Hours cuts agreed at France Telecom

Earlier this month France Telecom signed an agreement on shorter working hours for its 145,000 employees despite opposition from the three main unions in the company.

The deal provides for between six and 14 days' additional leave a year with no loss of pay. The precise amount of leave depends on existing working hours. For example, those working a 36-hour week will get six extra days; those working a standard 38-hour week will get 11 extra days; and those working a more flexible 38-hour week will get 14 extra days. In every case the total number of hours worked per year will be below 1,600.

The agreement also provides that all employees should have the opportunity to take two extra day of training on the activities of the company and future possibilities of employment within it. In total France Telecom , which is France's main telecommunications company, expects to take a further new 1,000 employees over and above current planned recruitment.

However, the agreement, which was signed on 2 February the day after the new law on the 35-hour week finally came into force, has the backing of only three of the company's unions. The three major unions in the company, CGT, CFDT and SUD, who together got 72.8% of the votes in the last works council elections compared with 20.8% obtained by the signatory unions, are all opposed to the agreement. However, under the French collective bargaining system the deal is legally valid.