Page 71 - Socially-responsible-restructuring-Effective-strategies-for-supporting-redundant-workers

Socially responsible restructuring
Effective strategies for supporting redundant workers

aim was to help individuals find appropriate and sustainable employment after a
few months.

Good practice on managing skills and career development at the corporate
level in France

In the context of rapid changes in air transport (new technologies, competition with low-cost
companies, rise in the price of oil, etc.), and following its merger with KLM, Air France adopted a
new approach based on anticipating change, in cooperation with the French national agency for the
improvement of working conditions (ANACT). The goal is to use foreseeable changes in various
occupations to manage people and their skills. Internal mobility is encouraged and several training
measures are on offer.

The agreement stipulates that the internal labour market should be more fluid. In practical terms,
this means helping workers determine their own career path through interviews, individual skills
assessments and entitlement to training, and to encourage them to apply for a different position
within the company. This makes it easier to improve the skills base and encourage mobility, for
instance from ground staff to commercial positions (which implies the implementation of mobility
and integration agreements, giving workers support when they start a new job within the company).
The role of the existing occupations observatory (set up in 1997) has been strengthened. One of its
tasks is to compile an ‘inventory’ of different occupations within the company, set out foreseeable
changes in these occupations, from both a quantitative and a qualitative point of view, and take
account of various technical, organisational, and regulatory projects that might have an impact on
the number and nature of jobs. It is also responsible for maintaining a database to chart new
positions that may develop in the coming years. This may be through the arrival of new workers or
internal mobility on the part of present workers, as well as job areas in which bottlenecks may
develop, for example due to a shortage of labour or the long period of training required.
Other important aspects of the agreement pertain to the definition of adapted paths during what the
agreement terms the second stage of one’s working life through, for instance, negotiated part-time
work.

Finally, as required by the law, the agreement sets out the ways in which workers’ representatives
should be kept regularly informed about the company strategy for each of its existing functions.

Source: European Trade Union Confederation, 2007a.

4.2. Partnerships and external capacity

Most enterprises provide career guidance expertise in commissioning services or
accepting publicly offered support through established local and regional
mechanisms. Partnerships between companies, public employment services,
guidance providers and training institutions are crucial to provide a
comprehensive range of support services to redundant workers and employees

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