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European Works Committee – 23 members
GROUPE SEB commitment...
“I CHOSE TO CONTINUE WORKING”
CORPORATE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2007
ACTIVE LABOUR DIALOGUE
Groupe SEB has always respected freedom of association and
accorded a high priority to labour dialogue. In most countries, the
Group’s entities have trade unions and staff representative bodies.
Its European Works Committee regularly welcomes new members
as the European Union expands. It now comprises 23 members
from 13 countries. Labour-management dialogue which was
particularly active in France during 2007 led to the signing of three
key agreements with employee representatives: the first concerns
a forecast planning system for jobs and skills, the second aims to
improve trade union rights and the status of staff representatives,
and the third covers the introduction of a supplementary health
insurance fund for all Group employees in France.
INDUSTRIAL REORGANIZATION
The industrial reorganization plan begun in France in 2006 was
virtually completed in 2007 fully in line with the Group’s undertaking
to offer a solution for every employee concerned. The Fresnay
(Sarthe), Dampierre (Jura) and Le Syndicat (Vosges) factories were
closed and the Vernon (Eure) plant was rescaled. By the end of the
year, a solution had been found for almost all of the 890 employees
affected by the job cuts, using measures such as internal transfers,
jobs created under the reindustrialization of the sites, or early
retirement. Of the employees who opted for voluntary redundancy,
some 60 continue to benefit from Groupe SEB support until
this autumn.
Nicole Dorkeld, a former employee of the Groupe SEB Dampierre factory, now works
as an operator with PSP.
“Under the arrangements made for employees at the time of the closure of the Dampierre
factory, I could have opted for early retirement at 55 and so stop working at the end of April 2009. But, when it came
to signing the agreement for early retirement, I just could not do it because I felt I really wanted to go on having a
working life. Before joining Groupe SEB, I was a housewife for 18 years, and I did not want to return to that situation.
I need to have an occupation, a full life. Today, I work for PSP – Poivrières Salières Peugeot – where I was
re-employed with a lot of other ex-Group employees. I assemble pepper, salt and spice mills, and I am responsible
for the product from A to Z – from assembling the different parts to packaging the finished article. I realize that new
legislation on retirement age may require me to work beyond the age of 60, but I am very happy to have made this
choice.”
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