses, various legislative developments and a landmark court ruling on employers' responsibility