INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE

LABOUR - MANAGEMENT
CO-OPERATION IN FRANCE

GENEVA

Û-p^r

1950

STUDIES AND REPORTS
New Series, No. 9

PUBLISHED BY THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR O F F I C E

Geneva, Switzerland

Published in the United Kingdom for the INTERNATIONAL
by Staples Press Limited, London

LABOUR OFFICE

PRINTED BY " IMPRIMERIES RÉUNIES S.A. '% LAUSANNE (SWITZERLAND)

PREFACE
The International Labour Office has constantly referred in
its publications to the experiments in collaboration in the economic and social sphere between employers and workers and
between trade unions and employers' organisations and the public
authorities which have been made throughout the world since
1920.1
In view of the progress of this collaboration due to the everincreasing role played by trade unionism in the life of the national
communities, the Governing Body of the International Labour
Office placed on the agenda of the session of the International
Labour Conference which should have been held at Geneva in June
1940 the question of methods of collaboration between public
authorities and trade unions and employers' organisations. The
New York Conference of the International Labour Organisation
(1941) once more took up this problem, and considered a report
of the Office concerning methods of collaboration between Governments, employers and workers in time of war 2 , completing the
report prepared in 1940, which described the situation before
the war.3
The Conference adopted two resolutions :, one emphasised the importance of collaboration in the sphere of postwar reconstruction, and the other was intended to provide for
the use of the resources of the International Labour Organisation
to ensure the development of practical collaborations .
After the war, methods of collaboration were all the more
speedily developed since they—provided a favourable basis for
reconstruction work. Being desirous of information on this
question, the Governing Body instructed the Office to carry
out enquiries as to the forms of collaboration between public
authorities and the occupational organisations in various countries
1
Among the Office publications, see particularly Studies and Reports
(Series A^-Social Conditions) : No. 42, Joint Production Committees in Oreat.Britain
(1943) ; No. 43, British Joint Production Machinery (1944). See also t h e following
articles in the International Labour Beview (hereafter referred, to as I.L.R.) :
" Wartime Methods of Labour-Management Consultation in the United States
a n d Great Britain ", . Oct. 1945, p . 309 ; " Collaboration of Employers a n d
Workers with Government Departments in Great Britain", Nov.-Dec. 1946,
p . 321 ; " Industrial Relations in Hungary ", Mar.-Apr. 1947, p . 247 ; " The TJnited
States Labor-Management Belations Act of 1947 ", by J o h n E . LAWVEB, Aug.
1947, p . 125.
2
Wartime Developments in Qovernment-Employer-Worher Collaboration (International Labour Conference, New York, 1941).
3
Methods of Collaboration between the Public Authorities, Workers' Organisations and the Employers' Organisations (International Labour Conference, Geneva,
1940).

IV

PREFACE

and to submit the results in studies dealing with each country
separately. Shortly afterwards, at the request of the Economic
and Social Council of the United Nations, the question of freedom
of association and industrial relations 1 was placed on the agenda
of the 30th Session of the Conference (Geneva, 1947). The Conference decided to place the whole problem of industrial relations,
including co-operation between public authorities, and employers'
and workers' organisations, on the agenda of its next meeting
(San Francisco, 1948) for preliminary discussion2, whereas the
question of freedom of association would be dealt with at that
session in accordance with the single-discussion procedure.3 Thus,
the enquiries requested by the Governing Body are of particular
interest, since they provide the Conference with information.
This present study deals with France.4 It is not only an
analysis of the laws and regulations which have established and
organised the numerous forms of co-operation in the French
community between public authorities, employers and workers ;
it is also the result of a mission, carried out by two officials of the
Office, Mr. Bessling and Mr. Viala, who have thus been able to
contact the heads of the various French administrations, chiefs
of documentation services, heads of the main organisations of
employers and workers and the labour inspection services, and
also to examine on the spot the various institutions for the representation of workers in the undertaking, particularly works committees. Finally, this study is essentially a summary of the methods
and organisations for collaboration existing in France at the
beginning of the year 1948.5
1
Freedom of Association and Industrial Belations (International Labour
Conference, 30th Session, Geneva, 1947, Report V I I ) .
* Industrial Relations (International Labour Conference, 31st Session, San
Francisco, 1948, Reports V I I I (1) a n d (2)).
» Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (International
Labour Conference, 31st Session, San Francisco, 1948, Questionnaire a n d Report
VII).
For the Third Conference of American States Members of t h e I.L.O. (Mexico,
1946), t h e Office published a report o n industrial relations, a n d during the
Second Session of t h e Inland Transport Committee (Geneva, 1947) a report
on industrial relations i n inland transport.
4
Similar studies for Poland- and Czechoslovakia are contemplated.
6
F o r more recent developments, see t h e following reports prepared for the
International Labour Conference : 31st Session, SanFrancisco, 1948, Reports V I I I (1)
and V I I I (2) : Industrial Relations — Application of the Principles of the Right
to Organise and to Bargain Collectively, Collective Agreements, Conciliation and
Arbitration, and Go-operation between Public Authorities and Employers' and Workers'
Organisations (I.L.O., Geneva, 1947 a n d 1948) ; 32nd Session, Geneva, 1950,
Report V (Supplement) : Industrial Relations (I.L.O., Geneva, 1949) ; a n d 33rd
Session, Geneva, 1950, Report IV (Supplement) : Industrial Relations (I.L.O.,
Geneva, 1950).

CONTENTS
Page
PREFACE

m

ABBREVIATIONS

ix

INTRODUCTION

1

The Situation after the Liberation
Delay in Industrialisation
Reconstruction through National Joint Effort
The Trade Union Movement and Reconstruction
The Main Economic Organisations
The Problem of the Most Representative Organisations . . . .
Plan of the Report

1
3
4
6
8
14
16

PART I
CO-OPERATION AT THE NATIONAL
AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL
INTRODUCTION

21

CHAPTER I : Historical Background
The Third Republic
The Vichy Régime
After the Liberation
The Fourth Republic

22
22
23
25
28

CHAPTER I I : Present System
Participation in the Fixing of Economic Activities
Bodies with General Powers
The Industrial Equipment Plan
Institution of the Plan
Planning Bodies
The First Plan
The Economic Council
Composition
Structure and Working
Duties and Powers
Activities
Specialised Bodies
Production
National Economy
Industrial Production
Reconstruction and Town Planning
Agriculture
Transport
Rationing
Price Control

30
30
30
30
30
31
33
42
43
46
47
48
51
51
52
54
57
58
59
59
60

VI

CONTENTS

Participation in the Fixing of Social Activities
Regulation of Wages
Wage Fixing by Public Authorities
Collective Agreements
Higher Committee for Collective Agreements . . . .
National Labour Council
Establishment
Composition
Organisation
.
Working
Powers
Bodies with Special Powers
Manpower
Use of Manpower
Recruitment of Foreign Workers
Apprenticeship and Rapid Vocational Training. . . .
Vocational Retraining of Disabled and Handicapped
Workers
Social Security
Advisory Bodies
Managing Bodies
Mutual Insurance
Safety and Occupational Medicine
Conditions of Work Other than Wages
Table of Co-operating Bodies

Page
62
63
63
70
73
76
75
76
77
79
79
80
80
80
81
82
84
84
85
86
87
88
89
90

PART I I
NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES AND UNDERTAKINGS
INTRODUCTION

97

CHAPTER I : Development of Nationalisation
Origins
Inter-war Period
Second World War
After the Liberation
Reasons for Nationalisation

99
99
100
101
101
103

CHAPTER I I : Present Position of Nationalisation
Sphere and Extent of Nationalisation
Nature of Nationalisation
Legal Status of Nationalised Undertakings

105
105
107
108

CHAPTER I H : Trade Union Participation in the Administration
Control of Nationalised Industries and Undertakings
Administration
Administrative Organisation
Mineral Fuel
Gas and Electricity
Banks
Insurance
Merchant Marine
Other Undertakings
Powers and Duties of the Bodies

and
Ill
Ill
Ill
112
114
115
117
119
120
120

CONTENTS

Vn
Page

Workers' Representation
Control of Management
Control by Parliament
State Control
Control b y a Specialised Body
Publicity of Accounts
Application of the Accountancy Plan
Responsibility of Administrators
Profit Sharing
Staff Regulations of Nationalised Industries
Scheme for Unifying the Regulations of Public Undertakings. .

121
131
131
131
132
132
132
133
133
135
137

PART i n
CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING
INTRODUCTION

143

CHAPTEB I : Staff Delegates

145

Origin a n d Development
Present Position of Staff Delegates
Scope
Number of Delegates and their Election
Term of Office and Functions
Powers
Effect of Collective Agreements
CHATTER I I : Safety Delegates and Health and Safety Committees.
Origin and Development
Safety Delegates
Safety Committees in the Merchant Marine
Health a n d Safety Committees
Scope
Composition
Operation
Functions

145
148
148
148
149
151
153
. 154
154
155
157
157
157
158
159
159

CHATTER I I I : Works Committees

Background
Social Committees under the Labour Charter
Joint Committees for Production
Liberation Committees and Management Committees . . .
Works Committees
Present Status
Adaptations of Regulations : Higher Committee for Works
Committees
Elasticity of t h e Regulations
Scope
Composition
Representation of Trade Unions
Election of Members and Conditions of Appointment . . . .
Electoral Bodies
List of Candidates

161

161
161
162
163
165
167
168
168
170
172
172
173
173
174

VIH

CONTENTS
Page

Electorate and Eligibility
Election and Counting of Votes
Term of Office
Exercise of Duties
Safeguard of Members' Rights
Functioning of Works Committees
Chairmanship
Secretariat
Material Resources
Committees
Meetings
Reports of Meetings
Action on Committee Proposals
Standing Orders
Professional Secrecy
Penalties
Central and Branch Works Committees
Duties
Duties of a Social Character
Improvement of Conditions of the Staff
Management of Welfare Schemes
Duties of an Economic Character
Increase of Production and Improvement of Output .
Organisation, Management and General Working of the
undertaking
Right of Supervision of Financial Management . . .
Management Committees
Co-ordination of Works Committees
Attitude of Employers, Technical and Managerial Staff and Workers towards Works Committees
Working of the Committees
Establishment of Committees
The Committee within the Undertaking
Goodwill of the Parties
Role of Trade Unions
Participation of the Staff
Training of Members
Functions of Labour Inspectors
Achievements
CONCLUSIONS

174
175
176
176
177
178
178
178
178
178
179
179
180
180
181
181
182
183
184
184
188
203
204
207
209
212
219
220
222
222
223
223
225
225
226
229
229
232

ABBREVIATIONS

The following abbreviations are used in this study :
I.L.B.

International

L.S.

Legislative Series (reprints and translations of laws and
regulations published by the I.L.O.)

C.N.P.F.

Conseil national du patronat français — National Council
of French Employers
Confédération générale du travail — General Confederation
of Labour
Confédération générale du travail - Force ouvrière (see
page 9)
Confédération française des travailleurs chrétiens — French
Confederation of Christian Workers
Confédération générale des cadres — General Confederation of Technical and Managerial Staff
Confédération générale de l'agriculture — General Confederation of Agriculture

C.G.T.
C.G.T.-F.O.
C.F.T.C.
C.G.C.
C.G.A.

Labour Review

S.N.C.F.

Société nationale des chemins de fer français — French
National Railways

J.O.
J.O.E.F.

Journal officiel de la République française.
Journal officiel de l'Etat français.

INTRODUCTION
The invasion of 1940, fifty months of occupation and the
fight for liberation caused such destruction and loss of France's
inherited wealth t h a t only a concerted effort of all the active
forces in the country and more particularly of the organised
forces of production and labour could, under the impulsion and
direction of the Government, carry out the work of reconstruction
and restoration within a reasonable time.
T H E SITUATION AFTER THE LIBERATION

The following figures will give a picture of the condition of
France immediately after the liberation. 1
Loss of Human Life.
On 1 September 1939 the population of France was 41,500,000 ;
on 1 January 1946 it was 40,100,000. This loss of 1,400,000 inhabitants was accounted for as follows :
Permanent losses :
Excess of deaths over births
600,000
Deaths of soldiers of the home country (1939-1945) 160,000
Civilians killed and massacred by acts of war . 160,000
Dead in Germany
300,000
Temporary losses :
Persons not yet repatriated from Germany. . .
20,000
Foreigners who have left France
160,000
Reduction of Manpower.
On 1 October 1945, 7,601,000 workers were in employment as
against 8,077,000 in 1936.
Loss of Capital.
During the war and the occupation, and resulting from them,
France's losses in capital were as follows (in thousands of minions of
1938 francs) :
1. Destruction by war
470
2. German levies on capital
300
3. Using up of stocks in other ways
60
4. Lack of maintenance and renewal of capital
160
Total
990
1
Most of these d a t a are taken from the publications of the Office of the
Commissioner-General for the Plan. See also " Economic and Social Policy in
France " , by C. BETTTCLHEIM, I.L.R., J u n e 1945, p p . 722-740.

2

INTRODUCTION

The investments necessary to enable French production to get back
to its pre-war level have been estimated at 699,000 million 1938 francs.
Furthermore, from August 1939 to December 1945 France lost
$1,378,000 (about 50,000 million 1938 francs) in external holdings,
gold and currency.
Destruction of Buildings.
Out of 9,975,000 buildings, 1,840,000 were damaged, 477,000 completely destroyed and 1,363,000 partially destroyed by the war ; 18
per cent, of the capital invested in buildings was involved.
The number of damaged farms counted in these figures is 130,000,
of which 27,000 were completely destroyed.
Reduced Capacity of Transport.
Main railways. At the time of the liberation, the capacity of the
railways was seriously diminished, both by destruction and by German
levies ; 4,180 out of 17,508 steam locomotives, 310,000 wagons out of
478,500, and 15,000 passenger coaches out of 37,000 were lost or damaged ; only 18,000 kilometres of line out of 43,000 remained available ;
3,137 permanent works and 25 of the 44 large marshalling yards were
destroyed ; 3,500,000 square metres of buildings had to be rebuilt out
of 14,000,000.
Road transport. 7,500 works destroyed with a total length of 150
kilometres of breaches ; 5,000 motor coaches lost out of 14,000 ; 60,000
lorries lost out 245,000.
Inland water transport. 1,050 works destroyed ; 2,400 barges destroyed or lost {i.e., 20 per cent, of the whole fleet).
Merchant navy. 1,800,000 gross tons lost out of 3,000,000.
Mine Clearance.
880,000 acres to be cleared.
Clearance of Buins.
35 million cubic metres of ruined houses and 300 million cubic
metres of other buildings to be cleared or levelled.
Loss of Livestock.
From October 1943 to October 1944, the number of cattle in the
country dropped 11 per cent., sheep 37 per cent, and horses 21 per cent.
Of the 544,000 horses lost, 535,000 had been carried off by the Germans.
Reduction of Production.
Gross production (in thousands of 1938 francs) : 485 in 1929 ;
430 in 1938 ; 250 in 1945. Industrial production index numbers (1938
= 100) were : 1929,125 ; 1945 : first half-year, 37 ; second half-year, 60 ;
June 1946, 90.
Diminution of Gold Reserves.
600 tons at the beginning of 1947 as against 2,000 tons in 1939.
Increase in the Public Debt.
Including the debt to the issue banks : 446,000 million in August
1939; 1,870,000 million at the end of October 1945.
Currency Circulation.
142,000 million in August 1939, 570,000 million in December 1945.

INTRODUCTION

3

D E L A Y IN INDUSTRIALISATION

The condition of France was aggravated b y the fact t h a t
already before the last world war the country was unable to make
the necessary effort to increase the production of both agricultural
and industrial labour. " The technical capacity and industry
of French workers ", says the general report on the Plan, " is
in no way inferior to that of workers in other countries. Nevertheless, as has been confirmed by the work of the committees
on the modernisation of industry, the capital invested in agricultural and industrial equipment was already before the war
inadequate for France and the organisation of production was
too often out of date, so t h a t labour could not be as effective
or as productive as in Great Britain and the United States."
I n fact, between the two world wars, the reconstruction of
the devastated regions, war pensions and national defence had
absorbed 10 per cent, of French revenue, that is to say, a percentage little less than t h a t (12 per cent.) allotted b y the United
States during the same time for the whole of their equipment.
France, in spite of a much inferior standard of living, had no
adequate investment margin, not only for renewing its equipment
at a pace comparable to t h a t of Great Britain and the United
States, but even for keeping it going. This was the main reason
for the wearing out of French equipment before the last war and
the lower productivity of French labour. Thus, in 1938, the
average age of French machine tools was about 25 years, as against
7 to 9 years in England and 5 to 7 in the United States. Furthermore, French workers had less power at their disposal than workers
in other industrial countries ; 7,500 H.P.-hours were used per
worker in France in 1938 as against 20,000 in Great Britain and
33,500 in the United States.
This factor has had a considerable influence on industrial
production. From 1900 to 1910, production increased in France
approximately to the same extent as in other large countries.
But after 1911, t h a t is to say, at the time when the threat of
the first world conflagration began to be felt, the production
curves diverged more and more ; in 1928 productivity had
increased by 330 per cent, in the United States, 270 per cent.
in the industrial world as a whole, and only 130 per cent, in France.
The production of labour in industry and in agriculture also was
thus lower in France t h a n in certain other countries.

