Section Agence France-Presse du Syndicat national des journalistes

SNJ-AFP

Agence France-Presse Branch of the French National Journalists' Union (SNJ)

The Company & Staff Institutions

Staff Delegates

A Few Basics on Elected Staff Representatives under French Law

The following notes are drawn from a document produced by the SNJ.

The role of elected staff delegates (délégués du personnel, or DP) is to submit to management all claims or complaints made by staff, either on an individual or a collective basis (clause L. 422-1 of French Labour Law).

The SNJ’s Staff Reps at AFP

Elected in April 2009 for a two-year term:

Main Delegates

Sophie Lautier (general news service)

Yves-Claude Llorca (Europe Desk)

Alternates

Eloi Rouyer (Marseilles bureau)

Juliette Collen (society service)

Note however that all collective agreements (on wages, or other collective bargaining accords) can only be signed by union delegates as a whole (ie by the elected representatives plus those appointed by national union structures).

Any collective agreement which has not been signed by a union-appointed delegate (délégué syndical) will be considered "atypical". It is much easier for management to go back on such an agreement than it is for them to renege on a deal signed formally with the complete union delegation.

For the institution of elected staff delegates to work correctly, the delegates should be provided with:

Suitable premises in which to hold regular surgeries at which they can meet with employees who have problems, talk between themselves and, prepare for any meetings with management ;
Certain key documents which management must make available to them. These include the full staff payroll list as well as the list of questions asked by delegates at their monthly meetings, plus the answers provided by management to those questions.
Monthly meetings during which the delegates submit to management the claims or complaints that staff have informed them of, and negotiate solutions to the questions raised ;
Time, taken during working hours, to carry out their functions. The statutory amount is 15 hours per month for any company (such as AFP) which employs more than 50 people ;
A notice board on which delegates can post questions to be asked at the next meeting, plus the replies provided by management, and which can also be used to inform staff of their rights.