Responding to the social imperatives of globalisationNº 23 | OCTOBER 2016

We have lost a man of vision and a great leader P 2 TRENDS

QUALITY OF LIFE AT WORK DURING PERIODS OF ECONOMIC CRISIS: SECOND FIDDLE TO COMPETITIVENESS?

P 3 WORK BY THE DELEGATIONS

GETTING YOUNG MOROCCANS INTO THE LABOUR FORCEOSI-MOROCCO

P 5 PRODUCTIVITY AND NATIONAL DIALOGUEOSI-LATIN AMERICA

P 6 CSR AS A DRIVING FORCE OF ECONOMIC CHANGEOSI-CHINA

P 7 OSI AND ENGIE AT THE PARALYMPIC GAMES IN RIO DE JANEIROOSI-LATIN AMERICA

P 8 WORK IN THE REGIONS

WORK IN THE DIGITAL AGEMARSEILLE

P 9 OSI PARTNERS DISCUSS THE ISSUES

OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT ENGAGED TO IMPROVE HEALTH AT WORK?

P 12 TRANSFORMATION, DIGITAL, HEALTH AND WORK: FROM THE VIRTUAL TO THE REAL6th «Health and well-being at work» meeting, 16 June 2016

P 10 OSI MEETINGS

GLOBAL MANAGEMENT OF SOCIAL POLICIES IN COMPANIES? Round table, 30 June 2016

Jérôme Monod

With the death of Jérôme Monod, France has lost a great man.

It is with immense sadness that the OSI learned of the death of Jérôme Monod, former Chairman of SUEZ.

The Observatoire Social International remembers his decisive role in laying the foundations of the OSI. He had a broad and extremely diverse career. Following an impor-tant urban planning role (Délégué Général à l’Aménagement du Territoire (DATAR)), he was then appointed to the position of Chair-man and CEO of Lyonnaise des Eaux, which merged with SUEZ in 1997. He later became advisor to President Jacques Chirac.

In his career, Jérôme Monod combined a passionate commitment to the common good, his belief in the role of government and his faith in the ability of businesses and social organisations to build France into a powerful country to take its rightful place in the community of nations. In his actions, he underlined the essentially noble calling of political engagement to serve people.

He had a strong personality. He could be cutting, but also had the ability to listen and come to an understanding with those who did not share his ideas, especially in the public interest. He did not suffer yes men gladly, preferring people who stood up for their principles and values. Jérôme Monod stood out for his expansive vision of the world of the future.

One of his frequent sayings was “Be

European and set your sights on the world”. At the helm of Lyonnaise des Eaux, he criss-crossed the world to win new contracts for the company.

As a senior executive, he understood that the social dimension could not be seen as sec-ondary or a mere by-product of economic or financial decisions. In his opinion, social issues were a constituent part of company strategy.

In essence, we owe the very establishment of the OSI to Jérôme Monod. Whereas he knew that there was no turning back from globalisation, he maintained that the process could not be seen only in terms of economic, commercial and financial interests. In his world view, the social, human and cultural dimensions should all be given equal weight.

Back in 1997, when we and Dominique Fortin suggested the formation of a social observatory bringing together business leaders, trade unions, researchers, academics and government leaders, his response was one of passionate determination. He not only supported the idea, but gave it the resources it needed, with the unfailing backing and com-mitment of Gérard Mestrallet in 2000 in Rome.

During his funeral oration, Reverend Woody caught the essence of his personality when he described his most characteristic trait as: “a sense of the tragic, transcendence and loyalty.”

The Observatoire Social International honours his memory. We remember him as a great leader, a man open to the wonders of the world, a man of huge integrity, a man of high standards who was passionate about public service.

Muriel Morin, President Jean Kaspar, Vice-President

TRENDS

QUALITY OF LIFE AT WORK DURING PERIODS OF ECONOMIC CRISIS: SECOND FIDDLE TO COMPETITIVENESS?BY CHRISTOPHE NGUYEN, CHAIRMAN OF CONSULTING FIRM, EMPREINTE HUMAINE

Christophe Nguyen, Chairman of Paris-based consulting firm, Empreinte Humaine, contributes to the discussion on Quality of life at work. He analyses the links between an employer’s brand and quality of life in the workplace.