4

INTRODUCTION

Furthermore, production suffered from the influence of other
factors, such as inadequate specialisation of undertakings, lack
of concentration of key industries and a certain mistrust of modern
methods of work. France thus let herself be overtaken in production b y several countries, and this backwardness was accentuated during the recent hostiHties b y the fact t h a t France could
not participate in the enormous technical progress t h a t the war
effort brought to her Allies.
RECONSTRUCTION THROUGH NATIONAL J O I N T E F F O R T

War destruction, the reduction of foreign holdings, the exhaustion of resources of every kind, the wearing out of industrial
equipment, etc., made living conditions in France extremely
difficult. I n order to raise the standard of living, it was indispensable to restore and modernise the equipment for production
in order to make it as effective as possible to produce necessities
for the home market.
Large production would also make it
possible to export a sufficient number of goods to pay for imports.
Thus the economic independence of the country would be ensured, which would be a guarantee of its political independence,
and at the same time a high industrial potential would be a
guarantee of security.
To carry this work through satisfactorily France had to solve
a certain number of problems, both external (particularly credits)
and internal (reconstruction and modernisation).
The present study will be confined to the consideration of
these last problems and will show the attempts made to improve
the technical and social conditions of national production b y the
co-operation of all elements in the French community and thus
to assist in the reconstruction of the country.
As a result of the general poverty, the public authorities were
obliged to continue in general the system of a directed economy
set up during the war at a time when French resources, already
diminished and deprived of external support, were exploited for
the benefit of the occupying power. For most of the population,
this meant the rationing of foodstuffs and other articles of consumption ; in industry, the allocation of the available quotas of
power and raw materials ; in commerce, price control and profit
margins ; and for workers, wage control, etc.
This system of economy presupposes an exact knowledge of
means and requirements and the preparation and putting into

INTRODUCTION

5

effect of programmes to make use of the means available and to
satisfy requirements in order of priority. If the system is to be
effective, it is necessary — and this necessity has been universally
recognised — t h a t the public authorities, while retaining their
legitimate authority and their power of decision, should base
themselves generally on the organised forces of the nation, and
should associate them at different stages with the preparation and carrying out of the programmes. Of all these forces,
those which play the essential part are those of production, for the
problem is above all a problem of production. As the head of the
Provisional Government said in a speech on 24 May 1945, before
the Provisional Consultative Assembly : " Yesterday there was
no national duty which came before that of fighting ; today there
is none which comes before t h a t of producing."
The public authorities have therefore always kept in close
touch with the employers' and workers' organisations, and when
they have not been able to work in complete agreement with
them, they have at least heard their opinion. 1
Such an attitude was necessary for definite reasons of a political,
technical and social character.
From the political point of view, there were the promises of
the National Resistance Council, the Free French Committee in
London, and the Algiers Provisional Government. The National
Resistance Council, on which were represented the C.G.T. (General
Confederation of Labour) and the C.F.T.C. (French Confederation
of Christian Workers), reconstituted underground, had on
15 March 1944 unanimously adopted a programme which included
" measures intended to establish, as soon as the territory is
liberated, a just social order " and, more particularly in the
economic field, " a genuine economic and social democracy, the
rational organisation of the economy to subordinate private
interests to the general interest ", " the participation of workers
in the direction of the economy ", and " the reconstruction of a
trade union system with large powers in the organisation of economic and social life ". At Algiers on 10 October 1943, Mr. A. T I X I E E ,
Commissioner for Labour, in a speech made before active trade
1
A significant event has shown the importance of the place t h a t the occupational organisations will henceforth hold in the French economy and in social
life. I n 1947, for the first time in the annals of the RepubUc, t h e first President of
t h e F o u r t h Republic, when inaugurating his seventh-year term, received officially a t the Elysée the representatives of the C.G.T., the C.F.T.C, the C.G.A.
and the C.N.P.F.

6

INTRODUCTION

unionists, outlined the new economic policy which would be
" organised in the national interest ", and explained the system
of economic councils in which " the representatives of workers
freely chosen by occupational organisations would sit as constituent elements alongside the representatives of the public authority and, if the case arose, alongside those of the employers'
organisations ".
After its establishment in France the Provisional Government
confirmed its desire to give every section of the French people
its share of responsibility in the work of reconstruction. " How
could one conceive this French united effort without all who
participate in it being called on to contribute to everything it
requires in the way of invention, ingenuity, initiative and responsibility ? " demanded the head of the Provisional Government
on 2 March 1945 before the Consultative Assembly.
Furthermore, the Government realised that to direct the
national economy successfully, it would have to call upon competent and experienced men. Where could more reliable and
competent men be found than in the occupational circles, men
trained in the most varied technical details, some in the management of business, others in questions of labour ? By using the
capacities and experience of each, the Government would make
its task easier at the same time that it created psychological
conditions favourable to the success of its undertaking. The
wider and deeper its collaboration with the producing forces,
the more limited would be its direct intervention in economic
and social life, the better it would be able to devote itself to the
study of the fundamental problems of general policy, and the
more independent it would be to act as arbitrator in disputes and
to ensure that the general interest prevailed.

THE TRADE UNION MOVEMENT AND RECONSTRUCTION

Above all it was essential that the Government should be
able to count on the assistance of the trade unions of wage earners.
The carrying out of the programme of reconstruction and development of the country depended on the work of the labourer,
the employee, the technician and the engineer. It was necessary,
therefore, as the head of the Provisional Government said, " to
associate in the task of restoration the minds and hearts of the
workers, as well as their hands ", and to provide them with the

INTRODUCTION

7

means of ensuring t h a t all resources were being used in the
collective interest of the country and that this was leading to an
improvement in living conditions.
This co-operation was achieved immediately after the liberation. Labour circles recognised t h a t in order to raise the standard
of living it was necessary to have a large amount of consumption
goods, and t h a t only increased production could put such goods
at the disposal of the public. They understood that the speedy
reconstruction of the economic potential of the country meant
limiting imports to raw materials and tools.
The priority given to production problems over the traditional
problems of allocation in conditions of poverty and a directed
economy characterised the new outlook of trade unionism—an
outlook which was to change completely the position of trade
unionism on the economic and social plane.
A report of the C.G.T. says that the question was to make
workers understand that a fresh battle was to be won which
demanded as much vigilance, as much initiative and as much
effort and courage as the victorious campaign which they had
just carried on against the followers of Hitler. 1 Immediately
after the liberation of the country the working class understood
this situation and accepted conditions of work which involved
sacrifices : control of wages by the State, which sanctioned a
reduction in wages as compared with prices which was never
made up, and therefore brought about a very considerable reduction in the standard of living ; the practice of payment by results,
which wage earners had hitherto opposed on principle ; and
longer hours, through a considerable use of overtime. Also, up
to May 1947, in times of difficulty—when, for instance, as happened several times, the lag between prices and wages became
intolerable—the whole working class almost completely gave up
its traditional means of pressure, the strike, which in such circumstances would have been directed against the State, the only
controller of wage policy, and accepted conciliation procedure
through bipartite or tripartite commissions whereby its representatives got in touch with the employers' representatives who, in
a similar spirit, gave up the lockout, as a means of defending their
interests, since lockouts, like strikes, would have interfered with
the policy of the Government by a temporary suspension and
reduction of production. This is all the more remarkable since
1

2

IM Voix du Peuple, J a n . 1946, p . 52.

8

INTRODUCTION

the power of the trade unions had considerably increased by
reason of the increase in their membership and their monopoly position in an economic system characterised by a shortage of labour.
Unless the primary interests of labour were to be abandoned,
this attitude of the workers' organisations would have to be
counterbalanced by participation in the organisation and direction
of economic and social life, a participation which would enable
them to make sure that the use of national resources was really
directed towards the reconstruction and re-establishment of the
country, and that the improvement in the standard of Ufe was
really proceeding in line with increased production and productivity of labour.
Such participation implies the wholehearted collaboration of
the whole working class. It is well known that at the end of
1947 there was a split in the most important workers' organisation,
the C.G.T., part of which broke away to form the C.G.T.-Force
Ouvrière. It is still too early to observe the consequences of this
in the sphere of economic and social relations. However, the
living conditions of the working classes are too closely affected
by the work of reconstruction for it to be possible to question
the principles on which collaboration is based and so nullify the

efforts of the workers themselves to organise it.

T H E MAIN ECONOMIC ORGANISATIONS

In France, just as in other countries which have been devastated by the war, restoration of economic life is thus a collective
task in which, under the direction or supervision of the public
authorities, all the individual forces of labour and production
are associated, through central organisations which provide for
liaison with the State. Thus, before considering the various
aspects of this collective work, it is necessary to survey briefly
the main organisations which participate directly, for various
reasons, in the special organisations set up with a view to providing
co-operation of all elements in the French national community.
The main organisations who are partners in this co-operation
are the organisations of workers, the organisations of technical
and managerial staff, the organisations of employers, the agricultural organisations, the co-operative societies and the groups of consumers. All these organisations are considered here at their higher
level only.

INTRODUCTION

Workers'

9

Organisations

The most important central organisations which included all workers
up to the end of" 1947 were two, the C.G.T. (General Confederation of
Labour) and the C.F.T.C. (French Confederation of Christian Workers).
General Confederation of Labour.
The C.G.T., founded in 1895 by the amalgamation of the National
Federation of Trade Unions (founded in 1886) and the Federation of
Labour Exchanges (founded in 1892), assumed its more or less permanent shape in 1902. In 1921 there was a split, which resulted in
the " C.G.T. Unitaire ". Unity was restored in 1935, but there was
another split in 1939 as a result of the international events of September.
Unity was once more restored in 1943, during the underground existence
of the Confederation.1
The C.G.T. includes, " without distinction of political, philosophic
or religious opinion, all organisations composed of wage earners who
are conscious of the campaign to be waged for the abolition of wageearning and employer classes and wish to defend their moral, material,
economic and occupational interests ". It is made up of national industrial federations numbering about 40 and by departmental or interdepartmental federations of various trade unions numbering about 50.
In 1947 it had about six million members 2, including manual workers,
salaried employees, officials, supervisory staff, engineers, etc. It is
administered by an inter-union national committee, assisted by an
inter-union office and an administrative committee. Its supervisory
committee sees that the various services are properly administered from
the financial point of view. The industrial federations and the regional
or inter-departmental unions have full administrative autonomy. Every
two years the C.G.T. organises a national labour congress to which
reports are submitted. The C.G.T. is a member of the World Federation
of Trade Unions.
However, in spite of the reconciliation of 1943, there were still
differences between the two sections of the reconstituted C.G.T. At
the time of the strike movements of 1947, particularly that of November,
these differences became more acute and led to a split. About the middle
of December 1947, one section broke away and set up a new central body,
the Q.G.T.-Force Ouvrière.3 At the time of writing this report, the
split is too recent for its consequences on the French trade union movement to be seen. In future, the problem of the participation of the
C.G.T.-Force Ouvrière alongside the C.G.T. in the various organisations
for co-operation will be raised in practice, but as far as the period covered
by the present report is concerned, with the exception of events later
1
Cf. I.L.R. : " The Trade Unions and the Resistance Movement in France ",
Oct. 1944, p . 542, and " T h e French General Confederation of Labour during
a n d after the Occupation ", J u l y 1945, p . 96.
2
I n the elections to t h e governing bodies of the primary social security funds
on 24 Apr. 1947, the C.G.T. lists obtained 59.27 per cent, of the votes (3,280,000),
those of the C.F.T.C. 26.36 per cent. (1,458,000) and the other lists 14.37 per cent.
(Le Monde, 21 May 1947).
3
I t was stated in the press on the occasion of the first constitutive congress
of the C.G.T.-F.O. (April 1948) t h a t the Confederation then had 1,500,000 members, grouped in 90 unions and 35 federations (La Vie de l'entreprise, J u n e 1948
p . 13).

10

INTRODUCTION

than December 1947, the expression C.G.T. means the C.G.T. before
the rupture.
French Confederation of Christian Workers-*-C.F.T.C.
The Ç.F.T.C. was founded in 1919, but it originated in the Union
of Silk Workers at Lyons and the Paris Union of Employees in Commerce
and Industry, founded respectively in 1886 and 1887. It consists of
national federations or unions and regional interoccupational unions',
numbering about 40 in the first case and about 100 in the second,
totalling 3,268 trade unions and 85,000 members at the beginning of
1947.1 The constituent organisations have considerable administrative
autonomy. The congress of the C.F.T.C. sits yearly ; it elects a bureau
responsible for the administration of the Confederation and permanent
committees.
Every three months a national committee meets, on which delegates
of the regional federations and unions have seats, which provides
liaison between the constituent organisations and the central bodies.
The activities of the C.F.T.C. are inspired by the principles of Christian
social morality, and the Federation holds that collaboration between
the various elements contributing to production is preferable to class
warfare.
Belations between the C.G.T. and the C.F.T.C.
The C.G.T. and the C.F.T.C. were both dissolved by the Act of
16 August 1940 2 ; they were reconstituted during the underground
period and took an active part in the internal resistance movement.
They were represented on the National Resistance Council and the
Algiers Provisional Consultative Assembly. During the occupation,
their leaders or active members were in close contact with one other and
in 1940 set up a centre for economic and social studies and then in 1944
an inter-confederal committee which intervened in the decisive battle
against the occupation forces with an appeal to French workers (July
1944) and set on foot the insurgent general strike for liberation (August
1944). The Order of 27 July 1944 concerning the restoration of freedom
of organisation officially recognised their legal existence and restored
their property to them. 3
In September 1944, the C.G.T. offered to unite with the C.F.T.C.
in a single union. Up to the present the C.F.T.C. has refused the establishment of a single central union and abides by the form of the interconfederal committee as it existed in the underground period. In 1945,
prior to the first election of works committees, an agreement was
arrived at between the two confederations to draw up joint lists, but the
agreement does not seem to have been put into force at the time of the
next elections.
Organisations of Technical and Managerial

Staff

Supervisors, technicians and engineers have a special position in the
labour world. They are wage earners and for that reason their interests
are close to those of workers as a whole but they generally exercise in
1
2
3

See note 2, p . 9.
Cf. I.L.R., Aug.-Sept. 1940, p . 122, and Apr. 1941, p . 418.
Idem, Nov. 1944, p . 638.

