France: Declaration of employee fundamental rights at Renault

Management and trade union representatives at the French car manufacturer Renault have signed a declaration of employee fundamental rights, the first such declaration in the French metalworking industry. The accord covers areas such as health and safety, a ban on child and forced labour, the right to representation and collective bargaining, employment security, training and equal opportunities.

The declaration was signed on 12 October 2004 at Renault's head office at Boulogne-Billancourt and is valid for the entire group, which employs more than 130,000 people worldwide. The signatories were Louis Schweitzer, the chair and chief executive officer of the Renault group; the secretary general of the International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF), Marcello Malentacchi; the Renault group works council; and representatives from the union organisations that signed an agreement on the group works council on 4 April 2003 (the CFDT, CFE-CGC, CFTC, CGT and FO union confederations from France; the CSC and FGTB confederations from Belgium; and the CCOO and the UGT confederations from Spain).

Renault is the first company in the French metalworking industry to adopt a declaration on employee rights. As well as applying to all the group's units across the world, including Dacia in Romania and Renault Samsung Motors in Korea, the declaration involves the group's suppliers.

The press release accompanying the publication of the signed declaration states: "Renault has thus committed to respecting company employees worldwide and helping them prosper, fostering freedom, ensuring the full transparency of information, applying the principle of fairness and complying with the Renault code of good conduct."

The declaration forms part of Renault's group policy on sustainable development and corporate social responsibility. It is based on International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards and the UN Global Compact, which relates specifically to human rights, and was signed by Renault on 26 July 2001. In particular, the declaration describes Renault's expectations of suppliers concerning the fundamental principles it sets out: "The principles reflect Renault's commitment to the health, safety and working conditions of employees as well as the refusal of child labour and forced labour." The declaration "reasserts equal opportunities in work relations, the right to training and fair pay".

Applicable to all Renault group entities with immediate effect, the declaration will be adapted to the specific circumstances of each country in which the group operates. All employees will be informed of the document and may report any instance of non-compliance to the company.

The application of the declaration will be reviewed and analysed by the signatory parties before the end of 2006.

Detail of the declaration

According to the opening sentences of the document: "Renault is implementing a strategy of growth and competitiveness based on the excellence of its business, the quality and attractiveness of its products, the international development of its operations, employee commitment, customer satisfaction and the involvement of its partners." The document states that these principles are "in line with overall sustainable development", as well as the ILO standards and the UN Global Compact, which relates specifically to human rights and was signed by Renault on 26 July 2001.

Health, safety and working conditions

The Renault group confirms that improvements in the health, safety and working conditions of its employees are a priority. It considers EU standards to be the benchmark for the prevention of occupational accidents. It has therefore devised the Group Working Conditions Policy, which the company is committed to implement by carrying out the required audits and drawing up the appropriate action plans.

The document states that company suppliers are obliged to possess a policy of occupational risk prevention that complies with the Renault principles.

Renault also confirms that its employees' health will be regularly monitored by qualified doctors. Furthermore, the company is developing an active prevention policy, which will pay particular attention to HIV/AIDS prevention, sexually transmitted diseases and drug abuse in countries where these issues are a problem.

Ban on child labour

Renault agrees not to employ people younger than the mandatory school-leaving age in the relevant country or, in any event, below the age of 15, as provided by ILO Convention No.138 on the minimum working age. The company's suppliers and service providers are obliged to comply with this policy, or they will not be permitted to work with Renault.

Ban on forced labour

The declaration states that Renault condemns the use of all forced or mandatory labour and agrees not to make use of such labour in accordance with ILO Conventions Nos.29 and 105 on forced labour. The company's suppliers and service providers are obliged to comply with this policy, or they will not be permitted to work with Renault.

Equal opportunities

This section of the accord confirms Renault's commitment not to discriminate for any reason in the workplace and to undertake to recruit employees by reference to their qualities and skills and to treat them with dignity. It states that the company does not discriminate on the basis of: age; social origin; family situation; gender; sexual orientation; handicap; political, trade union or religious opinions; ethnic origin; country; or race, in compliance with ILO Convention No.111 on discrimination in employment and occupation. Furthermore, the company's equal opportunities policy aims to foster diversity in terms of the individuals employed and the cultures that are present in the various group companies.