By skimping on the well-be-ing of their workers, many employers dent the compet-itiveness of their company.

You will all have heard: “The well-being of my employees? Sure, some fine day. But right now, I have lim-ited room for manoeuvre, what with the financial crisis, budget cuts and share-holders. We have to keep our head above water and concentrate on generating revenue.” What this attitude says is that the present economic gloom inevitably leads to ill-being in the workplace. It sees well-being at work as a luxury, only open to companies that are doing well and mindful of their image. Well-being at work is a “bonus” to be granted in return for results. This vision positions quality of life at work as something outside the workplace.

Underlying this give-and-take approach (“I provide my work and I

expect a reward”) can be an arbitrary connection between the work employees do and a hypothetical, deferred reward.

COMPETITIVENESS FIRST, WELL-BEING SECOND?

Let's take the example of a manufactur-ing company. In a mature and competi-tive market, it had to adjust production volumes to customer demand, while carefully managing resources and con-trolling costs. In a nutshell: work faster, better and with less. The company set about adjusting production capacity to minimise inventory. Without compromis-ing its quality policy, it also monitored machinery use to prevent over-use and potential breakages, that would gener-ate additional costs and productivity losses. On the human resources side, hours worked and headcount were also adjusted in line with the order book. After making these changes, the company saw an upsurge in delivery problems and quality issues – to customers' great dis-satisfaction. During our study we found high levels of stress in the maintenance department. Technicians complained that there wasn't enough staff and that it was common for them to be working in “degraded mode”. Their schedule was disrupted by breakdowns and continu-ous unnecessary calls from other teams.

They also reported the development of tensions between the maintenance and the other teams. It was as if the new company organisation, based on responsive working methods by teams, had exacerbated underlying feelings of inequality, which found their expression in inter-departmental conflicts.

QUALITY OF LIFE AT WORK: A STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT VALUE

Over and above a purely quantitative approach (focusing on 'labour), it is important to look at the qualitative impacts of ever-increasing demands on workers on the workplace ecosystem. Many scientific studies show a strong link between employee health and company efficiency. The difficulty lies not so much in explaining the negative impacts of eroding quality of life at work, but rather in explaining that it is not necessary to wait until problems appear before act-ing. Enshrining employee well-being as a strategic value and principle of good governance is far more effective and less costly (in both financial and human terms) than managing problems after they arise. Employees are not wrong: 87% believe that a good quality working environment is good for workers and good for companies.

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WORK BY THE DELEGATIONS OSI-MOROCCO

MARRAKECH: THE OSI TO ATTEND COP 22 The next international Conference of the Parties (COP 22) will be held in Marrakech. The OSI will be organising an event focusing on the key role of women and young people in implementing the objectives of the Paris Agreement. The event will report on the initiatives by women and young people in Tunisia, Côte d’Ivoire and Morocco targeting the environment, promotion of women, and the training and employment of young people.

GETTING YOUNG MOROCCANS INTO THE LABOUR FORCE In Morocco, improving employment opportunities for young people is seen as essential for tackling the challenges of social cohesion, economic development and climate change. The OSI-Morocco prepared an inventory of existing initiatives and the status of employment promotion programmes in the country. Amine Homman, Chairman of the North Africa region of ENGIE Africa, and a delegate of OSI-Morocco, and Fatima Lakbili, Head of HR & Communications at ENGIE Morocco, presented the main findings of the initiative.

Is increasing employment of young people important for Moroccan companies?

Amine Homman : Absolutely. Young people are the most vulnerable to long-

term unemployment and under-employment, two scourges that have a high social and economic cost. Fewer young people are employed, the unemployment rate is rising, young people are more educated – in urban areas, almost 20% of graduates are unemployed – illustrating the mismatch between education and the needs of private enterprise.

This situation creates impatience and frustration. Companies need staff with technical and service qualifications to grow, but there is a shortage of these skills in the labour market. This is especially true in emerging sectors, such as our own industry, energy efficiency.

What are the lessons learned from the work you did with OSI-Morocco?