INTRODUCTION

11

the name of the head of the undertaking an authority involving certain
responsibilities. They thus have a special position in the trade union
movement.
Many of the technical and managerial staff are organised in the two
main confederations, the C.G.T. and the C.F.T.C, which have nevertheless left their unions a certain autonomy. In the C.G.T., the federation
of technicians has been abolished and supervisory staff are grouped in
industrial federations, liaison between them being provided by an
inter-union body. The C.F.T.C. has set up an autonomous federation
of technical and managerial staff.
Others set up in 1929 autonomous trade union organisations, which
though suspended during the occupation, joined the general Confederation (C.G.C.) embracing, managerial staff, engineers, supervisors,
technicians, commercial travellers, representatives and commission
agents, which at the end of 1947 had more than 130,000 members.
The C.G.C, includes federations of trade unions and national and regional
unions, which are organised either vertically by occupations or horizontally, to embrace a number of occupations. Among the latter there are
two bodies : a national federation of unions of engineers and technical
and managerial staff and an interfederal committee of supervisors,
technicians and others. A confederal congress of the representatives
of t h e various affiliated organisations meets once a year ; it appoints

a confederal council, and a permanent committee which acts as the
permanent directing body.
Furthermore, a group of engineers which was formed during
the resistance, the Union of French Engineers and Technicians
(U.N.I.T.E.C.) played an important part immediately after the liberation in the organisation of patriotic committees in factories. The
Union has about 10,000 members ; its chief task at present is to contribute
morally and materially to the industrial and economic recovery of France.
Employers'

Organisations

The General Confederation of French Employers was also dissolved
by the Act of 16 August 1940, at the same time as the coal owners'
and ironmasters' associations (the Comité central des houillères de France
and the Comité des Forges). Their property was handed over to the
interoccupational information centre which in 1945 became the national
centre for economic information. After the liberation, there was no
question of restoring the General Confederation of French Employers,
and the employers reorganised themselves somewhat slowly. Nevertheless, they had certain means of expressing their views to the public
authorities. The Minister for Industrial Production had set up a
committee for assistance to undertakings, which voiced the wishes of
employers on questions connected with production, and which was also
called on to give opinions on economic questions to the Ministers concerned. Furthermore, the head of the Government had set up a committee
of 14 members which represented the general interests of the employers.
The members of these two committees were generally chosen from among
the leaders of those industrial federations which had never ceased to
carry on their activities. From these committees was formed the committee for liaison and research which was set up in 1945 and which also
included delegates of the General Confederation of Small and MediumSized Undertakings, the Federation of Regional Associations, the Young
Employers' Centre, etc. In December 1945, this committee succeeded
in setting up an organisation for the co-ordination and representation

12

INTRODUCTION

of employers' associations of the industrial and commercial groups :
the National Council of French Employers (C.N.P.F.).
The C.N.P.F. is intended to act, on the one hand, as " an organisation
for liaison and co-ordination between each of the constituent groups,
the latter retaining their individuaUty, their autonomy and their own
means of co-operation within the framework of the general policy
discussed and accepted jointly " ; it also provides for " general representation of heads of undertakings in negotiations with the Government
or organisations of workers and of technical and managerial staff in all
economic or social questions with regard to which its members have
agreed. Each union, federation or group would therefore only be bound
by the policy of the Council in so far as its representatives have previously
approved it ". Its decisions should in principle be taken unanimously.
The C.N.P.F. is based on a vertical representation by industry
and a horizontal representation by regional interoccupational groups.
It includes on the one hand, large so-called vertical federations including
all the employing elements of an industry or of a trade beginning with
the head of the undertaking and continuing through the local association
and the regional association or federation up to the national federation
or confederation ; and on the other hand, the General Confederation of
Small and Medium-Sized Undertakings, a horizontal and interoccupational body, and the regional interoccupational groups, which are also
horizontal bodies.
The C.N.P.F. is administered by a general assembly, a directing
committee, and a bureau. The general assembly consists of 500 members,
350 of whom represent occupational federations (industry 275, trade 75),
75 regional occupational groups, and 75 t h e federation of small and

medium undertakings. The seats are allocated between the member
organisations in proportion to the number of wage earners employed.
The managing committee consists of 92 members, 60 of whom represent
occupational federations (industry 50, trade 10), 15 the regional interoccupational groups, and 10 the federation of small and medium undertakings. There are also a further seven members nominated by the
general assembly and chosen for their competence in economic, social
or occupational questions. 1 The bureau, appointed by the managing
committee, is responsible for the working of the organisation. Two
committees, themselves divided into subcommittees, deal with economic
and social questions respectively. The committee on social questions has four subcommittees concerned wich vocational training and
apprenticeship, wages, works committees and social security.
Alongside the C.N.P.F. and the organisations which constitute it
or are represented on it by means of co-opting (the Young Employers'
Centre, the French Confederation of the Professions, etc.), others representing employers' interests are chambers of commerce and trade
chambers, the latter dealing more particularly with questions concerning handicrafts.
Agricultural

Organisations

The agricultural organisations are grouped together in the C.G.A.
(General Confederation of Agriculture), which was set up at the end
of 1945, and which is intended to include all categories of the active
1
The French employers' delegate to the Governing Body of the International
Labour Office was appointed from these seven members.

INTRODUCTION

13

agricultural world : fanners, agricultural workers, technicians and rural
artisans ; it includes both the occupational organisations and the
economic organisations. Among them are the national or departmental
federations of unions of farmers, agricultural workers (notably the
Federation of Agricultural Workers, which includes within the C.G.T.
2,900 unions and 200,000 members, the Federation of Free Trade Unions
of Land Workers and the Federation of Christian Unions of Agricultural
Technicians and the personnel of the agricultural organisations affiliated to the C.F.T.C.), technicians (National Federation of Engineers,
Technicians and Employees in Agriculture, established in March 1945)
and rural artisans. The chief economic organisations are : the National
Federation for Co-operation, which includes national, regional and
departmental federations and unions grouped according to activities
or products ; the National Federation of Agricultural Mutual Insurance,
which includes the departmental or regional insurance funds (fire,
accident, hail, death of livestock) and the National Federation for
Agricultural Credits, which includes the regional agricultural credit
funds. The C.G.A. represents 80 per cent, of French agriculturalists.
The agricultural chambers are also organisations representing the
agricultural world just as the chambers of commerce represent industrialists and traders and the chambers of trade represent artisans.
Co-operative

Organisations

The co-operative organisations may be grouped in four categories :
co-operatives for consumption, agricultural co-operatives, workers'
co-operatives for production, and handicraftsmen's co-operatives.
The consumers' co-operative societies are grouped in three national
organisations : an organisation for general purposes, the National
Union of Co-operative Distributors' Societies (792 societies and 1,766,704
members on 31 May 1946) ; an economic organisation, the French
Co-operative Wholesale Society (Société générale des coopératives de
France) ; and a financial organisation, the Bank of French Co-operative
Societies.
The agricultural co-operative movement is a complex organisation
in which three branches may be distinguished : the rural credit cooperative societies grouped in the National Federation for Rural Credit,
the agricultural mutual insurance societies in the Agricultural Union
and the co-operatives whose functions are strictly economic—purchase,
sale and processing—grouped in the Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Societies and the Central Association of Agricultural Cooperative Societies. The above-mentioned three national federations
for credit, mutual assurance, and co-operation in agriculture are the
three constituents of the Agricultural and Co-operative Union. Each
of them is a separate member of the C.G.A. At the beginning of 1938,
the agricultural co-operatives included 32,000 societies with 1,850,000
members. I t is probable that membership has now increased ; the
number of societies affiliated to the Association of Grain Growers'
Co-operative Societies increased in 1946 from 202 to 617.
The workers' production co-operatives 1 are grouped in the Confederation of French Workers' Co-operative Societies (on 31 October 1947
1
The management of these undertakings, which is entirely carried out or
supervised by the workers occupied in them, will n o t be examined as such in
t h e present report. The same applies to certain special groups of undertakings
such as " labour communities " .

14

INTRODUCTION

there were 690 societies, about two thirds of them concerned with
building and public works). The financial organisation of the movement
is the Co-operative Bank of Workers' Co-operative Societies.
The handicrafts co-operatives are grouped in the Federation of
Handicraftsmen's Co-operative Societies, an organisation set up since
the liberation, which includes about 250 societies and 30,000 members.
Consumers'

Organisations

Organisations of consumers represented alongside the public
authorities and the occupational organisations in the main bodies that
direct the economy or intervene in questions such as food supply,
allocation and fixing of prices have not always been established with
the definite intention of defending the interests of the consumers as
such (as were the groups of purchasers, for example, which joined
together in a national federation), but rather to defend general interests.
Apart from any occupational question, these groups endeavour to
safeguard and improve the material situation of their members, and
therefore special attention is paid to their interests as consumers.
Among the most prominent is the group of family associations, numbering 3,900, representing 4,000,000 members, organised as laid down in
the Ordinance of 3 March 1945, and grouped in the National Union
of Family Associations. Then there are women's associations and
associations of ex-servicemen, former deportees, ex-prisoners of war,
tenants, etc.
THE

PROBLEM

OF THE MOST REPRESENTATIVE

ORGANISATIONS

I t will be seen in the report that, when designating organisations or members of organisations for collaboration, use is frequently made of the expression " most representative organisations ", and t h a t the organisations t h a t are recognised as being
the most representative are called on to play an increasingly
important part in economic and social life. I t is important to
understand what is meant by this expression.
A Circular of 28 May 1945, supplementing a Circular of 17 August 1936, explains what is meant. 1 I t first points out t h a t the Act
of 1884 recognised that all unions have the same rights, whatever
their size, and continues, " So long as the role of the unions was
merely to defend the occupational interests of members, the
system did not raise any difficulties. But when the unions were
entrusted with the task of representing the occupation in negotiations with public authorities, the necessity for making a choice
became apparent. I n France the multiplicity of unions is a fact
which must be taken into account, particularly as regards wage
earners".
1
Cf. I.L.R. : " Definition of Representative Industrial Organisations in
F r a n c e " , Dec. 1945, p . 680.

INTRODUCTION

15

The Circular then reviews the following criteria which make
it possible to determine the representative character of an organisation :
1. membership ; the number of members should be duly checked,
without, however, such supervision constituting an infringement of
freedom of association ;
2. independence ; membership must be really free and without
any pressure or influence of the employer ; works unions do not provide
the necessary guarantees from this point of view.
3. the length of time during which members have paid their subscriptions, regularity of payment, and the amount of the subscription,
all circumstances which prove the existence of a permanent bond
between the union and its members and provide the union with the
resources which ensure its independence ;
4. the experience and age of the groups, the effectiveness and
continuity of their social activities, their constructive spirit, achievements and moral influence ;
5. their patriotic attitude, their record under the Vichy regime
and their loyalty in applying social legislation.
These criteria having been laid down, the representative
character of a trade union organisation may be judged, as the
case may require, from either the occupational or the territorial
(whole country, district, locality, undertaking) x point of view,
and sometimes with different results. " Thus ", says the Circular,
" a union may be qualified to represent the interests of an occupation so far as a region is concerned, or locally, or within an
undertaking, whereas the federation or confederation to which
it is affiliated is not qualified to do so at the national level ".
The Circular draws attention to the C.G.T. and the C.F.T.C.,
" which have behind them a long history of trade union action,
which were secretly reconstructed under the German occupation,
which took an active part in the struggle of the French people
for liberation, which are represented on the National Resistance
Council and the Provisional Advisory Assembly, and which were
entrusted by the Ordinance of 27 July 1944 with the task of reconstituting and purging the workers' trade union organisations".
Therefore, " they, with their affiliated unions, should always be
regarded in principle as representative organisations ". This
observation also applies to the C.G.T.-F.O. 2
1
The fixing of the representative character of industrial organisations composed exclusively of workers employed in one undertaking has been dealt with
by several other circulars of the Minister of Labour, the last of which is dated
26 J a n u a r y 1948.
2
Ministerial Circular, 26 J a n . 1948.

16

INTRODUCTION

For technical and managerial staff, the C.G.T. is recognised
as a representative organisation for the nation as a whole.
The C.N.P.F. has been recognised by the Government ever
since it was founded as representing French employers as a whole.
P L A N OF THE R E P O R T

After the liberation, the first duty of the public authorities
was to lay down the general lines of an economic and social policy
which would direct the co-ordinated efforts of all classes of the
community. They had to prepare plans and programmes for
production, provide the necessary means for carrying them out,
maintain the balance between different factors of production and,
so long as there was a shortage of foodstuffs and other products,
see t h a t they were equitably allocated.
The actual carrying out of such a programme is an occupational
question, but since certain industries are of vital interest to the
country, so t h a t some of them are really public services, the public
authorities considered it necessary to take steps to reserve these
for the national service.
Within each branch of activity, production is finally ensured
in the individual undertakings upon whose activity the carrying
out of the programmes depends.
The public authorities organised the co-operation of all the
factors of production at all these levels. For this purpose they set
up suitable bodies within which the parties concerned could
express their views and thus share in the fixing of economic
and social activities or in the activities themselves.
The first part of the report will therefore examine the organisation of co-operation on a national or departmental basis,
in view of the planning—and sometimes the execution—of
economic and social policy, and it will be shown how the occupational organisations or other groups were called on to give
their assistance to the common task in bodies which were mostly
advisory, where they could communicate with the public authorities—Parliament, Government or prefectural authority—with
regard to the problems that they had to deal with and could
submit suggestions at the same time as they defended their private
interests before representatives of the general interest. On this
general basis, co-operation has a permanent aspect if it deals
with problems which, whatever the circumstances, come within
the scope of the public authorities. On the other hand, in the

INTRODUCTION

17

case of many problems, as in questions arising from shortages
of products and foodstuffs, e.g., allocation, rationing, prices
and the need for continuing certain controls, it takes on a temporary
character, and the corresponding bodies are in some cases only
provisional.
In Part II, a summary is given of the participation of occupational organisations in the direction and management of nationalised
industries or undertakings, or of those in which the State holds
a large part of the invested capital.
Part III is devoted to the various institutions for co-operation
set up within the undertakings : staff delegates, safety delegates,
health and safety committees, and above all, works committees.

PART I

CO-OPERATION AT THE NATIONAL
AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

INTRODUCTION
The participation of the occupational organisations in the
determination of economic and social policy at the national and
departmental levels is effected through many and various bodies set
up according to requirements and circumstances. It is not surprising, therefore, that during the years these have changed, sometimes fundamentally. Certain of them have been short-lived,
others are provisional only.
The first chapter shows briefly how these bodies began and
how they developed. The second chapter describes them in their
present form, distinguishing between those of an economic character
and those of a social character, though it is sometimes difficult
to make such a distinction in view of the interpénétration of
economic and social facts. In the case of each of these series of
bodies, a separate examination is made of those whose competence
is general and those whose competence is limited to a special
question ; the more important are briefly analysed.1

1
Certain bodies of a transitory or provisional character are omitted, e.g.,
the committees set up to carry out purges, the bodies concerned with public office
and administrative reform and those concerning officials, ex-servicemen, war
victims, children, exhibitions, etc.

CHAPTER I
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
T H E THIRD REPUBLIC

The origin of co-operation on a national basis between the
public authorities and employers' and workers' organisations can
be traced back to the establishment in 1891 of the Higher Labour
Council, on which were represented the State, employers and
workers. This Council, which was reorganised in 1921, was responsible for studying and drafting proposed labour legislation and
informing Parliament and the Government as to what reforms
could be carried out. During its existence it accomplished a
great deal, and the progress made in the sphere of social pohcy
is largely due to its activities.
Before the 1914-1918 war, there were also set up in the departments chambers of commerce, bodies representing the interests
of industry and commerce ; the chambers of agriculture and
chambers of trade, which represent agricultural interests and
handicraftsmen, were set up between the two wars.
As a result of the economic disorganisation resulting from the
first world conflict, the public authorities, who were responsible
for social policy and more and more responsible for economic
policy, endeavoured to obtain the advice of the occupational
organisations. Between the two wars, a number of advisory
bodies were set up for purposes of co-operation and they developed
as the occupational organisations—and above all the workers'
trade unions—acquired more authority and took a more active
part in the affairs of the country.
I t was at this time that the National Economic Council was
constituted (1925), which, according to the report to the President
of the Republic which accompanied the Decree of 16 J a n u a r y 1925
establishing the Council, was intended " . . . to unite in close
brotherhood all productive and social forces in France ". I n this
advisory body, which the C.G.T. had already suggested as early
as 1919, all the general economic interests of the country were
represented. Since its setting up, and especially since its reorga-

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

23

nisation in 1936, it has always played a leading part in the
preparation and putting into practice of economic and social
policy. The National Economic Council was abolished by the
Vichy Government, but it was revived in 1946 under the name
of Economic Council, and became an organic institution.
Alongside the Higher Labour Council and the National Economic Council, which had general powers, other specialised
tripartite institutions were set up during the period between the
two wars : the Higher Council for Social Insurance, the Higher
Council for Technical Training, the National Manpower Council,
the Industrial Hygiene Board, the Occupational Diseases Board,
etc.
At the beginning of the second world war, the Government,
wishing to gather all authority into its hands for the prosecution
of the war, suspended the working of most of these institutions
and entrusted their duties to tripartite bodies more closely dependent on it ; for instance, the Permanent Economic Commission
replaced the National Economic Council, and a committee for the
study of social questions took the place of the Higher Labour
Council.
Furthermore, in order to maintain control over the economy
and to safeguard the purchasing power of the currency within the
country, the Government blocked prices and wages 1 and set u p
bodies through which the occupational organisations would at
any rate be consulted in the preparation of decisions which might
have to be taken later.
THE

VICHY

RÉGIME

After the armistice, the Vichy régime abolished, suspended
or transformed the organisations for co-operation existing in
June 1940, while maintaining control over prices and wages. I t
endeavoured to set up gradually a new economic and social régime
inspired by totalitarian and corporative doctrines.
Economic

Organisation

The Government immediately set up two series of bodies to work
under its authority and regulate production and exchanges : the orga1
Measures for blocking were taken in most fields.. Apart from prices and
wages, the exchange rate of gold and the various exchanges, the revenues from
buildings a n d transferable securities, etc., were also blocked. At t h e same time
the number of industrial and commercial undertakings was stabilised.

