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	Global Framework Agreement August 10, 2004 About Global Compact Article published in French on its web site by NOVETHIC, a subsidiary of the Caisse des Dépôts July 29, 2003 All the articles for Labor Rights

After subscribing to the Global Compact,

Executive Management must now actually abide by universal labour rights within the group

D. VALOT published last week a e-mail indicating that:

«Technip has subscribed to the Global Compact initiated by the United Nations. Jointly with other corporations throughout the world, the Group expresses thus its commitment to fundamental values which are human rights, labour rights and environmental protection.»

This e-mail confirms his commitment to subscribe to the Global Compact made at the information conference held at the CNIT building in Paris-La Défense, prior to the summer holiday period.

What is the Global Compact?

  Global Compact’s website

  Read also this article. The source of this article is a public French group.

Why did the executive management decide to subscribe to the Global Compact?

This commitment answers in particular to the many requests to the executive management of the Group made by our union UGICT CGT TECHNIP, jointly with CGT union at le Trait plant since the takeover of COFLEXIP, for TECHNIP’s committing to abiding by the fundamental rights set by the International Labour Organization:

  Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining

  The elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour

  The effective abolition of child labour and

  The elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

Since the creation of our union’s web site in July 2000, we have demanded TECHNIP’s commitment to implementation in all the entities of our Group of the principles set by ILO.

Further to our demand, the Chairman and CEO of TECHNIP eventually made such a commitment during the yearly meeting of the Group Works Council in July 2001, stating that an official commitment to these principles, to be implemented by all the subsidiaries part of the Group throughout the world, would be formally published.

It is further to our publishing the report of this meeting on our union web site that our colleagues of the US union AFL-CIO (SWAT) contacted us.

They informed us that the group did not actually abide by its principles, since GULF MARINE FABRICATORS (GMF) in Texas was endeavouring to prevent the company from getting union and that severe labour conditions problems existed in this company.

Since our visit to Texas in April 2002 as a delegation of UGICT CGT TECHNIP and CGT COFLEXIP LE TRAIT, we have obtained some improvements (wages, safety) but the company failed to get union as a consequence of threats and repression. Local management did not restrict the resources involved and used the services of a union buster.

After such intimidation, illegal in the USA, the company was found fault by the National Labour Relations Board, the local equivalent of French «Inspection du Travail», and GMF, the Texan subsidiary concerned, had to post a 60 days notice in the plant promising not to violate US labour law.

An OSHA inspection - OSHA is the official agency which controls application of laws regarding safety issues - , following claims by employees supported by AFL-CIO -, resulted in significant penalties.

Unpleasantly itched by this stained image, executive management committed again, formally this time, to ILO’s principles via its recent subscribing to Global Compact.

It is a step which can lead in the right direction and which was not obviously to be expected from a man such as D. VALOT, who, some remember, was the interlocutor of media to defend the position of TOTAL which denied the accusations of forced labour in Burma made against this group.

Will TECHNIP group modify its practice and abide by its principles concerning «essential values» ? Subscribing to UN Global Compact is not sufficient to guarantee actual implementation.

Actually, subscribing of companies is a "voluntary" process, it involves no obligation, neither any control by any organization. Moreover, no claim procedure is available for organizations (such as unions for instance) which would record a company’s failure to abide by its commitments towards UN.

Ultimately, a capital issue, not mentioned by the Global Compact, is the responsibility of companies extended to the selection of their suppliers and subcontractors. Nothing prevents a company from complying more or less with the principles within its group while making profit by selecting Vendors and Subcontractors in countries where unions are prohibited or weak (such accusations were made against NIKE or MATTEL for instance).

Regarding the Global Compact, the example of BAYER, which was one of the first companies involved in the Global Compact process, and which is nevertheless classified by some NGO’s among the firms which are the less respectful of ecological and social issues, but which uses for its defense the politically correct Global Compact label, is often mentioned by CorpWatch website.

An ethical label is needed as a guarantee towards ethical funds? If so, our executive management must allow the Group’s compliance with the rules to be controlled, in particular by unions which should be entitled to receive yearly information on actions initiated and on rights implemented in the subsidiaries [1] and empowered to control such information.

The way corporate management is reluctant to go through the process of creation of the European Works Council makes us doubt its good faith.

Moreover, it is sufficient to read the embarrassed answers of the Executive Management concerning working conditions of our Indian colleagues in the Indian subsidiary in the minutes of meeting of the Works Council meeting held on December 19, 2002 now circulated to see that there is quite a job ahead: Once again, the management refers to local regulations and not to international labour rights [2].

A different approach, which would have a much greater impact than subscribing to U.N. Global Compact and which would be an actual commitment signed by the Chairman and unions, with an actual legal value, would consist in the negotiation of a framework agreement, i.e. a union contract for the whole group. Such framework agreements have already been signed by the International Metalworkers’ Federation with Multinationals (Volkswagen for instance). It is an opportunity we are considering, in cooperation with the CGT’s French Metalworkers’ Federation.

Executive Management should now guarantee transparency in access to information concerning the labour rights and working conditions of our colleagues working in the Subsidiaries, and firstly of those working at GMF and in Chennai TECHNIP INDIA Ltd, as well as concerning actual abiding by the right to collective bargaining.

[1] Our UGICT CGT union obtained that the following provision should be integrated to the union contract concerning the Group Works Council, which it signed on June 19, 2003: «Members of the Group Works Council shall receive the yearly report (or any other report) describing how the Group abides by the Global Compact».

[2] UGICT CGT’s question about Chennai: «Do negotiated agreements (union contracts) exist concerning the rights of employees and regarding employment, wages, pension plan, etc. ?» Executive Management’s answer: «We strictly comply with local regulations.»