Fatima Lakbili : Besides the mismatch between

young peoples' skills and the needs of business, we also found that young people understand very little about the labour market, due to the fact that there are virtually no advice and career guidance services available to them.

The other major causal factors are a lack of investment in growth sectors that create jobs and the weakness of schemes to promote youth employment. We also inventoried Moroccan programs to bring young Moroccans into the labour force, from schemes aimed at helping businesses to create jobs to incentives to

"Almost 20% of university graduates are unemployed."

LA LETTRE Nº 23 / OCTOBER 2016 3

WORK BY THE DELEGATIONS OSI-MOROCCO

" The vast majority of young people are not familiar with the many schemes available to help them into work."

encourage companies to hire young people. Our inventory lists a great many schemes and initiatives, in both the public sector to improve employability and promote enterprise creation, and the private sector.

Are companies active in this area?

A.H. : Yes, a number of foundations have been established by companies,

such as the Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP), the real estate company ADDOHA and the water and power utility LYDEC. These foundations offer services in the areas of employability, qualification and training, guidance, enterprise creation support, as well as work-based learning programs and initiatives to promote enterprise culture, such as the courses offered by the Moroccan

Maître Donia Hedda Ellouze, OSI-Tunisia representative

NEW OSI DELEGATION IN TUNISIAThe OSI has a new delegation in Tunisia, led by Maître Donia Hedda Ellouze, a lawyer committed to the country's economic development, spreading democracy and improving the position of women.

It began with a number of events, including a working seminar at Maison de la Tunisie, at Paris Cité Universitaire, in the presence of the Ambassador and other leading figures, to discuss the theme of "Women: the fulcrum of socio-economic change in Tunisia".

The young Republic of Tunisia inherited a history of promoting equality and freedom for women, based on its 1956 Personal Status Code.

Women were at the forefront of the Arab Spring in Tunisia. They were active in ensuring the success of political transition and economic and social development in the country.

This first seminar organized in partnership with Eurogroup Consulting will highlight the contribution of women to promoting freedom and modernizing Tunisian society. A second seminar is planned for January 2017 in Tunis.

occupational training body, the OFPPT.

We think that these are the most effective initiatives to get young people into work and the most sustainable in the long term.

What are the other relevant points of your inventory?

F.L. : Initiatives focus almost exclusively on unemployment amongst the most qualified people, but the problems of precarious work, informal working, and gender, sector and regional disparities are equally deserving of attention. Moreover, the statistical tools are poorly coordinated and do not produce regular, reliable and worthwhile information. Above all, the vast majority of young people are not familiar with the many schemes available to help them into work. A web platform is one initiative proposed by the University of Casablanca to remedy this problem.

Through its network (ENGIE, Meditel, Lafarge, LYDEC and Prometheus, etc.), the OSI-Morocco plans to support this project for the creation of an information website for all young people and all agencies involved in youth employment. We will present this partnership at COP 22 in Marrakech next year.

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WORK BY THE DELEGATIONSOSI-LATIN AMERICA

Officially opened on 17 May 2016 by Muriel Morin, President of the Observatoire Social Inter-national, Fabio Bertranou, ILO Director for the South Cone of Latin America, and Àlvaro Gar-cia, President of Valor Minero

in Chile, the seminar consisted of two expert workshops, one on “The challenges of productivity for employers and trade unions”, and the other on “The impact of industrial capital expenditure and its contribution to regional development: the place of social dialogue”. Backed by its partners in Chile, the OSI makes regular contributions with the aim of deepening understanding of the main corporate social responsibility questions in Chile and South America. This seminar follows on from our work on CSR models in Latin America, extra-financial ratings and socially responsible investment (SRI).

PRODUCTIVITY IN CHILE: THE CHALLENGES

The first half of the day was devoted to “The challenges of Chile's national productivity agenda”. Attendees at this first workshop included representatives of the Chilean Department of Labour, the President of the trade union federation, the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT), Bárbara Figueroa, the Chairman of the Chilean Confederation of Production and Commerce (CPC, the equivalent of the French Business Confederation, MEDEF), Fernando Alvear, as well as the external relations manager of the copper workers' federation (Federación de Trabajadores del Cobre), and representatives from CODELCO and other public and private sector companies.