3

24

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

nisation committees, and the allocation sections. These institutions
were retained for some time after the liberation.
In order to have its hands free, and " with a view to maintaining
its authority ", the Vichy Government first abolished the general
groups which brought the employers' and workers' organisations
together on a national basis, i.e., the C.G.T., the C.F.T.C, and the
General Confederation of French Employers. It later also abolished
the National Economic Council and the Permanent Economic Commission, the principles of which were incompatible with the régime that
it intended to establish.
The abolition of the workers' and employers' central organisations
was the first provision of the Act of 16 August 19401, which also established a " provisional organisation of industrial production " based
on so-called organising committees for each occupation ; these committees were under the tutelage of the public authorities through
Government Commissioners who sat on them. They had three duties :
economic direction, internal organisation of the occupation, and
representation of the occupation in dealings with the public authorities.
In order to co-ordinate the activities of these committees, which
numbered about 160 in the middle of 1943, and to facilitate liaison
between them and the ministerial services, an interoccupational
information centre had been set up which included representatives of
the organising committees, industrialists, tradesmen, handicraftsmen,
manual workers, salaried employees and technical and managerial
staff, all chosen by reason of their personal qualifications. This centre
was more particularly responsible for providing the necessary records
for the good working of the organisation of the industrial or commercial occupations. 2
Shortly afterwards, the Act of 10 September 1940 3 organised, in
so far as the shortages allowed, the allocation of the essential products
on which all industrial production depended. A central office was
established to carry out this task, the various sections of which were
to " fix the rules for the acquisition, allocation, accumulation of stocks,
sale, and consumption of the products for which they were responsible " ; a central section was responsible for co-ordination, allocation,
statistics, administrative questions, and organising the recovery and
use of scrap and waste. Each section, supervised by a Government
Commissioner, had at its head an assessor (répartiteur) assisted by an
advisory committee whose members, like the assessor, were appointed
by the Minister for Industrial Production.
Thus the French economy was directed by bodies placed under the
strict control of the Government, and the trade union organisations
were not represented on these bodies.
The general lack of products of all kinds, due to the cessation of
imports, the huge levies made by the occupying forces and the use
by them of the greater part of the means of production, also led to
the organisation of the allocation of most consumption goods, and
the population was severely rationed.
1
Journal
officiel de l'Etat français (hereafter referred to as
J.O.E.F.),
21 J u l y 1940, p . 4,551. Cf. I.L.R., Aug.-Sept. 1940, p . 122.
2
Decree dated 30 Apr. 1941, J.O.E.F., 11 May 1941, p . 2,008; cf.
I.L.R.,
Sept. 1941, p . 303.
oj.O.E.F.,
12 Sept. 1940, p . 4,970.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Social

25

Organisation

I t was only in 1941 that, after long preparation, the new social
régime suppressing freedom of association was brought in. The Act
of 4 October 1941 established the Labour Charter 1 , which was to provide
a basis for the " creation of future corporations ". In the meantime
it set up in the limited framework of categories of wage earners and
groups (" families ") of occupations a single compulsory and official
union. The trade unions were no longer allowed to carry out their
proper functions in respect of the regulation of wages and conditions
of work ; their task was limited to nomination of their representatives
on the social committees.
These committees, on which were represented employers, manual
workers, salaried employees and technical and managerial staff, constituted the framework of the corporative organisation of each group
of occupations ; they dealt with occupational and social questions,
and represented the occupation in all circumstances ; strikes and
lockouts were forbidden.
• Furthermore, corporations of agriculture 2 , merchant shipping 3 and
sea fisheries 4 were also set up.
Such was the economic and social régime t h a t France experienced during the occupation, an authoritarian régime with a
considerable tinge of the corporative system, which history knows
under the name of the Vichy régime.
A F T E R THE LIBERATION

After the liberation France waited two and a half years before
acquiring stabilised political institutions. First there was the
régime of the Algiers Provisional Government which moved
to France in June 1944, a de facto Government, having full powers
and assisted by a Consultative Assembly. Then came the régime
of the de jure provisional Governments, which worked under the
supervision of the two Constituent Assemblies.
The Algiers Provisional Government, which had the heavy
task of taking over the Government of the French State, was
forced b y circumstances to maintain the economic and social
controls established by Vichy, certain of which went back to the
Governments of the Third Republic.
1
J.O.E.F.,
26 Oct. 1941. Cf. I.L.R., Mar. 1942, p . 2 6 9 ; and Legislative
Series (hereafter referred to as L.S.), 1941—Fr. 7.
2
Act of 2 Dec. 1940, J.O.E.F., 7 Dec. 1940, p . 6,005. Cf. I.L.R., Mar. 1941,
p . 317, a n d L.S., 1940, Fr. 1, C.
3
Act of 27 Mar. 1942, J.O.E.F., 31 Mar. 1942, p . 1,238 ; cf. I.L.R., Sept.
1942, p . 329, and L.S., 1942—Fr. 2 ; Decree of 7 June 1943, J.O.E.F., 9 J u n e 1943,
p . 1,573 ; cf. I.L.R., Nov. 1943, p . 632.
4
Act of 13 Mar. 1941, J.O.E.F., 30 Mar. 1941, p . 1,370 ; cf. I.L.R., Aug. 1941,
p . 204.

26

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

Indeed, the existing shortage, though no longer aggravated
by levies from the occupying power, could only be made up by
national production and by imports. National production had
been considerably handicapped by destruction resulting from
the fighting during the liberation and by the exhaustion of stocks,
while imports were at first almost impossible because of the lack
of tonnage and the destruction of harbour equipment, and then
very difficult as a result of insufficient means of payment.
The problem, however, arose in another atmosphere. The
authoritarian régime of Vichy had been abolished. The first
Provisional Government, though not a parliamentary Government,
was at least a democratic régime which desired " to let the French
people speak once again " and desired to obtain the support of
all those forces of the nation which during the underground period
and in the fight for liberation had shown their patriotic spirit,
attachment to the general interests of the country, sense of
responsibility, the will to participate in the work of reconstruction
subject to respect for their freedom and their rights in so far as
the new situation allowed. Among these organised forces the
workers' associations occupied an important place and showed
themselves particularly active.
The maintenance of the Vichy institutions, which was indispensable to the life of the country, at least during the first months after
liberation, was only conceivable if the methods which had presided
over their working were changed. Thus in a general way these
institutions were amended in a democratic sense ; the Government
introduced into them representatives of the various elements of
the nation with a view to consulting them on the working out
of its schemes and associating them with the carrying out of its
decisions. The employers' and workers' organisations were naturally the first to be called on for this co-operation. For this
purpose, one of the first measures of the Provisional Government
was the re-establishment of freedom of association.
The Ordinance of 27 July 19441 cancelled the Labour Charter,
and incidentally abolished the union system set up by Vichy and
all the organisations whose establishment was provided for by
the Charter. Thus the attempt to set up a corporative régime
failed. This Ordinance also cancelled the provisions of the Act
of 16 August 1940 under which the central organisations of workers
1
Journal officiel de la République française (hereafter referred to as J.O.),
30 Aug. 1944, p. 776 ; cf. I.L.B., Nov. 1944, p. 638, and L.S., 1944, Er. 5.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

27

and employers had been dissolved ; it authorised the re-establishment of the C.G.T. and of the C.F.T.C., and restored their property
to them. It re-established the regime of freedom of association
which had been in force before the war, and set up commissions
to purge the trade union movement and speedily to rebuild the
framework of the organisation of employers and workers.
The trade unions, associations, and federations of workers'
unions existing on 30 October 1939 which had been dissolved
since that date were immediately re-established with their rights
and powers. The workers' trade union movement was thus very
speedily reorganised, and the trade union organisations developed
in a way which justified the place they were about to occupy
in national life. The technical and managerial staff also speedily
formed groups either in central workers' organisations or in autonomous organisations.
The employers' movement, at least on a national basis, was
reorganised more slowly, and it was only at the end of 1945, as
already indicated, that there was set up the central employers'
organisation of the C.N.P.F., which, alongside the C.G.T., the
C.F.T.C, the C.G.C., some time later the C.G.A., and still later
the C.G.T.-F.O., was to co-operate with the public authorities.
Other Ordinances of the Provisional Government provided for
the dissolution of various corporations set up by the Vichy Government.1 The post-war legislation with regard to trade chambers
was put into force. The chambers of commerce were regranted
their statutes and those freely elected before 2 September 1939
were, subject to certain reservations, kept in office or once more
put into office. All these union or occupational bodies which
were reconstituted were now to resume their representative
duties and their collaboration with the public authorities, either
directly or through specialised institutions. Though the Provisional Government immediately abolished the social organisation
instituted by Vichy, it left for a time the economic organisation
of production with its allocation sections and its organisation
committees, some of which were later replaced by occupational
offices or committees. However, it carried out a democratic
reform in these bodies in calling on trade unions to collaborate
in their work.2

1
2

Cf. I.L.R., Apr. 1945, p . 495.
Ordinance dated 22 J u n e 1944, J.O., 5 Aug. 1944, pp. 670-671.

28

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

This organisation for production and allocation was abolished
by the Act of 26 April 1946 J , which provided for the abolition
and winding up of the organising committees, the occupational
offices and the allocation sections 2 and the provisional establishment of a new organisation. Since the continuing shortage of
raw material did not yet make it possible to return, to economic
freedom 3 , the Provisional Government also continued controls
over prices, wages and food supplies, and in this sphere also
the occupational organisations were called on to share in Government action.
Lastly, the various technical Ministries also obtained the
collaboration of the employers' and workers' organisations by
bringing them into the advisory or executive bodies t h a t already
existed and those t h a t were being established or re-established.
Most of the bodies set up for co-operation after the liberation
were of an experimental nature, and some did not last long. The
following chapter examines the present form of those t h a t have
survived and, where necessary, refers to those t h a t have disappeared,

THE

FOURTH

REPUBLIC

The preamble of the new Constitution of the French Republic
promulgated on 27 October 1946 4 officially recognises the fundamental principle of the participation of occupational organisations
in the determination of the social and economic policy of the
country. I t proclaims that every worker takes part, through
his representatives, in the collective fixing of conditions of work
and the management of undertakings. Furthermore it contains
other principles of a social and economic character which guide
this policy of participation. Among the most important are the
following :
Everyone has the right to work and the right to obtain work. No
one may be interfered with in his work by reason of his origin, his opinions or his religion.
Any man may defend his rights and his interests by union action
and join the union that he chooses.
1

J.O., 28 Apr. 1946, p . 3,534.
The winding up of these organisations was to be carried out within six
months in t h e case of each branch of activity a t a date fixed by Decree. Successive Acts postponed the application of this provision up t o 31 Dec. 1948.
3
See p . 54.
4
J.O., 28 Oct. 1946, p . 9,166 ; cf. I.L.R., Nov.-Dec. 1946, p . 364.
2

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

29

The right to strike is exercised within the regulations fixed by
the law.1
All property and all undertakings operated, now or in future, as
national public services or as actual monopolies, shall be publicly
owned.
The nation guarantees to the individual and the family conditions
necessary for proper development.
It guarantees to all, particularly children, mothers and aged workers,
protection of health, material security, rest and leisure. Any human
being who by reason of his age and his physical condition is unable
to work, has the right to obtain from the community suitable means
of existence.
The nation guarantees to both children and adults equal access
to education, vocational training and culture.
Furthermore, the Constitution, which has taken for its motto
" Government of the people, for the people, and b y the people ",
has set up a supreme advisory body, the Economic Council, on
which occupational organisations are largely represented.
Thus, under t h e F o u r t h Republic, t h e work undertaken more

than a century ago by the Third Republic has been continued.

1
As a result of serious social conflicts in November and December 1947
concerning readjustment of wages, an Act was passed on 6 Dec. 1947 (J.O.,
7 Dec. 1947, p . 11,950) to ensure the protection of freedom of labour. The Act
laid down, however, t h a t none of its provisions should be interpreted in such
a way as to prevent, hamper or diminish in any way the exercise of the right
to strike. I t was not to apply to acts committed after 29 Feb. 1948.

CHAPTER II
PRESENT SYSTEM
Participation in the Fixing of Economic Activities
BODIES WITH GENERAL POWERS

The bodies with general powers are on the one hand those that
direct the preparation and execution of the industrial equipment
plan, which will make it possible to restore the French economy,
and on the other hand the Economic Committee, which assists
the Government and Parliament by giving them information and
guidance in economic matters.
The Industrial Equipment Plan1
Institution of the Plan.
After the liberation, partial plans had been prepared for the
restoration of certain sectors of economic activity, for instance,
coal mines, hydro-electric dams, the railways, merchant shipping,
machine tools and automobiles, rural engineering, and above all
reconstruction. These plans were, however, being considered
separately, and however reasonable and justifiable they might
appear when taken individually they could not be carried out
simultaneously.2 If the schemes for reconstruction and renewal
were to be fully effective it was indispensable that they should be
co-ordinated in a general plan which would fix their order of
priority. Furthermore, only an agreed plan free from fluctuations of policy could ensure the continuity necessary to carry
out the restoration of the country.
For this purpose, the Provisional Government, by a Decree
of 3 January 1946 3, decided that within six months there should
be established a preliminary general plan for the modernisation
1
The documentation here used is taken from the publications of the Office
of the Commissioner-General for the Plan.
2
First report of the Commissioner for the Plan (Mar. 1946).
3
J.O., 4 J a n . 1946, p . 130.

PRESENT SYSTEM

31

and economic equipment of the home country and the overseas
territories. 1 This plan, which should also include the restoration
of public and private plant and equipment damaged or destroyed
in the war, is particularly intended, from the economic point of
view, to increase the production of the home country and of the
overseas territories and their exchanges with the outside world,
and to raise the productivity of labour to the level of those countries where it is highest ; from the social point of view the plan
aims at ensuring full use of manpower, improving labour conditions—the proper counterpart of increased production—and
raising the standard of living of the population.
The expansion of production, which is the logical consequence
of modernisation, should also enable the economy of the country
to pay by exports for necessary imports of raw materials, coal,
oil and equipment.
The carrying out of this plan will require a considerable effort
from the nation which, if it is to agree to it, must be closely associated with it. I n his instructions to the Commissioner-General
for the Plan, the President of the Provisional Government stated
on 10 J a n u a r y 1946 :
The country will only accept the measures taken in so far as it
is acquainted with and fully understands the actual situation. From
two points of view—to enable those responsible for economic policy
to choose with full knowledge of the facts, and to ensure that the Government obtains the agreement and collaboration of the country in carrying
out the decisions taken—it appears indispensable to establish and
publicise widely a general statement of the economic situation and of
the plans for modernisation and their effects on the activities and life
of everyone. This plan is not only useful to the administration and to
the public authorities ; it is of interest to all French citizens who find
in it general data concerning our situation and guidance for their individual initiative.
Since the carrying out of the plan will require the collaboration of
all, it is absolutely necessary that all the vital elements of the nation
should take part in its preparation. It is proposed therefore to bring
together in each sector the responsible administration, the best qualified
experts and the representatives of the trade associations (workers,
technical and managerial staff and employers).
Planning

Bodies.

The Decree of 3 January 1946 establishing the plan set up for
the preparation and execution of the plan a number of bodies,
1
The planning of the economic system was later included in the Constitution
of 27 October 1946, which provided t h a t the Economic Council should always
be consulted concerning the "establishment of a national economic plan for the
purpose of the full use of manpower and the rational use of material resources".