Finally, in this area the declaration states that Renault undertakes to strive to help people in difficulty because of a physical handicap or for other reasons, so as to integrate them into the company and the local community.

Employment security

The document confirms Renault's commitment to protect jobs. In the event of reorganisations or restructuring it promises to train workers for alternative employment or, where possible, to find jobs for them elsewhere in the group.

Right to training

Renault undertakes to provide all its employees with the training necessary to allow them to perform their jobs properly and build their careers. This will apply throughout their entire career, regardless of their age or position in the company.

Working hours and right to paid holidays

The declaration commits Renault to adjust working hours in line with the needs of the company's various sectors wherever possible, working within local legislation and with the relevant labour organisations and taking employees' wishes into account. It confirms that employees are entitled to paid holidays, in accordance with the local legislation and business practices of the country in which the company is operating.

Salaries and wages

Renault recognises the principle of fair compensation for work and complies with the provisions of ILO Convention No.100 on equal pay for equal work.

Employee representation

The document confirms Renault's commitment to strive to ensure that employees are represented in all group companies by employees working in those companies who have been elected to represent them or who belong to the relevant labour organisations.

It states that the company has the strictest respect for employees' freedom of association and their freedom to join a trade union and hold office in a trade union, in compliance with the principles set out in ILO Convention No.87, dating from 1948, on freedom of association and protection of the right to organise. The company affirms that recognition of freedom of association means that each employee has the right to join a trade union or to decline membership. Renault also declares its determination to comply with the provisions of ILO Convention No.98 on the right to organise and collective bargaining.

The accord states Renault's commitment to adhere to the ILO declaration on fundamental rights and principles at work, adopted in 1988 at the 86th International Labour Conference with respect to freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining.

Relations with suppliers

Renault undertakes to inform its own suppliers of the contents of the company declaration and the UN Global Compact and to urge them to consider adhering to it. It encourages them to introduce and implement equivalent principles in their own companies. In the long term, Renault views the adoption of these principles as the basis of continuing relations with the suppliers.

Implementation

Renault promises to distribute the declaration to all the personnel of the Renault group companies. Also, employees will have the opportunity to inform the company of any conduct that does not comply with the declaration. Renault's management undertakes to work with the group's works council and the employee representatives of the relevant companies to ensure that the declaration is implemented.

Finally, the declaration commits all signatory parties to perform an initial evaluation of the implementation of the declaration in late 2006.

Reactions

The FGMM-CFDT and the CFDT union confederations at the Renault group stated that the adoption of the declaration "marked a significant step" in progress towards acknowledging the fundamental rights of employees all over the world. The unions particularly welcomed the declaration's application to Renault's suppliers and said that they, together with the IMF, were keen to conclude international framework agreements that use globalisation for social progress and the expansion of collective rights: "This is especially important at a time when globalisation and its short-term consequences in terms of relocation are the subject of so much discussion."

On behalf of the IMF, Mr Malentacchi thanked the three French IMF affiliates for their work "during such a long process" - the IMF had opened discussions with Renault three years ago, although the concrete negotiations that had brought the agreement began in April 2004.

In particular, Mr Malentacchi welcomed the fact that the company supports and encourages its contractors to take the declaration into account in their own corporate policies, and that Renault views this "as an advantageous basis for mutual relationships".

Mr Malentacchi said: "We can assume that Renault's operations already adhere to the agreement. But it will mean that workers in 'new' countries where Renault wants to establish plants, be it in eastern Europe, China or India, will be guaranteed the core labour standards. The same is true for workers involved in the Renault supply chain."

This declaration is the latest in a line of global framework agreements negotiated by international trade union organisations such as the IMF, which set out rules of conduct for transnational companies. The IMF has already concluded similar agreements with several concerns, including the German motor manufacturer Volkswagen, the US/German motor manufacturer Daimler-Chrysler, the German automotive supplier Bosch and the German manufacturing group Prym (see International: Update on global agreements and EIRR 369).