The President of Valor Minero reported on labour productivity in Chile and the other points in the public debate initiated by the country's President, who called sev-eral tripartite meetings between workers, business and government. The President of the CUT trade union federation and the Secretary-General of the Confederation of Production and Commerce outlined their proposals for improving productivity, from the point of view of workers and employers, respectively.

It was clear from the discussions between the delegates that measures to improve productivity of workers and the means of production in Chile will be one of the main themes for the country's future economic growth. By creating a consensus-based approach to tackling the

Working to improve corporate social responsibility, the OSI-Chile organized a day-long seminar, with the support of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Santiago de Chile and Valor Minero. This marks the first public debate on the issue of productivity between leading industry and business figures and trade unions.

problem, the workshop was a resounding success.

SOCIAL DIALOGUE ON THE IMPACT OF LOCAL DEVELOPMENT INVESTMENT

Álvaro García, President of Valor Minero, explained progress to date in the area of national dialogue, through the participation of public and private organisa-tions, and in cooperation with stakeholders, such as trade and industry bodies. These developments are taking place against the background of new governance in social dialogue, based on a regional dimension, particularly in the mining regions, with the participation of business in each area.

Meeting OSI Chile in Santiago, on May 17th.

CHILE PRODUCTIVITY AND NATIONAL DIALOGUE

LA LETTRE Nº 23 / OCTOBER 2016 5

Alejandro Jara, OSI representative for Latin America, and Marc Deluzet, Senior OSI Officer, presented the OSI-ILO col-laborative study on the impact of regional development investment projects on social dialogue and social acceptability models. The study examines international best practices in social dialogue and the various stages of social dialogue to introduce as part of calls for tenders for investment projects.

The workshop attracted CEOs from major Chilean corporations, including Codelco, Endesa, Enel and Anglo Amer-ican, together with experts and NGOs working in the area of corporate social responsibility. They outlined the obstacles to be overcome and presented innovative initiatives and proposals to strengthen companies' engagement with local and national authorities.

The discussions threw the spotlight on innovative models to manage and measure the social impact of investment, priorities for CSR policy as part of major investment projects, dialogue with communities, the use of reporting models, and objective and consensus-based indicators to promote social dialogue.

The successful day concluded with all parties stating their intention to continue the discussion in two working groups in order to share best practices and collab-orative tools, and produce practical tools on the subject of the two workshops.

The Sino-European Forum jointly organised by the OSI, the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China and the French Embassy's French CSR Club in China on the theme of “Corporate social responsibility as a driving force of economic change in China” focused on the transformation of the Chinese economy.

CHINACSR AS A DRIVING FORCE OF ECONOMIC CHANGE

Since the new government came to power, China has rap-idly ramped up its economy. Its economic direction is clear from the commitments made during COP 21 in Paris at the end of 2015, and the political choices

set out in the country's 13th five-year plan for research, new technologies and innovation.

Held on 13 July 2016 in Beijing at the margins of the G20 Labour and Employment Ministerial Meeting, the Forum was the latest sign of social developments in China. Myriam El Khomri, then French Minister for Labour, Employment, Occupational Training and Social Dialogue, gave the opening address.

There were three round tables, during which delegates presented innovative initiatives and discussed the way forward. The theme for the first round table was “How can CSR serve as a potent means of retaining qualified employees?”

Following an introductory report by the Head of the International Labour Organisation's China Office, several companies spoke about their innovative

labour relations and HR development policies, covering themes such as management, control of overtime, developing social relations and social protection.

The second round table addressed green economy developments in the energy sector:

Alejandro Jara, OSI representative for Latin America

WORK BY THE DELEGATIONSOSI-LATIN AMERICA AND CHINA

LA LETTRE Nº 23 / OCTOBER 2016 6

Opening the meeting, Muriel Morin commented that through their perseverance, support, daring and courage, people with disabilities overcome their challenges by turning them into strengths. A statement that was echoed by the 29 athletes in the Rio Paralympic Team Belgium, sponsored by ENGIE, who were invited to share their experience at the breakfast meeting.