32

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

in whose activities the active forces of the country were called
on to participate. These bodies were : a directing body, the
Planning Council and a number of bodies to carry out the
work—the Commissioner-General's Office, the working and coordination committees and the modernisation committees. The
whole of this organisation was responsible to the Prime Minister.
The Planning Council. The Council is presided over by the Minister
of State responsible for the plan, assisted by the Minister of Economy
and Finance (vice-president). It includes members sitting as of right
and members nominated by the Government.
The former are the various Ministers concerned with the plan, the
Commissioner-General for German and Austrian affairs and the Commissioner-General for the Plan. The members nominated by the Government include : five representatives of industrialists, four representatives
of trade unions (three of the C.G.T. and one of the C.F.T.C), four
representatives of agricultural workers, two representatives of overseas
territories, one representative of scientific research and one expert.
The Vice-President of the National Council for Credit and the SecretaryGeneral of the Inter-Ministerial Economic Committee attend the Council
in an advisory capacity.
The first task of the Council was to propose to the Government
the plan and the means of carrying it out.
Commissioner-General's Office. The services of the CommissionerGeneral's Office, which centralises and co-ordinates all activities of the
plan, are under a Commissioner-General responsible for preparing
the proposals to be submitted to the Council for examination. He
ensures liaison between the various Ministers concerned, who give
him the assistance of their technical services 1 ; he approaches each
of them as the representative of the Minister in charge of the plan.
The Commissioner-General may carry out all investigations he
considers desirable ; he may approach public administrations and, with
their collaboration, the trade associations, industrialists, and all other
organisations or persons he may think fit to consult.
In work of a technical character the Commissioner-General is assisted
by the working and co-ordination committees and " modernisation "
committees. He provides liaison between the Planning Council and
the committees in order that the work of the committees keeps within
the framework of the Council directives.
Working and co-ordination committees. These committees, which
consist of high officials belonging to the Ministries represented on the
Planning Council, are responsible for directing the work of the Commissioner-General's Office.
1
The Commissioner-General's Office has also brought together the plans
already established (see p . 30) and the preparatory studies already carried out.
Among the latter, mention should particularly be made of the inventory of the
resources of the French economy published in 1946 by the Directorate of Documentation and Economic Studies of the Ministry of National Economy and Finance,
in the preparation of which various services also took part, e.g., those of the
Institut de Conjoncture, the French General Statistical Service, the National
Economic Information Centre, and the Central Statistical and Documentation
Service a t the Ministry of Industrial Production.

33

PBESENT SYSTEM

Modernisation committees. These committees, which are established for each of the products that the Council considers suitable for
study, include representatives of the administration, experts and representatives of the trade associations (employers, workers and technical
and managerial staff). It is through them that the active forces of the
country participate in the drawing up of the plan. The members of
these committees are chosen among " the most progressive persons
representative of the branch in question ". Table I gives the composition of the committees set up during the year 1946 and the first six
months of 1947.1
Several of these committees (coal mines, building and public works,
manpower, consumption and social modernisation) are presided over
by secretaries of the central trade union organisations.
For the purpose of drawing up the plan, the modernisation committees,
who were to receive instructions periodically, had first to carry out
enquiries into labour productivity in France in order to compare it
with productivity in the same industries in other countries. When a
serious lag was noted, they were to find the reason and propose means
to put an end to it—technical training, mechanisation, replacement of
existing equipment, improvement of organisation, technical concentration
and geographical decentralisation, development of research services, etc.
They were also requested to make proposals concerning the volume of
production they considered reasonable, taking account both of French
requirements and of possible exports. Their work would lead to a
balance sheet of the whole of the means, requirements and possibilities
which would enable the Planning Council to arrive at definite conclusions,
to establish the necessary priorities, and to submit to the Government
proposals concerning what production is essential and what targets
should be aimed at during a given period.
The First

Plan.

The first industrial equipment plan was submitted to the Council on 27 October 1946 in a report by the Commissioner-General. 2
The introductory note submits the report in the following terms :
After having referred to the reasons for which conditions in France
make modernisation vitally necessary and explained the main principles
of policy which it imposes on our activities, this document sets forth
the objectives of production and the measures of modernisation recommended as between now and 1950, and the means of providing for the
carrying out of the plan : material means, investments and financing
of the measures of execution. I t then sets forth the programme for
1947,
The note pays a tribute " to the competence and devotion of all
those, more than 1,000 persons altogether, who took part in this
1
Since then two new committees have been set up, one for tourist traffic
and one for telecommunications.
2

C O M M I S S A R I A T

G É N É R A L

D U

P L A N

D E

M O D E B N I S A T I O N

E T

D ' É Q U I P E M E N T

:

Rapport général sur le premier plan de modernisation et d'équipement, novembre 1946janvier 1947. This general report is accompanied b y special reports drawn up
b y each of the modernisation committees. A first report b y the CommissionerGeneral was prepared in March 1946 a t the time of the first session of the Planning
Council (16-19 March 1946) ; it appeared in a publication entitled Documents relatifs
à la première session du Conseil du plan.

34

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

TABLE I.

COMPOSITION OF MODERNISATION COMMITTEES

Committees

Coal mines
Electricity
Iron industry . . . .
Inland transport. . .
Motor fuel
Manpower

Heads Techni
Total
of
Trade Exnumber Admi- under- cal and union perts
or
of
nistra- takings mana- memgerial bers tech- Various
mem- tion
or
staff
nicians
bers
works

22
15
29
19
23

2
5
3
11
3
7

Rural equipment. . .
Vegetable production.
Animal production . .
Agricultural machinery
Construction materials
Buildings and public
works

13
18
16
14
16

2
1
2
2
6

Machine tools . . . .
Automobiles
Textiles
Cinema
Consumption and social
modernisation . . .

16
18
23
27

Overseas territories.

30

Coke and gas
Fats
. . . .

17
36

5
11

27
14
431

15
5
141

Chemical industries.
Smelting works . .
Total

13

2
(architects)
3
2
4
8

8
9
12
12

16

9

14

104

1
(CGA)

1
(CGA)
1
(families)
3
(deputies)
2
(Members of
Parliament)

17

71

90

collective work " and lays stress on t h e fact t h a t " t h e modernisation
committees, each bringing together the active elements of production—
industrialists, agriculturists, workers and technicians, along with the
representatives of t h e administration—have caused all the active forces
of t h e nation t o participate in t h e preparation of t h e plan."
The industrial equipment plan to be carried o u t during t h e
p e r i o d 1947-1950 h a s t h e following essential o b j e c t s : t o p r o v i d e for
a s p e e d y rise i n t h e s t a n d a r d of living of t h e p o p u l a t i o n a n d

PRESENT SYSTEM

35

particularly of its food ; to modernise and equip the six basic
activities (coal mines, electricity, the iron industry, cement,
agricultural machinery, and transport) ; to modernise agriculture ;
to place the maximum means at the disposal of reconstruction,
taking account of the requirements of the basic activities, and
modernising the construction material industry and the building
and public works industry ; and to modernise and develop the
export industries in order to provide for a favourable balance of
trade in 1950.
The scheme of the plan submitted consists in fixing objectives
for production or activities for 1950 in connection with the main
branches of economic life, including reconstruction ; immediately
adopting programmes for production and modernisation for each
of the years 1947, 1948, 1949 and 1950 for the six basic activities,
and putting them immediately into force ; pursuing or undertaking the action necessary both in France and abroad to ensure
during the next few years the essential resources (power, ferrous
metals, currency, manpower) in sufficient quantity to achieve the
objectives of 1950 ; fixing at the proper time each year for the
following year the programmes for production, modernisation,
reconstruction, investment and imports, these programmes being
drawn up within the general plan of the objectives fixed for 1950 ;
applying the methods required to allow the continuous development of the plan according to circumstances and to ensure its
execution, these methods being inspired by those already adopted, in accordance with the formula " for collective work, collective organisation and constant collective consultation ".
Production

Targets and Modernisation,

1947-1950.

The plan makes a distinction between the six all-important
basic activities—since all the rest of the economic system depends
on them—and the other essential sectors. For these basic
activities the objectives fixed for the years 1947, 1948, 1949 and
1950 are imperative. I n the case of the other activities, the objectives fixed are only an indication.
Basic activities. Table II gives the programme for the six basic
activities for the years 1947 and 1950 with reference to the production
achieved during 1947 and previous years.
To achieve the production contemplated for each of these activities
the plan sets forth in detail what should or will be the modernisations
carried out, the investments for which provision must be made, the
equipment which it will be necessary to import, the requirements in

36

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

TABLE n .

Sectors

Coal mines
Coal a n d
lignite

. .

Electricity

.

Cement

.

works

Agricultural
machinery
Tractors . .
Power-driven
cultivators.

. . . .

Inland navigation . .
1

1947
1950
obOb- Achie- jective
jective vement

Units

1929

1938

1945

1946

Millions of
tons

55

47.6

35.1

49.3

55.5

47.3

65

14.4

18.6

19.1

22.4

25.5

25.8

37 x

9.7

6.2

1.5

4.4

6.2

5.8

II2

5.3

3.6

1.5

3.4

5

3.8

13.5

1"

1.9

12.3

4.2

3

1.5

6

4.2

16

127.8

150

140.5

240

25

28

28.7

58

Thousand
million
kWh.

Iron
industry
C r u d e steel

Transport
Rail

PROGRAMME OF BASIC ACTIVITIES

Millions of
tons

>>

1.7
Thousands

Millions of 224
tons s h i p p e d
9»

50.2

69

133
45

39.5 in 1951. * 15 million tons eventually.

15.2
a

Figure to be fixed.

manpower, the consequences in respect of production 1 , cost prices
and possible exports.
Other sectors of industry. In the industrial sectors the plan provides,
according to the origin of the materials dealt with, that industries using
materials which are mainly imported and which have to meet internal
requirements are to ease the balance of payments by avoiding the
purchase abroad of expensive products (refined liquid fuel, for instance)
or by the value of their exports (textiles, for instance), and that industries using materials mainly produced within the country must manufacture a large part of the machinery necessary for the re-equipment
of industry (machine-tools) and internal transport (automobiles),
while contributing to the development of sales abroad.
In the case of agriculture, the plan is intended, by the direction of
production, the introduction of modern methods, and the improvement
of equipment (more than 300,000 million francs to be invested between
1
I t is expected t h a t the measures contemplated will result in the following
percentage increases in production in 1950 as compared with 1938 : in coal mines, 13 ;
iron industry, 46 ; automobile industry, 57 ; construction material, 37 ; textile
industry, 20 ; building and public works, 40 ; agriculture, 27 ; inland navigation,
20. The railways, when dealing with a traffic 50 per cent, above t h a t of 1946,
would employ approximately the same number of persons in 1950, a number
not very far removed from t h a t of 1929, whereas in comparison with the latter
year, passenger traffic would be 27 per cent, greater and goods traffic 12 per cent.

PRESENT SYSTEM

37

1947 and 1950), to improve the living and working conditions of the
agricultural population, lower cost prices, and meet domestic requirements.
As regards house building, the plan first provides for an increase
in the production of building material, which, if it is achieved, will
make it possible to carry out by 1950 work costing 1,550,000 million
francs, including the repair of two million dwellings and the construction of 500,000 others, including 30,000 workers' dwellings for the
coal industry and 5,000 for the iron industry.
Lastly the plan provides for the development of North Africa and
the other overseas territories.
Means of Carrying Out the Plan.
" Shall we in the next few years have enough coal, electricity,
cast iron and steel, currency and manpower to carry out the
necessary reconstruction and urgent replacements of equipment,
and at the same time increase production to the extent contemplated, and carry through this modernisation of the essential
factors of national activity which conditions the recovery of the
country and which alone would make it possible to reach the
objectives for 1950 ? This question is the more urgent since, in
respect of all these means, we shall have to apply to foreign countries to make up the national resources by means of imports,
external credits and immigration." In these words the Commissioner-General for the Plan set forth the problem of the means
necessary for carrying out the plan. In respect of power, ferrous
metals, currency and manpower, he drew up the balance-sheet
of domestic resources and, comparing it with t h a t of the resources
required by the plan, calculated the extent to which the achievement of the objectives is dependent on assistance from abroad.
This foreign assistance will lead to a deficit in the balance of
payments and will make it necessary to apply for foreign credits.
The report does not underestimate the difficulties. I t says
" . . . I n respect of each of these means, the situation will certainly
remain critical and there will be difficult periods. Nevertheless,
by immediate appropriate action both at home and abroad, subject
to the adjustments which will always be necessary, it may reasonably be hoped t h a t we can obtain the necessary means to meet the
requirements corresponding to the levels of activity and the amount
of equipment proposed as objectives between now and 1950."
Without entering into the details of the balance-sheet concerning power, ferrous metals and currency, or of investments and
their financing, certain information may be given with regard to
manpower, which is one of the most difficult problems t h a t the
Government will have to face during the next few years.

38

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

Taking account of the increases in production which are expected 1
to result in an economy of manpower, and on the basis of 48 hours
effective work per week, the revised estimates have calculated the
number of workers to be found at 390,000 before the end of 1947 and
650,000 before 1 July 1948.2 The Manpower Commission sees the possibility of arriving at this result through a reduction in the strength of
the army, Algerian migrants, individual or collective immigration,
making prisoners of war free workers, the use of displaced persons,
and drawing on the non-active population (female labour) s and on
the sector which is not directly producing. At the same time it defines
as follows the conditions and means by which provision may be made
for the employment of this supplementary labour and the best use
of manpower as a whole :
(a) strengthening of the directly producing sector by the prohi- bition of certain employment and of the establishment of new businesses,
rationalisation of the administration and reduction of its staff, the
development of social equipment in favour of working women, and
entry into negotiations for the immigration of foreign workers ;
(b) a policy of directing manpower in accordance with economic
requirements, particularly by industrial decentralisation, which makes
it possible to employ excess agricultural labour on the spot and adapt
supply and demand without unnecessary transfers ;
(c) vocational training and the spreading out as far as possible of
the range of wages, the gradual closing of which has for many years
been leading to an exodus from skilled occupations ;
(d) an increase in the effective hours of work by means of overtime,
in order to bring effective hours of work to 48 a week while keeping
the legal régime of a 40-hour week ;
(e) an increase in the productivity of manpower by the establishment of a body responsible for measuring production and the co-ordination and supervision of measures taken to increase it, particularly by
the improvement of methods of work.
It will be seen what an important part can be played by the occupational organisations in assisting the public authorities in the development of this policy.
Adoption and Putting

into Force of the Plan.

The plan as outlined above was submitted to the Planning
Council on 27 November 1946 in a report of the CommissionerGeneral. On 7 February 1947, the Council accepted the conclusions of the report, and recommended to the Government t h a t the
plan be adopted and put into force.
On 14 June 1947 the Government endorsed the proposals of
the Council, and decided to put the plan into force and it therefore
became the economic programme of the whole nation.
1
2
3

See note 1, page 36.
Account is taken in these figures of the liberation of prisoners of war.
Cf. " Employment of Women in France ", I.L.R., J u n e 1947, p p . 549-555.

