This report looks at the evolution of initiatives related to older employees undertaken by selected organisations (case studies) in France over the last decade. It reviews the following points: main impacts of measures/initiatives at the company level; driving forces for implementing good practice
A conflict began in the French milk industry in mid May 2009 when the cooperatives informed milk producers of the price for April’s production: €210–€220 per 1,000 litres, representing a 30% decrease in the milk price in the space of a year. Industrial action mounted with blockades of dairies
At an extraordinary meeting on 15 April 2009, the trade union and employer organisations managing the National Union for Employment in Industry and Commerce (Union nationale interprofessionnelle pour l’emploi dans l’industrie et le commerce, Unédic [1]) almost unanimously adopted an agreement with
The law on funding the French social security system in 2009 (*FR0901029I* [1]) was adopted on 17 December 2008 and introduced an obligation to negotiate company agreements on the employment of older people. In the absence of such an agreement or plan of action by 1 January 2010, companies and
The social security finance bill, which was adopted in France on 27 November 2008, includes several new provisions for keeping older people in employment. These measures reflect government decisions made in the framework of the ‘/Rendez-vous 2008/’ discussions with the social partners on pension
As of 1 January 2009, most of the French state’s decentralised services at regional and departmental level are going to progressively merge and/or be reorganised, with the creation of regional business, consumption, competition, labour and employment directorates (Directions régionales des
Following a call by the organisation known as the Collective Against Outrageous Exploitation (Collectif contre l’exploitation outrancière/Liyannaj Kont Pwofitasyon, LKP [1]), a general strike protesting against the high cost of living was held on 20 January 2009 in Guadeloupe – one of the four
After almost two years of bargaining, an agreement on non-discrimination on grounds of age and the employment of older people in the financial intermediation sector was reached in France by the relevant social partners on 9 July 2008. Some 35% of employees in banks are aged 50 years and over. This
In March 2008, the government launched a scheduled process of discussions with the social partners about pension reform (*FR0703029I* [1]), known as /Rendez-vous 2008/. The 2003 Fillon pension reform provided for adjustments to the pensions system every four years based on changing demographic
The reform of the special pension schemes (*FR0703029I* [1]), which was announced by the government on 9 September 2007, concerns the electricity and gas industries – namely the French Electricity Board (Electricité de France, EDF [2]) and the French Gas Board (Gaz de France, GDF [3]) – along with
Negotiations at intersectoral level on ‘defining and taking into account arduous work’ re-opened in June 2007, after more than a year’s break and several demonstrations. The talks should be concluded by March 2008.