Search

Site map

	Social rights, European Works Council: Executive management must stop holding back June 30, 2004 The Group’s Top Management must bring illegal practice to a stop in subsidiary Gulf Marine Fabricators April 19, 2002 All the articles for Labor Rights

About UGICT CGT TECHNIP Union

UGICT CGT TECHNIP Union is leading Employees’ union at TECHNIP FRANCE, Paris-La Défense.

About Technip

The TECHNIP Group is one of the leading engineering groups in the world, supplying engineering, technologies and construction services for oil & gas, petrochemical and other industries.

TECHNIP FRANCE is TECHNIP Group’s main entity, with its head office in Paris-la Défense and a branch in Lyon.
TECHNIP FRANCE Paris-La Défense has a staff of more than 2000, i.e. 1500 supervisors/engineers and 600 technicians/clerks. Its offices are in Paris business district, in TECHNIP tower, which it shares with TECHNIP’s Group’s management.

About CGT

CGT is one of the leading confederation of unions in France. It is a member of the European Trade Union Confederation.

CGT is also represented in TECHNIP FRANCE’s branch in Lyon, with a staff of 245, and in French subsidiaries of the TECHNIP Group FLEXI-FRANCE, an offshore flexible flowline production plant in Le Trait, Normandy, with a staff of 600, and TPS, a building engineering/infrastructures company in Paris, with a staff of 70.

Leading union since TECHNIP’s creation more than 45 years ago, UGICT CGT TECHNIP union is the #1 union at TECHNIP FRANCE Paris-La Défense, in all categories of employees, i.e. Supervisors/Engineers and Technicians/Clerks (poll for election of Works Council Representatives in 2004 - detailed results in the French section). UGICT CGT is CGT’s federation grouping engineers, supervisors, technicians and all qualified office workers.

Our achievements in obtaining formal commitment of the Group to ILO’s principles

Through acquisitions and mergers, the latest being the acquisition of COFLEXIP in 2001, the TECHNIP Group has grown into a 19000 employees’ multinational company with entities in more than thirty countries: engineering companies, design offices, and also construction yards, tube production plants, spool bases and pipe laying ships.

Since appointment of Daniel Valot as Chairman of the TECHNIP Group in 1999, UGICT CGT repeatedly requested TECHNIP’s adhesion to Tripartite Declaration Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy of International Labour Organization as the basis of negotiation of a Global Social Policy for the Group. We asked for the Group’s formal commitment to ILO’s principles:

  freedom of association and effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining,

  elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour

  effective abolition of child labour

  elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation

Within the scope of acquisition of the COFLEXIP Group, we obtained in July 2001 our Group’s Chairman’s commitment to the principles set by ILO during a meeting of the Group Committee, a works council grouping representatives of the various entities of the Group in France. This commitment was made for the whole multinational Group.

In 2001, UGICT CGT TECHNIP was informed by AFL-CIO that employees of a subsidiary of the TECHNIP Group in Texas - an offshore platform and FPSO construction yard - were facing a union-busting attitude from their local management who tried to prevent them from getting union representation.

A delegation of CGT representatives from Le Trait flexible tube manufacturing plant and from TECHNIP FRANCE travelled to the US in April 2002 to meet GULF MARINE FABRICATORS employees and upon returning to France reported to the Chairman of the Group recorded infringements of the US National Labor Relations Act and of OSHA safety rules.

Commitment to ILO’s principles was confirmed by the Group’s Management, but, although improvements were obtained in this Texan yard regarding safety and wages, GMF remained non-union. (see xxx section)

We continued campaigning and, eventually, commitment to ILO’s principles was formalized in 2003: TECHNIP Group joined United Nations Global Compact.

The Group’s annual report for 2003 however fails to mention any evidence of its promotion of freedom of association and of collective bargaining in the Group, in particular outside Europe.
See "our goals" page.

Our achievement in obtaining the creation of a European Works Council

Since 1999, UGICT CGT TECHNIP actively campaigned to obtain the creation of TECHNIP’s European Works Council.
French Labour Inspector wrote several letters to request the creation process to be organized.

This goal was reached in 2004: TECHNIP European Works Council has now been created. Special Negotiation Body signed an agreement on June 30, 2004 and EWC first meeting is scheduled for September 2004.

TECHNIP’s EWC includes representatives from Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, UK.
See "our goals" page.