PRESENT SYSTEM

39

Two days after the adoption of the plan by the Government,
a Decree of 16 June 1947 x fixed the methods of carrying it o u t ;
it was decided t h a t the Council and the Commissioner-General
for the Plan should have new duties and powers, including t h a t of
submitting every six months to the Planning Council a report on
the results achieved, which report should be published. 2 Under
this Decree the planning bodies, which hitherto had been given
temporary duties only, i.e., the drawing up of the plan, became
permanent ; they continued as higher bodies for the carrying out
and supervision of the plan.
As regards the actual putting into force of the plan, t h a t is
to say, the work carried out in the occupational sphere or within
the undertaking, the report adopted by the Planning Council
gives certain general directives as to methods of carrying it out.
The report makes a distinction between the public or nationalised sector and the free sector, and within the latter between
the concentrated and the decentralised undertakings.
In the nationalised sector the adoption of the plan by the
Government will involve an order that the administrations, industrial
public services and national undertakings shall carry it out. The sector
covered is very wide and very important to the French economy ; it
includes ports, roads, waterways, postal, telegraph and telephone
services, railways, coal mines, electricity, aircraft construction, arsenals,
etc. The occupational organisations are able to collaborate in the
execution of the plan not only by their participation in the work of
modernisation committees but also by the part they play in the direction, administration and management of the nationalised undertakings
and of certain public industrial services. This will be studied in the
next chapter.
In those free sectors which are sufficiently concentrated the carrying
out of the plan must be provided for by contractual agreement between
the public authorities and the industry concerned 3 , the industry
pledging itself to carry out the plan, and the public authorities undertaking to give it the necessary means (credits, materials, etc.) or to assist
it in obtaining them. This method was to be applied for the carrying out
of the 1947 programme, particularly in the iron industry and the
building materials, liquid fuel, machine tool, agricultural machinery,
textile, and automobile industries. It will be seen later that the administrations concerned have advisory bodies in which representatives of
employers and of wage earners can express the points of view of all
those who contribute towards production. In the free sectors, where
the decentralisation of undertakings makes it impossible to conclude
agreements, the programmes must be drawn up by the modernisation
committees with the assistance of the administrations and the occupa1

J.O., 17 J a n . 1947, p . 590.
See below, p . 40.
Failing agreement, the Act of 11 May 1946 concerning programmes for
production might be applied. See p . 55.
a

3

4

40

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

tional organisations. They will be forwarded to the regional bodies
and put into force by them with the assistance of the representatives
of the administration and of the occupational organisations. The action
of the public authorities will more particularly take the form of putting
at the disposal of contractors and heads of businesses the material
resources and financial facilities necessary for modernisation.
Lastly, the report recommends that there should be a central organisation served by decentralised advisory bodies whose task it would be,
on the regional basis, to study the application of the plan laid down
for each activity by the modernisation committees and to establish the
necessary co-ordination, particularly between the programmes for the
development of industry, reconstruction and transport. These bodies
might include, alongside the local representatives of the administrations, persons qualified by their knowledge of local, social and economic
problems, such as members of trades unions, of chambers of commerce,
of departmental ónices and of organisations of persons who suffered
material loss during the war.
" Thus ", concludes the report, " it will be possible to bring
about a still more general and definite collaboration between the
bodies working out the permanent form of the plan and the active
elements in the country."
First Results of the Plan.
I n October 1947 the Commissioner-General for the Plan submitted to the Government and the Planning Council the first
half-yearly report on the results for the first half of 1947, and
in April 1948 the second report giving the results up to 31 December 1947.1
" The results achieved are real " stated the first report. The
amount of key resources increased, notably through the doubling
of coal imports. This increase in key resources made it possible
during certain months for industrial activities to reach and even
exceed the 1938 level (106 per cent, in April and May, 105 per cent.
in October). The percentages achieved in respect of the targets
fixed for basic activities (table II) were : coal mines, 85 ; electricity, 101 ; iron industry (crude steel), 94 ; cement, 76 ; agricultural machinery (tractors), 34 ; power-driven cultivators, 70 ;
rail transport (S.N.C.F.), 93.5 ; inland water transport, 102.5.
Agricultural production reached or even exceeded estimates,
except in the case of cereals and fats, which were severely affected
by exceptionally hard frost.
1

C O M M I S S A R I A T

G É N É R A L

D U

P L A N

D E

M O D E R N I S A T I O N

E T

D ' É Q U I P E M E N T

:

Rapport sur les résultats obtenus dans la réalisation, du plan de modernisation et
d'équipement au cours du premier semestre 1947 (Paris, 1947), and Deuxième rapport
semestriel sur la réalisation du plan de modernisation et d'équipement. — Résultats
au 31 décembre 1947 (Paris, 1948).

PBESENT SYSTEM

41

During 1947, investments amounted to 460,000 million francs,
as compared with the 470,000 million expected for the whole year.
From 1 July 1946 to 1 July 1947, 450,000 new workers were
placed in the industrial sector, 90,000 of whom replaced prisoners
of war ; on the other hand in agriculture the situation is critical,
because of the departure of prisoners and the persistent drift to
the towns, which is difficult to make good. During the year 1947,
65,000 workers immigrated into France *, not counting Algerian
migrants (about 2,500 a month). Since July 1947, 123,000 German
prisoners have opted to become free workers 2 ; more than half of
them are employed in agriculture. The increase in women workers
available and the reduction in the numbers of civil servants led
to an appreciable transfer towards the productive sector estimated
at 300,000 persons in 1947.
Hours of work increased to 45 a week generally during the
second six months of 1947, as against 39 hours in 1938. Absenteeism
c o n t i n u e d , h o w e v e r , 50 p e r cent, higher t h a n before t h e w a r , a n d

the labour disputes of May-June and November-December 1947
led to the loss of l S 1 ^ million working days. 3 Indeed in industry,
after July 1946, individual output remained more or less stationary at about 20 per cent, below that of 1938.
Among the difficulties giving rise to delays in carrying out the
plan, the report mentioned the frosty weather, the consequences
of which were serious for wheat supplies and foreign exchange
resources, inadequate supply of coal, and particularly of coke for
smelting, shortage of foreign currency, red tape, and above all the
continued inflation, which was " conducive to absenteeism, a
precarious food supply, and backwardness in technique and
methods of working ".
I t was this latter problem which particularly engaged the
attention of the Commission, which was instructed under the
auspices of the Commissioner-General for the Plan to draw up the
balance-sheet of the resources and requirements of the economy
in 1948.4 Its work, which was assisted by the representatives of
the main workers', employers' and agricultural organisations,
showed t h a t economic and financial stabilisation was both abso1
From June 1946 to December 1947 80,000 Italians migrated to France, some
50,000 of them in 1947 (Documentation française. Notes documentaires et études,
No. 815).
2
I.L.R., Sept. 1947, p . 334.
3
The effects of these disputes were not felt for long, however; in J a n . 1948
production was once more 6 per cent, higher t h a n in 1938.
4
Decree of 1 Oct. 1947 : J.O., 2 Oct. 1947, p. 9,870.

42

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

lutely necessary and urgent, and t h a t the very carrying out of the
plan depended on it. 1 " Without a stable currency ", stated the
report, " there is no economic progress, no real welfare, no social
justice, and no economic independence."
The second report of the Commissioner-General, after recalling
that in 1947 16 European nations had made themselves responsible for the carrying out of a joint programme for reconstruction
by a double effort of production and centralisation, strongly supported by the United States assistance to Europe, drew attention
to the recent measures taken by the French Government with a
view to providing for a stable currency and the modernisation of
production, particularly the exceptional levy for the campaign
against inflation, one third of which was to be devoted to the
investments indispensable for the carrying out of the plan, and
the institution by the Act of 7 J a n u a r y 1948 of the National
Industrial Equipment Fund, which will make it possible without
inflation to finance the main investments of the plan and to place
orders over several years for the equipment and work required
under the basic programmes. Furthermore the CommissionerGeneral for the Plan stated :
After the year 1947, when the plan got under way, and the first
half of 1948, during which a certain slowing up will be inevitable owing
to stabilisation, the moment is near when, with accumulated material
and financial resources assured, we can begin the full execution of the
plan, in the light of the new factors of the situation and more particularly the programme of European economic recovery.
The. Economic

Council

The Economic Council is a body set up to advise Parliament
and the Government. I t was created by article 25 of the Constitution of 27 October 1946, which fixes in general terms its powers
and duties ; its rules are fixed by another Act, promulgated on the
same day as the Constitution 2 , which lays down the composition
and structure of the Council, gives regulations for its working, and
defines its powers. 3 The Economic Council thus ranks as a funda1

C O M M I S S A R I A T

G É N É B A L

D U

P L A N

D E

M O D E B N I S A T I O N

E T

D ' É Q U I P E M E N T

:

Perspectives des ressources et des besoins de l'économie française au cours du premier
semestre et de l'année 1948. Rapport présenté au gouvernement au nom de la Commission du bilan national, Dec. 1947 a n d J a n . 1948.
2
J.O., 28 Oct. 1946, p . 9,177 ; I.L.R., Nov.-Dec. 1946, p . 364.
3
The conditions of appointment of members of the first Economic Council
were fixed b y the Decree of 24 Feb. 1947 (J.O., 27 Feb. 1947, p . 1,831) ; they will
be fixed later by law.

PRESENT SYSTEM

43

mental institution of the Republic. Its stability and its independence are assured, since its existence cannot be questioned by
ordinary legislation and its authority is thus greater.
The importance given to it by its inclusion in the text of the
Constitution was stressed by the reporter of the Constitution
Committee when he laid the Bill concerning its rules before the
Constituent Assembly. The growing complexity of economic
problems, he said, the great importance attaching to their solution
and the technical knowledge required made it the duty of both
Government and Parliament to obtain the expert advice necessary for the proper use of all the human and material resources
of the country. The Economic Council would provide information
to the National Assembly, and help it to find the best solutions.
I t would also give the Government the opinion of men engaged
chiefly in production who would bring not only the results of their
special experience but also their desire to assist in co-ordinating
the economic forces of the country.
Composition.
When commenting on the composition of the Economic Council,
the reporter pointed out that in place of the old idea of a chamber
in which every occupational interest was represented, the intention was now to have a council recruited on an inter-occupational
basis, less crowded, but more synthetic in its structure, with a
membership of some 150 instead of 300.
On the Economic Council sit representatives of all the productive forces of the country—representatives of the co-operative
movement, consumers and overseas territories, together with experts
and technicians.
Table I I I sets forth in detail the composition of the Economic
Council and the method of nominating each category of members.
The representatives of the productive forces comprise : 45 representatives nominated by the most representative organisations of wage
earners, salaried employees, officials, technicians, engineers and technical
and managerial staff ; 20 representatives of industrial undertakings (six
representatives of nationalised undertakings and 14 of private undertakings, with separate and proportional representation for large,
small and medium undertakings) ; 10 representatives of commercial
undertakings, with separate and proportional representation of small
traders ; 10 representatives of handicraftsmen ; 35 representatives
appointed by the most representative agricultural organisations.
The representatives of the co-operative movement number nine :
two for production co-operatives, two for consumers' co-operatives and
five for agricultural co-operatives.

4:4

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

TABLE I H .
Categories of
members *
1. Representatives
of
employees
(excluding agricultural wage
earners)
(See under 5) .

2. Representatives
of industrial undertakings . . .

3. Representatives
of commercial
undertakings .

4. Representatives
of handicrafts-

COMPOSITION OF THE ECONOMIC COUNCIL

Number

Sub-categories of
members

Number
26
5
4
35

45

Wage earners . .
Salaried employees
Officials
Total
Technicians . . .
Engineers . . . .
Technical and managerial staff. .
Total

20

5
4
1
10

Nationalised undertakings :
Banks and insurance companies .
Coal industry . .
Electricity and gas
industry....
Transport . . . .
Other industries .
Total

1
1
1
2

Private undertakings :
employing not more
than 100 wage
earners . . . .
employing more
than 100 wage
earners . . . .
Total

6

Undertakings consisting of :
10 • more than 5 wage
earners . . . .
not more than 5
wage earners. .

10

35

6

Agreement between the C.G.T.,
the C.F.T.C. and the C.G.C.

Appointed by the governing
bodies of the undertakings concerned.

8

14 = Agreement between the C.N.P.F.
(after agreement with the General Confederation of Small and
Medium-sized
Undertakings)
and the General Assembly of
the Chairmen of Chambers of
Commerce.
6

3
1

5

Farmers :
Agricultural technicians of the Federation of Rural
Credit Go-operative Societies and
the Federation
of Agricultural
and Rural Cooperative Mutual
Insurance Socie30

Agricultural work-

Agreement between the C.G.T.
and the C.F.T.C.

t

5
5. Representatives
of the agricultural organisa-

Method of appointment •

4
1

Idem
Idem
Appointed by the General Confederation of Commerce and
Handicrafts.
Agreement between the General
Confederation of French Handicraftsmen, the National Federation of French Handicraftsmen and the French Confederation of Handicraftsmen.
Appointed by the Assembly of
the Presidents of the French
Chambers of Trade.

Appointed by the C.G.A.
Agreement between the C.G.A.
and the C.G.T.
Agreement between the C.G.A.
and the C.F.T.C.

PBESENT

TABLE m
Categories of
members l

Number

6. Representatives
of t h e co-operative movement.

(continued)

Sub-categories of
members
Production co-operatives . . . .

Consumer
eratives

co-op. . . .

Agricultural co-operatives . . . .

7. Representatives
of overseas territories . . . .

15

Economic interests
in overseas territories

Representatives of
t h e t r a d e union
organisations of
t h e overseas t e r ritories . . . .

8. Representatives
of F r e n c h intellectuals . . . .
9. Representatives
of family associations . . . .

10

45

SYSTEM

Number

Method of a p p o i n t m e n t '

Appointed b y t h e General Confederation of Workers' Production Co-operatives of F r a n c e
a n d t h e F r e n c h Union.
Appointed b y t h e National F e deration of Consumer Co-operatives.
Appointed b y t h e C.G.A. on t h e
proposal of t h e National Federation of Agricultural Co-operatives.

Agreement between t h e Federation of Colonial Agricultural
Associations a n d t h e Federation
of Colonial Industrial Associations.
Appointed b y t h e federation of
local unions of producers a n d
t h e timber i n d u s t r y in t h e colonies.
Appointed b y t h e Chamber of
Colonial Mining Associations.
Appointed b y t h e Federation of
Colonial Transport Associations.
Agreement between t h e West
African Trade Federation a n d
t h e E a s t African Trade Federation.
Agreement between t h e governing bodies of non-nationalised
overseas b a n k s .
Appointed b y t h e Assembly of
t h e F r e n c h Union from lists of
candidates submitted b y t h e cooperative associations, t h e agricultural unions of planters a n d
stock-breeders, t h e provident
societies (or, failing such, organisations of t h e same kind),
there being : 3 representatives
for t h e group of territories of
F r e n c h West Africa, French
E q u a t o r i a l Africa, t h e Cameroons a n d Togoland ; 1 representative for t h e group of territories i n t h e Indian Ocean a n d
1 representative for t h e group
of territories of t h e Pacific
Ocean.

Appointed b y t h e organisations
a t t a c h e d t o t h e C.G.T.
Appointed b y t h e organisations
a t t a c h e d t o t h e C.F.T.C.

Appointed b y Decree issued b y
t h e Cabinet. 5

Appointed b y t h e National
Union of F a m i l y Associations
set u p b y t h e Decree of 3 Mar.
1945, so t h a t t h e main aspects
of t h e activities of family associations should be represented.

46

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

TABLE i n
Categories of
members '

Number

10. Representatives
of persons who
have
suffered
material
loss
through t h e w a r

2

(concluded)

Sub-categories of
members

Number

1

1

Method of a p p o i n t m e n t *

Appointed b y t h e National Confederation of the- associations
of persons who have suffered
m a t e r i a l loss t h r o u g h t h e w a r .
Appointed b y t h e National F e deration of agricultural workers
who have suffered material loss
through the war.

1
The delegates referred to under 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10 represent the home country
of France, the Algerian departments and overseas departments. • The associations,
groups and organisations concerned had to notify to the Prime Minister, within 30 days
after the publication of the Decree of 24 February 1947, the names of their representatives
on the Economic Council. If before that date disagreement between these bodies prevented
them from nominating their representatives, nominations were to be made by means
of an arbitral award by a person chosen by the Prime Minister. The Economic Council
can
only meet legally when at least three quarters of its members have been nominated.
3
These delegates should represent the main branches of activities of the private industries
of the country. * These delegates should represent the main commercial activities of
the country and particularly foreign trade. * This Decree was issued on 28 February 1947
(J.O., 6 Mar. 1947, p. 2,062). The persons appointed included five professors, one member
of the Institute, one chartered accountant, one architect, one doctor and one specialist
on demographic questions.

The representatives of overseas territories number 15.
The representatives of consumers comprise eight representatives of
family associations, and (provisionally, during the reconstruction
period) two delegates of the most representative associations of persons
who have suffered material damage through the war.
The experts and technicians include 10 qualified representatives of
French intellectuals, particularly in the economic and scientific field.
The total number of members is 164.
All members of the Economic Council are nominated for three
years. They must be at least 23 years of age and have belonged
for at least two years to the occupational category t h a t they
represent.
Structure

and

Working.

The internal bodies of the Economic Council are the bureau,
the Permanent Commission, and the committees, some of which
have specialised economic competence and others general economic
competence.
The Council appoints a bureau and fixes its composition,
powers and duties. The Act lays down t h a t the bureau shall
be more particularly responsible for receiving requests for opinions
and recommendations, allocating and co-ordinating work between
the various committees, providing for relations with the National

PRESENT SYSTEM

47

Assembly and the public authorities, and carrying out urgent
investigations.
The Council appoints working committees among its members.
Later legislation will fix the conditions under which these committees may co-ordinate the work of similar bodies already existing
or, if necessary, take their place. The effects of this provision
will be seen later.
The Economic Council itself draws up its rules of procedure,
acting on the report of its bureau.
The minutes of its meetings are published in a special bulletin
(Bulletin du Conseil économique). The opinions and reports of the
Economic Council are communicated to the President of the
National Assembly and to the Prime Minister ; they are published
in the Journal officiel.
Duties and

Powers.