Further contributions followed by Anne van Neste d’Ieteren, Pres-ident of the Belgian Paralympic Committee (BPC), His Excellency, Dirk Loncke, Ambassador of Bel-gium in Brazil, and representatives of companies in Brazil.

Closing the meeting, Muriel Morin announced that ENGIE will shortly sign the Global Business & Disability Network Charter launched by Guy Ryder, Director General of the ILO, the OSI's long-standing partner.

Prior to the opening of the Paralympic Games in Rio, ENGIE and the Observatoire Social International (OSI) organised a breakfast meeting on 7 September on the promotion of employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

THE OSI AND ENGIE AT THE PARALYMPIC GAMES IN RIO DE JANEIRO

Muriel Morin with Princess Astrid of Belgium and her husband, Archduke Lorenz de Habsbourg-Este.

Muriel Morin with His Excellency Dirk Loncke, Ambassador of Belgium

in Brazil, Anne van Neste d’Ieteren, President of

the BPC, Jef Vandorpe and company

representatives.

Top: Belgian paralympic team and bottom: the OSI-Brazil meeting on promotion of employment opportunities for people with disabilities

“What is the contribution of green energy to accelerating the company's growth?” ENGIE China presented its strategic guidelines to promote energy efficiency, seen as a critical sector in China; SHOTO talked about battery recycling, and Orange China showed how the low-en-ergy telecommunications networks it is developing with Huawei will help it to win new market share.

The final round table was on the theme of “Health and safety at work: a key performance driver”. This was one of the first – and rare – opportunities for public dialogue between European and Chinese managers on a “social” issue. It took place in the presence of Veronica Nilsson, Dep-uty Secretary General of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). The fact that it was attended by one of the Heads of China's central occupational health and safety administration and his introductory talk was a clear indication of the extent of change in China. The contri-butions of Solvay, Total and International SOS on their experience in China further confirmed these developments.

This last round table stressed the importance of improved labour relations and social protection standards.

Sino european Forum: Myriam El Khomri, French Minister for Labour, Employment,

Occupational Training and Social Dialogue, and Muriel Morin with the forum's

organising committee.

WORK BY THE DELEGATIONSOSI-CHINA AND LATIN AMERICA

LA LETTRE Nº 23 / OCTOBER 2016 7

Welcomed by Cécile Costes, Regional Sales and Marketing Officer for Malakoff Médéric, the participants

discussed their very diverse experience of the digital revolution at work.

Pierre Le Gal, Environment, Health, Safety and Security Director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Shell Lubricants, has been based in Marseille since 2011 where he heads up the Health and Safety function. Health and Safety is responsible for the company's 3,500 employees in France who are no longer office-based. 20% of these work at home, including his manager. Seven of the 23 employees reporting to him work at home, and he travels four days every month.

On the invitation of the Malakoff Médéric regional delegation, the OSI Club in Marseille organised a breakfast meeting on 19 April 2016 around the subject of “Work in the digital age, impacts on management and health”.

WORK IN THE DIGITAL AGE

WORK IN THE REGIONS

MARSEILLE

emotional needs. Discussions about non-work topics (family, leisure, etc.) help him to connect, to listen to verbal signals and get a feeling for the person's emotional well-being (a dip in motivation or feelings of frustration). The relationships he develops like this are even stronger than those established face-to-face.

Icham Badreddine is Head of Digital, Cus-tomer Service and Management at Malakoff Médéric. For him, digital means shifting from product marketing to customer marketing and focusing the company's organisation on the cus-tomer rather than on the product. The customer can be in-house, but customer relations must be personalised. The difficulty now is to ensure that existing IT equipment keeps step with the digital revolution and to manage change by training staff in digital tools and digital culture.

Kevin Polizzi, Vice President in charge of prospecting and transformation for the Bouches du Rhône business union (MEDEF 13) is also a shareholder in 15 or so companies, including Jaguar Network (110 employees, 70 of them engineers, 30 to 50% annual growth), an infor-mation system host. Digital is the backbone of the company. Information systems are designed for communication both inside the company and outside to customers. Employees no longer want "to be managed"; they want to be listened to and their needs anticipated.

