sain t-gobain annu al report 2008 annual report

The percentage of Group employees on fixed-term contracts
fell to 4% in 2008, from 6.2% in 2007.
At year-end 2008, 48.5% of fixed-term employment contracts
in the Group were converted to permanent contracts.
Subcontracting
Group companies in every host country use subcontractors
to perform certain activities that fall outside their core
competences:
• The most common are ancillary tasks such as security,
maintenance, cleaning, catering, medical services and,
at smaller units, payroll, information technology
and accounting.
• Other tasks that are sometimes outsourced are packaging,
goods transport and various handling tasks. While related
to product production and distribution, these services
remain peripheral to each Sector’s core business.
Before signing an outsourcing agreement, subsidiaries
are required to verify that the partner company’s operations
and employment contracts comply with applicable legislation.
Employees of service providers and subcontractors working
on a Group site are expected familiarize themselves
with site safety standards upon their arrival. During their
presence on-site, they are subject to the same health
and safety rules and regulations applicable to Group
employees working at the same facility. They receive
specific training in these areas as needed.
Employee categories
Managers
The proportion of managers rose slightly during the year,
to 12.3% from 12% in 2007.
In Western countries, where our longer history is reflected
in a greater number of head offices and Research
and Development centers (especially in France and
the United States), the proportion of managers is generally
higher than in emerging markets. In 2008, women accounted
for 16.6% of managers and men 83.4% in 2008 (1) .
Administrative employees, technicians and supervisors
This category, which also includes sales personnel,
rose to 40.5% of the total workforce from 39.2% in 2007.
In 2008, women accounted for 32.7% and men 67.3%
of the category.
Operators
Operators represented 47.3% of the total workforce in 2008,
a 1.2% decline over the year that was offset by the increases
in the other two categories. Women accounted for 10.5%
and men 89.5% of the category in 2008.
Working conditions
Shift work
Shift work primarily concerns the manufacturing operations,
where it is organized in response to technical production
requirements. Distribution operations are not generally
organized in shifts.
The proportion of manufacturing employees working
in shifts declined by 3.6 points to 31.7% in 2008.
Days may be organized into two, three or more shifts,
in the case of round-the-clock production 365 days a year.
Group-wide, round-the-clock production is performed
in cycles, with alternating active and idle periods.
In every country, shift workers work fewer hours a year
than day workers.
In Building Distribution, customer needs at certain banners
sometimes require that employees work in shifts.
This is the case in Brazil, for example, where some stores are
open 24 hours a day.
Overtime
To respond to a temporary increase in workload,
some Group companies are occasionally required
to request their employees to work overtime.
On average, overtime represented 4.1% of all hours
worked in 2008.
Part-time work
Part-time work is generally unsuited to industrial work
patterns and concerns only 3.2% of the workforce.
MANAGEMENT REPORT
71
(1)
These figures originate from PeopleGroup, the Group’s manager information system.
Saint-Gobain - 2008 Annual Report