The Economic Council's essential function is to make studies
and enquiries ; it is an advisory body. Though, as will be seen
later, it can take the initiative in respect of enquiries, it has no
right to initiate legislation. I t may also, if necessary, act as an
organisation for arbitration, and may be called on to co-ordinate
the action of various advisory bodies set up on a governmental
basis.
Bight of opinion. The Economic Council has the right to express
an opinion to the National Assembly or the Cabinet, at their request,
compulsorily or on its own initiative. It is thus directly associated
with legislative work.
It advises the National Assembly concerning Bills and draft legislation referring to economic and social matters (with the exception of
the budget) and international Conventions relating to economics or
finance which are submitted to the National Assembly for approval.
Such Bills and draft legislation must be submitted to it by the National
Assembly or by its committees before they are discussed. The Council
may, if necessary, itself take cognisance of them. I t must give its
opinion within 20 days, a period which may be reduced to two days
if the Assembly declares that the matter is urgent.
In order to facilitate the Economic Council's duty of furnishing
information to the National Assembly, provision is made for a double
liaison between the two institutions. On the one hand, members of
Parliament may attend meetings of the Council, and the chairmen
and reporters of the parliamentary committees may attend the meetings
of the committees of the Council and thus keep directly in touch with
the work of the Council. On the other hand, the committees of the
National Assembly must hear the reporter of the Economic Council
when they consider proposed legislation in respect of which the Council
is competent. In order that these committees should be accurately
informed, the reporter must, if the Council is not unanimous, state the

48

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

opinion of the majority and that of the minority. Furthermore, if so
requested by the competent committee or the Minister concerned, the
reporter may attend the discussions of the National Assembly for the
purpose of submitting, if necessary, the opinion formed by the Council.
In any case the opinion of the Economic Council must be circulated to
all members of Parliament, and must be read to the Assembly before
the general discussion is opened.
Ministers may consult the Economic Council about proposals
concerning the national economy. Such consultation is compulsory
when Decrees are drafted for the application of Acts which have been
submitted to the Council for its opinion ; in this case it must give an
opinion within 30 days. The Government may also consult the Council
concerning Bills and any questions in respect of which it desires its
opinion. Such consultation is compulsory on questions concerning the
national economy. On all such questions the Council must give its
opinion within the time limit which is notified to it.
Personal liaison is also established between the Government and the
Economic Council. The Ministers, Under-Secretaries of State and the
Commissioners designated by them may attend meetings of the
Economic Council, and may demand a hearing if they so desire.
Lastly, the Economic Council may undertake the examination of
economic, social and financial questions, and for that purpose set on
foot the necessary enquiries and in conclusion formulate opinions and
suggestions.
Arbitration. The Economic Council may, at the request of the
parties, and by agreement with the Ministers concerned, take up any
question connected, with economic and social disputes and, if necessary,
make an arbitral award. So far it has not had to carry out this task.
Co-ordination. Legislation not yet promulgated will determine
the conditions under which the committees of the Economic Council
may co-ordinate the work of similar bodies or replace them. On this
subject the reporter to the National Assembly for the Bill concerning
the Economic Council referred to the existence alongside the Ministries
responsible for industrial production and national economy of many
advisory committees which, are recruited directly and which include
qualified representatives of occupational organisations, and concluded
that it was a question of " establishing a higher body to co-ordinate
the advisory bodies already existing through committees corresponding
to each ministerial economic department ". That is to say, the committees of the Council may call in representatives of the competent interministerial bodies, according to their requirements, but are not obliged
to do so. Thus, said the reporter, they would avoid both overlapping
in the matter of economic consultation and also certain possible
inadequacies of the existing system.
Activities.
The establishment of the Economic Council was very favourably
received in workers' trade union circles ; the C.G.T. in particular
had, after the first world war, urged the setting up of the National
Economic Council. Trade union militants noted t h a t the representatives of workers' unions were more numerous in the new body
than in the former one, and t h a t the Council had an additional

PRESENT SYSTEM

49

function, arbitration of social and economic disputes. Mr. P*. Bothereau, then Secretary of the C.G.T., commented t h a t trade
unionism would now have to prove its maturity and its competence. 1
The Economic Council held its first session on 26 March 1947
in the presence of the Presidents of the Chambers and the Prime
Minister. 2 The Assemblies and the Government thus showed the
interest they took in the Council which will inform and advise
them. Mr. Léon Jouhaux, who was then Secretary-General of the
C.G.T., was elected President. He continued in t h a t office for the
year 1948.
The Council set up nine committees, dealing respectively with
national economy ; finance, credits and fiscal affairs ; industrial
production ; agriculture ; commerce and distribution ; public
works, reconstruction and town planning ; transport and postal,
telegraph and telephone services; labour, population and health;
and the economy of the French Union. Each committee is composed
of about 20 members, who, as far as possible, represent the various
groups constituting the Council.
During the first year of its working, the Economic Council,
either when requested by the Government or on its own initiative,
dealt with many questions concerning the most various problems :
general directives of economic policy; the industrial equipment
plan ; agriculture (regulation of hours of work and weekly rest,
vocational training, family allowances, encouragement of wheat
cultivation, model farms, etc.) ; manpower and general vocational
training ; industrial technical centres ; handicrafts (rules for handicraft workers and loans) ; rules of public undertakings ; organisation
of the merchant navy ; régularisation of the position of requisitioned
undertakings ; exercise of the right to strike ; allocation of industrial and agricultural products ; price of bread ; rents and housing
problems ; fiscal reform ; international tariff agreements ; problems
of prices and wages.
On each of these questions, the Council sent to Parliament
or the Government its opinion with reasons, or, when it acted on
its own initiative, suggestions in the form of resolutions. The
opinions or resolutions were often accompanied by the texts of
proposed legislation which it had itself drawn up or which resulted
from the readjustment or co-ordination of texts submitted to it.
1
8

Les Nouvelles économiques, 4 Apr. 1947.
I.L.B., Oct. 1947, p . 452.

50

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

I t is not possible here to analyse in detail the work done by the
Economic Council 1 , but it may be interesting to give some indications of its opinions or resolutions concerning certain of the
problems dealt with in the present report.
So far as the economic activities of the country generally are
concerned, the Council expressed its approval of a Bill to provide that
the Government should submit every year to the Economic Council
for its advice and to Parliament for approval, before the discussion of
the budget, the general directives in respect of production, imports,
exports and distribution applicable during the course of the following
year, and particularly those connected with the current national plan.
The proposal also provided that no national plan for equipment, production or distribution spread over several years should be decided
upon without its having been submitted to the Economic Council for
its opinion and approved by Parliament. As regards this last problem,
the Council later adopted a resolution requesting the Government
in future to supply it with information with regard to everything
concerning the industrial equipment plan : statements of the results,
difficulties in carrying out the plan and changes which might be necessary.
In the sphere of industrial production the Council asked that a
Bill to establish rules for industrial technical centres should be submitted
for its consideration. The purpose of these centres is " to participate
in technical progress, improve production and ensure quality in
industry ". The Council urged that this Bill should be at once adopted
and proposed to make certain amendments in it. The centres were to
be administered by a council made up of representatives of employers,
workers, technicians and consumers.
The Council expressed an opinion on the Bill concerning the organisation of the merchant navy, and particularly asked for the deletion of
a provision which, without express justification, made an exception
to the Labour Code and the regulations of the personnel concerned ;
the observation of the Council was taken into account by the National
Assembly.
When consulted concerning the position of undertakings that have
been requisitioned, the Council considered that it was desirable to do
everything to replace the provisional régime of requisition by a stable
régime, based as far as possible on friendly agreement, and including a
fair statement of compensation for requisition, and that it was desirable
for this purpose to provide for a negotiation and conciliation committee.
An Act meeting this requirement was adopted by Parliament. 2
After examining three Bills concerning the organisation of vocational training, the Council thought that the speedy development of
vocational training was fundamental for the rational and complete application of the industrial equipment plan. It suggested that the three
proposals should be replaced by a text constituting a synthesis of them
and providing that vocational training might be given in the form of
apprenticeship, workers' training, or rapid vocational training. Vocational guidance and selection, training of technicians and managerial
and training staff and vocational retraining might be improved by the
provisions of the Act. The co-ordination of vocational training would
1
2

See on this subject the Bulletin du Conseil
See p. 218.

économique.

PRESENT SYSTEM

51

be provided for by a higher council and national, departmental and local
committees, all these bodies having representatives of the public
authorities, employers, handicraftsmen and workers.
The Council itself took up the problem of vocational training for
agricultural occupations. The Bill that it prepared provided for the
setting up of a higher council and departmental committees on which
would be represented the public authorities, farmers, agricultural
wage earners, the family associations and teachers.
When it was requested by the National Assembly to give an opinion
concerning a Bill for the purpose of regulating the exercise of the right
to strike in services whose uninterrupted working is indispensable to
the life of the nation, the Council considered that this problem was not
only economic and social but also political and governmental in
character, and that it could not give an opinion, since only the National
Assembly was competent in the matter.
As will be seen later, the Council was called on to give its opinion
on the questions of the allocation of industrial products 1 and of regulations for public undertakings.2 The Government also, at the beginning of 1948, entrusted it with a very important task which is of the
greatest interest to the working class : to follow the evolution of prices
and wages and to make any suggestions calculated to establish a balance
between the two. The chapter below concerning wages notes the
proposals of the Council on this question.3
As was foreseen by the Prime Minister at the first meeting of
the Economic Council, this body plays an essential role in the
economic life of the country.

SPECIALISED B O D I E S

Advisory bodies in which representatives of the occupational
or other organisations sit alongside the representatives of the
public authorities have been set up in various fields, particularly
production, rationing and prices. Many of these bodies are only
temporary and will disappear—several are already dormant—
when the effects of the special circumstances arising out of the
war are no longer felt. Others, which meet permanent requirements, will have their duties taken over by the Economic Council.
Production
The application of the production programme, which inevitably
affects the carrying out of the plan, is dealt with by various
ministries, primarily the ministries under which come the services
concerned with the national economy, industrial production,
1
2
3

See note 2, p. 56.
See p . 137.
See p . 68.

52

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

reconstruction and town planning, agriculture and transport. 1
The main bodies in these services through which the occupational organisations collaborate with the public authorities are as
follows.
National

Economy.

The Minister for National Economy is responsible for directing
the general economic policy of the Government, and therefore
guides and controls the activity of the various other ministries
in economic matters.
Of the many advisory bodies or study groups at its disposal,
we will deal only with the Council of National Economy, the
National Centre for Economic Information, the Commission for
Standardising Accounts, and the Interministerial Advisory
Commission for Distribution.
Council of National Economy. The Council of National Economy 2
should not be confused with the Economic Council just mentioned.
I t is set up on an altogether different basis, and its activities do not
go outside the powers and duties of the Ministry of National Economy.
The Council is made up of equal numbers of four groups : employers'
representatives,

workers' representatives

(both groups

proposed

for

the approval of the Minister by the most representative occupational
organisations), representatives of family associations and groups of
consumers (proposed for the approval of the Minister by the organisations) or experts chosen by the Minister, and officials of the technical
ministries representing the State.
The Council represents occupational interests when dealing with
the Minister of National Economy ; it informs him of the requirements
of consumers and assists him in his task of co-ordination. I t may
also arbitrate in disputes of an economic character at the request of
those concerned. The studies or enquiries which it undertakes on its
own initiative or at the request of the Minister may extend to all economic
questions. It may be instructed to collaborate in preparing the texts
of regulations necessary for the application of legislation and give
an opinion concerning the consequences of any measure of an economic
character contemplated by the public authorities. It may also follow
the application of measures taken and, if necessary, suggest amendments.
National Centre for Economic Information. This centre is essentially
a body for study, placed at the disposal of the public authorities,
occupational organisations, trade unions and undertakings. 3
1
During recent years certain ministries have changed their names and others
have changed their duties ; some have disappeared and their services have been
taken over b y others. I n a general way ministries are designated b y t h e n a m e
which they bore a t the time when they were first referred to.
2
Order of 9 J u n e 1945, J.O., 10 J u n e 1945, p . 3,387 ; Order of 16 Apr. 1946,
J.O., 17 Apr. 1946, p . 3,231 ; cf. I.L.B., July-Aug. 1946, p. 75.
3
Ordinance of 14 Aug. 1945, J.O., 15 Aug. 1945, p. 5,059; cf. I.L.R., Nov. 1945,
p. 511. This centre has replaced another interoccupational information centre
established b y the Vichy Government.

PRESENT SYSTEM

53

I t is administered by a general delegate, appointed by the Minister
of National Economy, assisted by a joint advisory committee (wage
earners and employers).
The working expenses of the centre are covered by compulsory
contributions from occupational and interoccupational bodies, grants
from employers' and workers' organisations and profits from the sale
of the publications of the centre.
The centre is responsible for contributing to the economic information of occupational and interoccupational bodies, trade unions,
undertakings and their collaborators ; it must undertake or promote
any publication which is useful for this purpose and carry out the
consultations and enquiries requested of it by the public authorities.
Commission for Standardising Accounts} The question of standardisation of accounts with a view to an eventual supervision of their
management had long ago been raised in France.2 The Vichy Government had set up a commission for an accountancy plan and a commission
for the adaptation of the plan. 3 A further step was taken in 1945, with
the Ordinance * establishing a " solidarity tax ", which, according
to the explanatory note, " authorised and encouraged industrial and
commercial undertakings to proceed to a revision of their balance
sheets with a view to putting them into harmony with the present
level of prices and values, particularly as regards capital and the paying

off of capital ". The revised balance sheets were to be submitted
in a uniform manner according to a form established by the Decree.5
The Commission for Standardising Accounts was then formed to replace
the former commission for accountancy.
The Commission included representatives of the various ministries
concerned, of the Institut de conjoncture, the Higher Council of the
Order of Chartered Accountants, the C.N.P.F., the General Confederation of Small and Medium-sized Undertakings, the General Confederation
for Trade and Handicrafts, the C.G.A., and confederations of workers
and technicians concerned with the organisation of accounts. Its
duty was to propose to the Minister of National Economy a general
accountancy plan and to study methods of applying it to establishments
in the nationalised sector and to commercial undertakings of the free
sector and certain agricultural undertakings. The plan drawn up by
the Commission was approved, and a Decree made its application
compulsory, as from the financial year beginning in 1948, in public
establishments of an industrial or commercial character and in associations of mixed economy where the participation of the State and of
collective associations and public establishments is equivalent to at
least 20 per cent, of the capital. 8
1

Decroe of 4 Apr. 1946, J.O., 7 Apr. 1946, p. 2,925.
The first parliamentary work on this dates from 1902. Cf. J. B R O D I B B : La
réforme de l'entreprise : Rapport au XXIIme
Congrès de la C.F.T.G., 1946.
3
The Secretary-General of the Higher Committee for Accountancy (a body
set up by the Decree of 16 J a n . 1947 ; cf. J.O., 18 Jan. 1947) defines the accountancy
plan as follows : "The accountancy plan is a measure the purpose of which is to
set accounts in order, b y classifying accounts in a logical order meeting clearly
denned requirements, b y establishing between them clear and simple connections,
b y laying down a definite terminology, and b y finding as far as possible a general
solution to the problems arising from the fixing of certain values to be estimated "
(Hommes et techniques, J a n . 1948, p . 38).
4
Ordinance of IS Aug. 1945, J.O., 17 Aug. 1945, p. 5,090.
5
Decree of 5 Feb. 1946, J.O., 6 Feb. 1946, p. 1,045.
6
Decree of 22 Oct. 1947, J.O., 23 Oct. 1947, p . 10,477.
2

54

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

Advisory Committee for Distribution.1 This committee is responsible
for studying and proposing all measures to be taken for the purpose
of simplifying and improving the distribution of products and making
it less burdensome. It includes representatives of the various ministries
concerned and representatives of the workers' confederations, family
associations, associations of traders, consumers' co-operatives, purchasers' groups, the C.G.A. and the C.N.P.F.
Industrial

Production.

