YEAR 2008 - SDF

LABOUR RELATIONS
AND OCCUPATIONAL
RISK PREVENTION
24
ANNUAL REPORT 2008
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
2008 also saw the nationwide implementation of a global
expertise mission on working conditions, connected with
the deployment of new operating tools such as TMS,
Masternaut and Infoquai. The mission is mainly designed
to draw up a diagnosis and forecasts of the changes that
may result from the use of these tools and their potential
effects on employee activity and health in the workplace,
while assessing their effectiveness.
The agreement signed in December 2006 on the
employment and continued employment of people with
a disability now has unanimous support, since the unions
CFDT and CGC, which were not among the original
signatories, have now signed it In the second year of
application, the Group maintained the direction taken
in 2007.
STEF-TFE now has a record level of disabled employees,
at 3.5%. The company employs 412 handicapped people
(i.e. 52 more than in 2007) in compliance with its legal
obligations.
This result is attributable to a good local liaison for the
policy implemented, responsible for encouraging
employees struggling at their workstations to apply for
disabled worker status, in order to obtain the best
possible support. Many people were able to stay in their
jobs, after technical adaptations to their workstations, a
different work organisation or training allowing them to
change position. External recruitment of people with a
disability was also encouraged, with 26 permanent
contracts signed in 2008, and outsourcing to specialist
companies was made more systematic.
In 2008, following research launched in 2005 on age
management and the extension of working life, which
stressed the importance of an appropriate diet in
improving people's resistance to cold and physical
work, STEF-TFE launched an extensive information and
awareness-raising campaign for all employees. The aim
was to help them adapt their diet to the specific nature
of their job, whether working at night, in the cold, in
shifts, etc. A cartoon specially commissioned for the
STEF-TFE "Nutrition Mission" and six newsletters provided
advice for different situations. This information was
supported by onsite events, with handouts of fruit, the
organisation of a competition and brochures published by
INPES, the French health education body.
On 24 June 2008, STEF-TFE was awarded first prize by
the ISICA foundation, a French body representing workers
in the food industry, for its work promoting good food
practice among its employees. This prize recognises the
global approach to health in the workplace, which forms
part of the Group's ongoing discussions on safety and
age management.
It is also worth repeating the successful management
of the medical and provident fund projects which,
despite the definitive withdrawal of Social Security,
allows STEF-TFE to offer all employees in France effective
coverage for a reasonable cost.
The Group has also applied the two major reforms
implemented in June and August 2008: the modernisation
of the job market and the new rules of union
representationn. The effect of the latter on labour
relations will only really be measurable Group-wide in
the next few years, after professional elections have been
held in the subsidiaries.
Finally, and despite the poor economy, interference in
the application of the law of December 2007, the Group
savings plan campaign was a definite success, owing to
the increase in contribution levels applicable in 2008.
Consequently, despite a lesser cumulated total in absolute
value than in 2007, caused by the decline in the share's
liquidation value at the time of "reblocking" (€20.71 in
First prize, Isica Foundation