For him, remote working does not create col-lective intelligence, which is critical in his sector. Nonetheless, employees with children who live more than 45 km from work have the option of working off-site two days a week.

The back-and-forth discussion after these three viewpoints focused on the importance of maintaining and strengthening connections between people and deepening interpersonal relations for digital tools to deliver actual per-formance gains.

Trust in staff is the most important com-ponent of distance working for Pierre. Digital technology allows him to bridge the distances involved in this job without having to travel too much, while enjoying substantial independence and flexibility to work from anywhere – even on holidays. He needs to do some travel, however, to counter a feeling of isolation that often goes hand-in-hand with home working, and to have contact with people. Since he only sees his staff once a year, he has to have excellent listening skills and pay even closer attention to their well-being. He speaks to his 23 staff members once a week or once every two weeks. The frequency varies according to their perceived

LA LETTRE Nº 23 / OCTOBER 2016 8

OSI PARTNERS DISCUSS THE ISSUES

Reflections on engag-ing line managers in

health and quality of life at work follow on from our consideration of the role of top management in EHS.

As companies increasingly decen-tralise work management issues, the Club members were keen to share best practices and to support man-agers on the ground. Although their involvement is essential to create the right kind of environment, we found that it is not always easy to galvanise line management around the subject of health and quality of life at work. A number of questions arise on their role and responsibilities.

Operational managers are responsible for specific production activities, operations and value crea-tion: “local managers”, “middle man-agers”, “first-line supervisors”, etc.

HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE AT WORK DIRECTORS' CLUB

OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT ENGAGED TO IMPROVE HEALTH AT WORKThe OSI formed the CAC 40 companies' Health and Quality of Life at Work Directors' Club with Malakoff Médéric. Topics in the past few months centred on the role of managers in this area. Bertrand Madelin, Club coordinator, presented their discussions during the meeting on 23 September last.

"In comparison with developments to improve safety at work, the culture of health in the workplace is less mature."

Part of their role and responsi-bility is to implement the company's health and safety policy (rules and standards) and to be the key people in their teams. They are essential in raising awareness, supporting indi-vidual employees, creating a good working environment, monitoring professional development and the quality of teamwork.

The benchmarking exercise between the Club members showed greater awareness of the impor-tance of quality of life at work by managers. They take the initiative to evaluate risks and are increasingly conscious of the need to manage the quality of the workplace, especially in exposed sectors.

There is practically always a link to performance: a relaxed and engaged worker who is rarely absent is a better worker. There are a num-ber of best practices that improve buy-in by operational management, including visits by executive com-mittee members and measuring the project impacts of health and quality of life.

The targets for operational man-agers are qualitative and related to behavioural skills: ethics, humility, responsibility, motivation, meaning, recognition, listening, cross-sector working, and solidarity. Some com-panies go so far as to set individual

quantitative targets on absenteeism from given management levels.

Others acknowledge that because of the complexity of occu-pational health, they do not have the appropriate skills and expertise in-house, even if they have invested in a range of tools and systems to bring operational management on board: sometimes compulsory management training, e-learning;

support measures in exceptional cir-cumstances; peer discussion groups (along the lines of professional co-de-velopment initiatives).

In comparison with develop-ments to improve safety at work, the culture of health in the workplace is less mature: it is still considered as an expert topic for which health and safety teams – who are more focused on safety and the environ-ment – need to acquire more specific skills.

9

LA LETTRE Nº 23 / OCTOBER 2016

DOMINIQUE BAILLY  raised the two-prong question to debate: “How can we ensure social progress around the globe by working towards the gradual harmonisation of fundamental rights? How can the company adjust to the specific features of each market, while developing a common culture and shared principles?”

JEAN-LUC DELENNE : “20 years ago, Carrefour adopted an approach based on international social dialogue.”

The first agreement on the forma-tion of a European Works Council was signed in 1995-1996 with the FIET(1) which later became the UNI Global Union in 2000. The first international framework agreement on fundamental employment rights was signed in 2001 with the UNI. In September 2015, a new international framework agreement was signed, in the presence of the Director General of the ILO. This latest agreement stressed the mindset that was required, rather than just the technical commitments. The main thrust of this agreement is on promoting social dialogue, fostering diversity and respect for fundamental rights at work.

