Industrial unrest linked to introduction of 35-hour week

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December 1999 saw the final adoption of France's second law on the 35-hour week. The debate over the legislation and its implementation, along with concerns over employment, have prompted a major wave of industrial action affecting many areas of both the private and public sectors.

The second 35-hour working week law was definitively adopted by the French parliament on 15 December 1999. The first law on the 35-hour week, which was adopted in June 1998 (FR9806113F), provided for the introduction of a statutory 35-hour week from January 2000 (2002 for smaller companies) and encouraged the social partners to negotiate on this issue at company and sector level. The second law sets out more detailed legal provisions on the new working time regime (FR9910197N)

The parliamentary debate over the new law led to various types of protests and mobilisations. On 4 October, the CGT trade union confederation held a demonstration in response to a rally organised by the MEDEF employers' confederation on the same day (FR9910114N). Then, on 16 October, a demonstration sponsored by the Communist Party and far-left organisations took place in Paris (FR9911120N). Unemployed organisations joined these bodies in calling a second demonstration of this type on 11 December. Nevertheless, this last-minute protest had no significant impact on the parliamentary vote on the 35-hour week law, which appears to be a compromise between those who favour more restrictive forms of working time reduction and the vociferous hostility from employers' organisations. However, at grassroots level, it appears that a new phase has begun, ushering in widespread industrial unrest focused on the issue of working time.

Wave of industrial action

A wave of industrial action has been sparked by the combination of the 35-hour week debate and an economic situation more favorable to employment. For example, following the 7,500 redundancies recently announced by Michelin (FR9910113F), a "Michelin amendment" was adopted to the second 35-hour week law, which denied government financial assistance to companies which cut their workforces without making the transition to the 35-hour week. Elsewhere, industrial unrest has broken out in numerous areas of the private and public sectors, as follows.

• Industrial unrest experienced in the banking sector illustrates the joint effect of working time and employment issues, since this is an industry where jobs are seriously jeopardised. Privatisation, mergers and the implementation of the euro single currency all significantly threaten jobs. In addition to these factors, the Association of French Banks (Association française des banques, AFB) created a precedent by deciding to terminate the existing sectoral collective agreement in January 1998, in a dispute over the introduction of the 35-hour week (FR9802194F). One year later, AFB attempted to score a first by signing an agreement on the 35-hour week with a single trade union, the CFE-CGC-affiliated SNB (FR9901151F). However, this agreement was later to be invalidated by a local court of justice (FR9907102N). A national day of action was called for the 30 November 1999 by all the unions represented in the banking sector. Their action was a far greater success than CGT's 35-hour week rally held on the same day. Between 30% and 50% of banking sector employees went on strike and several thousand of them took part in a demonstration. This proved to be the most significant industrial action in this sector since 1991.

• In the department stores sector, the decision by the UCV employers' association to terminate the sectoral collective agreement was also the source of tension, along with a stalemate in negotiations on the 35-hour week and the fact that "non-standard" working hours have become generalised, with little support from employees. The unions were due to present their 35-hour week proposals on 17 December, at the height of the Christmas period. A strike at one of France's largest book and music stores, FNAC, disrupted the supply of goods to the company's three largest stores in Paris. The CFDT, CGT, CGT-FO and SUD unions are demanding, in particular, guarantees on the numbers of employees to be taken on under the 35-hour week system.

• Uncertainty about, and delays in negotiating, the 35-hour working week have led to tension in various public sector organisations. At the national telecommunications company France Télécom, negotiations on the 35-hour week have stalled. The company's management proposes to take on 1,000 new workers and has offered only an extra half day off per year for the majority of workers and an extra full day for management. At the post office (La Poste), the two majority unions, CGT and SUD, organised a one-day strike emphasising their stance of "no reduction of working time without creation of jobs." This industrial action finally persuaded post office management to open negotiations and re-examine the agreement reached with other unions in February (FR9902158N). Moreover, the post office in Corsica has been at a standstill since 19 October. The 35-hour week is at the heart of the dispute there too, with unions demanding 70 new positions in return for a four-hour cut in the working week. At the SNCF national railway company (FR9905182F), negotiations on reducing working time were due to start on 14 December, and a six-day strike by ticket inspectors has already indicated that jobs are an issue. CGT and CFDT have already decried the proposed loss of 1,500 jobs - out of a total workforce of 175,000 - during 2000. CFDT has calculated that the transition to the 35-hour week should allow for the creation of 16,000 new jobs.

• The unions represented in the oil industry called on the 110,000 workers in this sector to take part in a two-day strike on the 17 and 18 December. This strike is in support of the demands made by the unions regarding the implementation of the 35-hour week in the industry.

• Unions represented in the computer services sector are taking action to force employers to negotiate over the 35-hour week. They are demanding more jobs with neither pay cuts nor greater flexibility. Following a series of stoppages and a day of action on 26 November, a further day of action was planned for 16 December.

• The implementation of the 35-hour week was also the focus of two weeks of industrial action by ONET workers responsible for cleaning the Paris metro system, unrest in refuse collection services in Lille and action in school transport services in eastern France, (Besançon, Montbéliard and Dole). Elsewhere, employees at the famous champagne producer Roederer took strike action in an attempt to obtain negotiations on the reduction of working time. Finally, widespread industrial action has affected public television and especially public radio stations, with the issue of the 35-hour week adding to a deep-seated specific discontent in this sector (FR9912124N).

• A further factor in the industrial unrest is the dissatisfaction felt by managerial and professional staff with regard to article 5 of the second 35-hour week law, which provides for the calculation of working time in days rather than in weekly hours for these staff. On 24 November, several thousand managerial and professional staff took part in a demonstration on this issue, which constituted a first for these workers (FR9912122N).

Commentary

Overall, if other recent industrial unrest involving firefighters, hospital emergency service employees, Finance Ministry employees or Lorraine miners is taken into account, a revival in trade union activity can be seen in France at present. The 35-hour week issue is to some extent compelling unions to develop meaningful proposals combining jobs, wages and working time. Wage freezes, which are the classic counterpart for cuts in working time, are not easily accepted at a time of economic recovery. The annualisation of working hours and the intensification of work also contribute to reformulating employee aspirations. (Michel Husson, IRES)