Carrefour has a presence in 35 coun-tries. Its approach, which is to create an environment in which social dialogue can grow, extends to the establishment of trade unions in structures where they didn't exist before, under the auspices of this international trade union federation.

The Observatoire Social International organised a round table on global management of social policy in companies on 30 June last. It was held in La Poste's lecture theatre. Muriel Morin, OSI President, opened the round table discussion and welcomed representatives of La Poste, Michelin, Carrefour and the TUAC.

Our Human Resources Departments outside France are encouraged to adopt the same approach to social dialogue and diversity, and to promote gender equality and the employment of people with disabilities, etc. Moreover, Carrefour is committed to promoting respect for fundamental rights by its suppliers. Many international companies take a proactive approach to ensuring the application in respect of fundamental rights. To prevent distortions of competition, it would be a good idea if companies that take this proactive approach were recognised so that they stand out from the others.

BERTRAND BALLARIN : “Michelin in transformation”

Michelin's conviction from the outset was that management too is responsible for ensuring personnel representation. Good social relations are grounded in good management and management is responsible for personnel representation.

We have a long-standing commitment to social dialogue as essential to meeting our legal obligations. Our responsible employment policy under the current Chairman is based on two major tenets:

– The spirit of the times, CSR, the United Nations Global Compact on the importance of human rights in the workplace (Michelin became a signatory of the pact in 2010),

– The scale of Michelin's international dimension.

 

OSI MEETINGS

Dominique BAILLY, La Poste Group, Chairman of the European committee for social dialogue in the postal sector

Bertrand BALLARIN, Michelin, Labour Relations Director

Jean-Luc DELENNE, Carrefour, Group Labour Relations Director

Marc DELUZET, Senior OSI Officer chaired the round table Pierre HABBARD, TUAC (the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD), Political Advisor

Muriel MORIN, ENGIE, OSI President

* The TUAC (Trade Union Advisory Committee), interface for trade unions with the OECD. It supports international trade union federations in dialogue at G7 and G20 level.

GLOBAL MANAGEMENT OF SOCIAL POLICIES IN COMPANIES?

LA LETTRE Nº 23 / OCTOBER 2016 10

OSI MEETINGS

Michelin's social policy is based on two key principles:– Empowerment, known in the company

as the subsidiarity principle: don't wait for problems to be solved at the top if they can be handled at another level,

– Social dialogue is everybody's business. It embodies values that must be adhered to in all Michelin sites, including in countries where social dialogue is neither recognised nor encouraged.

In practical terms, empowering peo-ple means introducing a policy with clear guidelines and action principles. It is the responsibility of each country to deter-mine how to implement these in their individual context. However, there is a risk of only taking the local environment into account if social dialogue is seen through a "national" lens. Since Michelin's strategy is a global one, it is important to "duplicate" this approach by establishing international social dialogue, based on an international trade union federation, so that corporate social responsibility practices are standardised in all locations. While the transition can create extremely sharp cultural shocks in some countries, international dialogue with an international trade union federation creates trust step by step. But such cultural shift takes time.

DOMINIQUE BAILLY : “La Poste employs 25,000 people outside France and the international market now accounts for 25% of the Group's revenue.”

The postal business has tradition-ally been based on a stable social and employment model, which is the same in all European countries. For the most part, it remains unchallenged, apart from a few exceptions (Belgium and the Netherlands) where substantial changes have been made to the traditional model.

The parcel business is quite different: it is more competitive and labour costs account for a greater percentage of overall cost. In response, the issue of labour rela-tions and the use of subcontracting were reviewed in the European social dialogue committee for the postal sector. It is not possible to draw comparisons from one country to the other. Leaving aside differ-ences in wages and standards of living, countries can be classed into three groups:– Sweden, Switzerland and France

subcontracting is tightly overseen,– Spain and the Netherlands, where

the conditions of the business vary,– Other countries that fall between

these two models.

Public initiatives and measures taken by historic postal operators go in the direction of establishing fair competition and relatively standard conditions across Europe.

It is difficult for Europe to introduce labour relations standards for a number of reasons, including complexity at national level and the considerable differences in the maturity of social dialogue culture in European countries. Therefore it is up to business to establish the best conditions, as social and cultural integration will create value. Any distortion of competi-tion will be offset by the gains produced by better social cohesion and collective momentum, and consumer confidence on the ground.

PIERRE HABBARD  : “I'm always dubious when someone presents a static and relativist vision, according to which some western countries promote human rights and rights at work, while other countries such as China are more reticent to embrace them. International labour standards have been introduced and they cannot be ignored.”

There are around 50 agreements in this area, which are more or less robust. All companies must have an infrastructure,

1- International Federation of Commercial, Clerical, Professional and Technical Employees, which merged with three other organisations (IC, IGF and MEI) to become the UIA.

which often means they have a European Works Council. Some of the barriers I would mention are:– An ever widening gap between

the employer's responsibilities and the legal scope of the business: social responsibility now covers business relations (which includes suppliers – and one example that springs to mind is the Rana Plaza tragedy), according to a human rights principle recognised by the United Nations,

– Business models are increasingly fragmented with many employees now work as freelancers or business managers, which further complicates trade union representation.

How is social risk taken into account by company managers and governance bodies? From a shareholders' point of view, there is a pressing need to fully and comprehensively integrate social risk. A new approach could be taken to address this, by deciding that it is in companies' and shareholders' interests to reduce the uncertainty around employment rights.

Above, Muriel Morin. opening the conference. Below, the round table, with (from left to right): Dominique Bailly, Jean-Luc Delenne, Bertrand Ballarin and Pierre Habbard.

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OSI MEETINGS

The OSI in Q4 2016

• OSI-Morocco: Meeting on getting young Moroccans into work.

• Health at work: strengthening socioprofessional links to promote well-being at work and boost performance.

LA LETTRE Nº 23 / October 2016

Responsible editor: Muriel MORINChief editor: Marc DELUZETDesign & creation: Éditions StratégiquesPhoto credits: OSI

Observatoire Social International1, place Samuel de ChamplainFaubourg de l’Arche92930 Paris la Défense cedex FranceTél : 33 (0)1 44 22 66 00

www.observatoire- social-international.com

Agile methods23 November 2016 Paris

Women: the fulcrum of socio-economic change in Tunisia 27 octobre 2016 Paris

CALENDARNEWS

• Managerial innovation: “Benchmarking companies' approaches to manager co-coaching and co-development” with Eurogroup Consulting, ENGIE, Orange and La Poste.

• Profound change in employment models: “Company benchmarking”, with Eurogroup Consulting, and IGS Group.

TRANSFORMATION, DIGITAL, HEALTH AND WORK: FROM THE VIRTUAL TO THE REAL

The “Health and well-being at work” meet-ings have a long history. On 10 April 2010, the OSI publicly announced its “Commit-ment to promoting health and well-being at

work and the universal right to health”. Since then, a meeting has been held every year and two editions of the Cahiers de l’OSI report on the proceedings.

Opinion is changing. The findings of a survey conducted in 2016 by the OSI and Malakoff Médéric show that 90% of employees and HR departments think that performance and quality of life at work go hand-in-hand.

The 2016 meeting, “Transformation, digital, health and work: from the virtual to the real” for the first time invited the bosses of five start-ups to talk about their business and innovation. Other testimony enriched round-table discussions.

The topic of two round tables was “new technologies for health at work”, and “health: a new priority for companies”. Following these two sessions, a study was presented on “quality of life in the workplace in 2016, as seen by senior man-agement and employees”. The meeting ended with the last round table, “New proposals for change management”. The proceedings will be included in the next “Health and well-being at work” Dossier.

Malakoff Médéric hosted the 6th “Health and well-being at work” meeting on 16 June last, organised jointly by the OSI and Malakoff Médéric.

Table ronde « Penser et discuter le travail pour conduire les transformations » en présence (de gauche à droite) de Jean-François Naton (CGT), Marc Deluzet (OSI), Yann Charron (Malakoff Médéric), Bruno Vercken (Danone) et Sophie Berlioz (Alixio)

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