I t was stated above that the Provisional Government continued,
though giving it a democratic form, the organisation for production
and distribution set up by the Vichy Government. However,
until a return to economic freedom was possible, the Minister
for Industrial Production 2 contemplated a new organisation for
the direction and control of production. He first took steps to
obtain the assistance of professional experts and technicians, and
for t h a t purpose he set up in the Ministry a Permanent Council
for Industrial Production and joint advisory committees attached
to each directorate. 3 Then pending the re-establishment of economic freedom a temporary scheme for production and allocation
was established. Furthermore, a control of allocation on the
spot, at the level of the undertaking, was carried out by departmental investigation committees. As regards production, an
Act enabled the Minister for Industrial Production to establish
production programmes. 4 Lastly, since production is closely
linked with the consumption of coal, it was desirable, in view
of the shortage, t h a t coal should be used as economically as possible,
that supplies should be fairly shared out, and that, in the general
interest, the price should be regulated ; the Minister concerned
took advice in these matters from the Higher Council for Economy
in Solid Mineral Fuel, a Permanent Advisory Commission for the
Allocation of Coal, and a Prices Commission for Mineral Fuel.
The occupational organisations were represented on all these
bodies.
Permanent Council for Industrial Production? This council is
composed of representatives of employers, representatives of technical
and managerial stafl and technicians, representatives of salaried employees and wage earners, and experts. It gives its opinion on
1

Order of 16 Aug. 1946, J.O., 17 Aug. 1946, p . 7,207.
The Ministry for Industrial Production had been organised by the Ordinance
of 28 Sept. 1944 (J.O., 1 Oct. 1944, p . 850). I t later became the Ministry of
Industry and was attached to the Ministry of Commerce.
3
See I.L.E., July-Aug. 1946, p . 77.
4
Ibid., p . 78.
5
Order of 17 Dec. 1945, J.O., 20 Dec. 1945, p. 8,424.
2

PRESENT SYSTEM

55

questions of general economic policy, industrial production and allocation, and particularly the study and putting into force of the plan
for industrial production within the general framework of the national
plan.
Advisory committees. These committees, one or more of which
are attached to each technical directorate of the Ministry for Industrial
Production 1 , include an equal number of employers, engineers, wage
earners and salaried employees and, if necessary, handicraftsmen,
appointed by the Minister on the proposal of the most representative
organisations of employers and workers.
These committees, which number about 20, must be consulted on
questions concerning production and allocation of the products for
which they are competent. Furthermore, so long as there is a shortage
of goods and products, they must be consulted when prices are being
fixed and rates of activity and quotas of raw materials established
for the various branches of production, and when production programmes
are drawn up.
Production programmes. Under an Act of 11 May 1946 2 the Minister
for Industrial Production may establish production programmes for
products whenever such procedure appears necessary to meet either
the requirements of public administrations or the requirements of
the nation in general.3 These programmes should be drawn up within
the general directives issued by the Government or in accordance
with the estimates of the plan after the opinion of the joint advisory
committees has been obtained.
In so far as their purpose is to satisfy the requirements of the public
administrations, the programmes are carried out under the form of
contracts concluded in the name of the State. In other cases they
are carried out either through the producers undertaking to deliver
the goods or, if that proves inadequate, through orders for production
being placed by the Minister for Industrial Production, who must
first consult the advisory committee and the trade union organisations
more directly representing the branch of industry concerned.
Higher Council for Economy in Solid Mineral Fuel* This body,
on which are represented the principal coal-consuming industries,
technicians, workers, civil servants and representatives of specialised
technical organisations, studies and proposes all measures calculated
to prevent waste of coal, to improve the efiiciency of fireplaces and
heating apparatus, and to develop the consumption of by-products.
It bases its action on departmental or local occupational organisations.
Permanent Advisory Committee on Coal Distribution.5 This committee, which is attached to the directorate of mines, is particularly
responsible for studying and keeping in touch with the conditions of
1
Order of 30 Nov. 1945, amended on 27 Mar. 1946, J.O., 1 Dec. 1945, p . 7,968,
and 31 Mar. 1946, p . 3,638. Such committees have also been attached to other
technical ministries, notably the Ministry of Agriculture.
2
J.O., 12 May 1946, p . 4,099.
3
The provisions of the Act of 11 May 1945 m a y be extended t o branches of
activity which are under other ministries. Programmes for the manufacture of
products of social utility have been established and p u t into force for textile articles,
domestic articles, articles used for heating, perambulators, etc.
4
Order of 15 Apr. 1946, J.O., 16 Apr. 1946, p . 3,197, and 17 J a n . 1947, p . 655.
6
Order of 21 Oct. 1947, J.O., 24 Oct. 1947, p . 10,567.

5

56

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

distribution and sale of coal, and making all proposals calculated to
improve them. Among its members, two representatives of workers'
confederations represent consumers.
Mineral Fuel Price Board.1 This Board, on which the Federation
of Underground Workers is represented, puts forward proposals concerning the prices of mineral fuel.
Provisional organisation for allocation. The Act of 26 April 1946
which dissolved the organisation committees, the occupational offices,
and the central allocation office and its sections, contains temporary
provisions " until the return to economic freedom " for organising
the allocation of raw materials of which there is still a shortage.2
The explanatory note attached to this Act when it was adopted
stated that it was desirable, during a transitional period which should
be shortened as much as possible, to continue to organise production in
necessary activities and to define the conditions under which materials
and products in limited supply should be allocated. The note added :
" In order to make this regulation as elastic and as little bureaucratic
as possible, and in order to avoid the risk of State tyranny, it is provided
that the application will be very largely entrusted to the occupational
associations and groups in accordance with the desire frequently expressed by chambers of commerce."
Allocation will be carried out in several stages. First, primary
allocation : in each branch of activity in which production is still limited
by lack of raw materials and is based on total quotas fixed by the
Minister of National Economy, the Ministers concerned, after having
consulted joint advisory committees, will fix the scale of activity and
the quotas of raw materials and rationed products. Then the Minister
will divide these quotas into three sections : the first for public and
industrial services or nationalised undertakings ; the second for large
undertakings s ; and the third for small and medium-sized undertakings
and craftsmen. The suballocation would be organised for the first group
of undertakings by the Ministers concerned after consulting the corresponding advisory committees ; for the second group by the most
representative trade or employers' organisations ; in the third group
either by the trade unions concerned, after agreement with the chambers
of commerce and the chambers of trade, or, failing agreement with
these, by the chambers themselves.4
Sources of energy, by reason of their special importance and the
close interdependence of the public and private sectors and domestic
1

Order of 1 Oct. 1946, J.O., 5 Oct. 1946, p . 8,463.
This Act was to come into full effect six months after promulgation. However,
since the new allocation scheme for which it provided was not yet prepared, the
date was extended by successive stages until 31 Dee. 1948. The Economic Council,
which had had laid before it several Bills to reorganise t h e allocation of industrial
products, expressed the opinion on 13 May 1948 t h a t t h e systems established by
the Act of 26 Apr. 1946 concerning the provisional organisation of allocation,
and b y t h e Act of 11 May 1946 on production programmes, should be maintained,
and even strengthened in some particulars ; a minority opinion, on the other hand,
proposed greater elasticity and simplification in the allocation of those products
which the Government considered should still be rationed.
3
These undertakings are nominated b y the Ministers concerned after consultation with t h e corresponding advisory committees.
4
I n industries where there are sufficiently representative national unions of
medium-sized and small undertakings, these unions m a y be allowed to carry
out the suballocation to the large, medium-sized and small undertakings.
2

PRESENT SYSTEM

57

consumption, and the absence of a joint organisation covering all
occupations, would be allocated by the Ministers concerned.
With a view to preventing or repairing mistakes or unfairness, the
law provides that the bodies responsible for suballocation will establish
beforehand rules for the allocation of quotas between the relevant
parties and have the rules approved by the Minister concerned, who
may introduce certain changes after taking the opinion of the industrial
advisory committees ; disputes arising later are submitted to arbitration
committees composed of delegates of the most representative employers'
organisations of the various industrial, commercial and handicrafts
industries concerned, presided over by an independent person.
In this new organisation for allocation, the State would thus retain
the right to supervise generally, and would direct activities with a view
to satisfying the general interests of the nation, and the occupational
groups would seek for conciliation and arbitration between opposing
points of view.
Investigation committees. In order to supervise the enforcement
of the regulations concerning allocation of industrial products, particularly stocks held by undertakings, departmental investigation committees have been set up 1 , on which are represented the Ministry
concerned, the chambers of commerce, the chambers of trade, the workers'
confederations, the C.G.A., the Federation of French Technicians and
Engineers, the Federation of French Women, former prisoners of war
and deported persons, family associations, and sometimes persons who
have suffered material war damage. The committees may be assisted
by communal or cantonal sections set up on the same basis.
Reconstruction

and Town

Planning.

The collaboration of workers' organisations in the work of
reconstruction is provided for by the direct representation of
building workers in the central and departmental services of the
Ministry for Reconstruction and Town Planning and by their representation in the departmental and local reconstruction committees.
Workers' representatives in reconstruction.2 The task of these representatives is to bring to the Ministry for Reconstruction any suggestions
and remarks which may be useful and also to provide the constant
support of the trade unions affiliated with the C.G.T. The statement
of their activities is signed by the Minister for Reconstruction, and the
Secretary-General of the National Federation of Building Industries,
Public Works and Construction Materials (affiliated to the C.G.T.),
to which the great majority of workers in the building trade belong.
On the national plane, four workers' representatives are permanently
in contact with the various services of the Ministry. In each department
which has suffered damage, one or more workers' representatives watch
over the execution of nationally planned programmes of reconstruction and the fair allocation and rational use of materials, labour and
equipment ; these representatives keep in touch with the departmental
delegate of the Ministry for Reconstruction.
1
2

Order of 24 Apr. 1946, J.O., 19 Apr. 1946, p . 4,358.
Order of 7 J u n e 1946, J.O., 12 June 1946, p . 5,163.

58

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

Departmental reconstruction committees.1 Each of the departmental
committees for reconstruction includes, among others, a director, a
craftsman, and two workers of the building industry, each appointed
by the most representative occupational organisation, and an architect
nominated by the regional council of the Institute of Architects.
These committees give their opinion on all questions on the departmental plane connected with reconstruction and town planning.
Agriculture.
The Minister of Agriculture, who is responsible for agricultural
production, is assisted by a Higher Council for Agriculture and
advisory committees, and in matters of co-operation by the Higher
Council for Co-operation and registration committees. 2
Higher Council for Agriculture. The Higher Council for Agriculture
was set up in 1882 and last reorganised by a Decree of 9 April 1945.3
I t is responsible, under the Minister of Agriculture, for the study of
problems connected with national agriculture. It includes 30 sections,
each specialising in a particular question. Questions concerning several
sections are considered by working parties consisting of members of
the sections concerned, who may call in persons with special scientific
or professional qualifications. The members of the sections are
appointed by the Minister of Agriculture, and a certain number of
them are chosen among farmers. The Council discusses problems with
various advisory bodies set up alongside the Ministry of Agriculture
or the establishments depending on it.
Advisory committees. At the occupational level, the Minister of
Agriculture has advisory committees for the main branches of agricultural activities, stock raising, gardening, oil industries, etc., simüar
to those at the disposal of the Minister responsible for industrial production. In the case of forestry production, there is a central advisory
committee on which sit representatives of the owners and operators
of forest land and of forestry workers' unions, and a general advisory
council for the marketing of forestry and sawmill products, on which
workers in the timber industry are represented.
Higher Council for Agricultural Co-operation and registration committees. The development of the agricultural co-operative movement,
to which the Government attaches great importance, and which it
regards as one of the " determining factors in agricultural production",
has given rise to the establishment of a system of advisory bodies at
various levels. The new legal rules for agricultural co-operation are
founded, according to the explanatory note of the Ordinance establishing
1

Decree of 30 Mar. 1946, J.O., 31 Mar. 1946, p . 2,664.
The chambers of agriculture and t h e assembly of their chairmen—bodies
representing the interests of agriculture—are qualified to act in an advisory capacity to assist the public authorities. Mention is not made here of other occupational
or interoccupatiohal organisations such as the Interoccupational Office of Cereals
(Ordinance of 21 Dec. 1944) on which are represented purchasers, traders, millers,
consumers (workers' confederations, consumer co-operatives, large families) and
the administration, nor of the departmental committees for cereals (Act of 10 Sept.
1942 and Ordinance of 22 Sept. 1945), the composition of which is similar.
*J.O., 10 Apr. 1945, p . .1,969.
2

PRESENT SYSTEM

59

them 1 , " both on the data established by more than a quarter of a
century of experience, and on the imperative necessity for French
agriculture to adapt itself to new economic conditions ". The rules
set up a Higher Council for Agricultural Co-operation and provided for
the protection of the title of " agricultural co-operative association ",
reserving it for the groups approved by the Minister of Agriculture
on the advice of the registration committees.
Three tenths of the members of. this Council and its committees 2
are ex-oßcio members and seven tenths are representatives of the
agricultural profession, of whom two thirds represent co-operation
and a third belong to the most representative trade union organisations
of farmers, technicians, and the staff (wage earners and salaried employees) of the agricultural co-operatives, elected by their respective
bodies. Among the ex-officio members of the Council sit the president
of the C.G.A. and the president of the Agricultural Co-operative Union.
The Higher Council is consulted by the Minister of Agriculture
on questions connected with agricultural co-operation. The registration
committees, which include a central committee and departmental
committees, deal with requests for approval of co-operative associations
and unions which come within their competence.
Transport.
The Minister responsible for transport is assisted by an advisory
body, the Higher Council for Transport.
The Council, which was re-established and provided with new
rules 3 in 1947, consists of 69 members, including 23 representatives
of public administrations, 15 representatives of transport undertakings,
15 representatives of the personnel of transport undertakings nominated
by the most representative bodies, technical and managerial staff (salaried employees and wage earners having equal representation) and 15
representatives of Parliament and persons making use of transport.
The Council is competent for all questions of a social, technical,
economic or financial character connected with the organisation and
working of the various means of transport. In particular it is to prepare
a scheme for the co-ordination of the various means of transport :
rail, sea, air, road and inland waterways. It includes five sections
corresponding to these various means of transport.
Rationing
I n order to obtain the necessary information when taking
decisions concerning rationing—a matter that particularly
concerns the working classes—the Minister responsible for rationing has at his disposal general bodies a t the national and departmental level and specialised bodies dealing with given products.
1
Ordinance of 12 Oct. 1945, J.O., 13 Oct. 1945, p . 6,474 ; Act of 14 May 1946,
J.O., 15 May 1946, p . 4,155.
2
Decree of 16 Oct. 1946, J.O., 17 Oct. 1946, p . 8,818.
8
Act of 3 Sept. 1947, J.O., 4 Sept. 1947, p . 8,772. This Act cancels the Vichy
legislation (1940) concerning t h e organisation of a General Council for Transport.
I t also abolishes the Higher Council for Transport and the Transport Co-ordination
Committee set up in 1935 and 1937 respectively.

60

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

Among the former are the Higher Advisory Food Committee and
the Permanent National Food Committee, which were established
alongside the central administration, and the advisory departmental food committees attached to every prefect. The latter committees deal principally with meat and fish. I n all these bodies, whose
importance decreases as food supplies improve and rationing is relaxed, the trade unions are among the representatives of consumers.
Higher Advisory Food Committee.1 This Committee gives its opinion
on all general questions concerning the national food supply which
are submitted to it by the Minister responsible for rationing and receives
and examines the reports of the departmental advisory committees.
It includes representatives of purchasers (the C.G.T., the C.G.A., and
the Agricultural Co-operative Union), representatives of consumers
(family movements, workers' confederations, women's organisations,
etc.) and representatives of distribution at all stages.
Permanent National Food Committee? This Committee, which
contains representatives of the C.G.A. and the co-operative bodies
affiliated to it, and of the workers' confederations, retail traders,
consumer co-operatives and large families, discusses the best means
of providing under the best conditions for the food supply of the population, co-ordinates the action of the departmental advisory committees
and keeps the public informed on rationing questions.
Departmental

Advisory

Food

Committees.1

These committees are

consulted by the prefects on questions connected with the collection,
allocation and distribution of food supplies and produce. They report
every month to the Higher Advisory Committee. They consist of
representatives of purchasers, consumers (occupational organisations,
co-operative societies and organisations of consumers, etc.) and of
bodies for collection and allocation.
Price Control
On the declaration of war, the Government proceeded to block
prices and wages so t h a t the currency would keep its internal
purchasing power. Prices had been controlled since 1936 ; control
was made much stricter in September 1939, so t h a t in practice
decisions of the public authorities took the place of the usual
rules for the fixing of prices. 3
Certain of the bodies set up for the enforcement of the regulations nationally and departmentally included representatives of
manufacturers, traders, agriculturists, consumers, workers, etc.
The Vichy Government, by the Act of 21 October 1940, provided for a greater measure of centralisation. I t entrusted price
policy t o a single authority, the Ministry of National Economy
1

Order of 3 J u l y 1945, J.O., 7 J u l y 1945, p . 4,141.
Order of 4 Dec. 1945, J.O., 5 Dec. 1945, p . 8,042.
* Olivier MOREAU-NÉRET : Le contrôle des prix en France (Paris, 1941).
8

PRESENT SYSTEM

61

and Finance, which alone took decisions after consultation with
a central price committee ; the powers of decision of the departmental and regional committees were reduced. The workers, as
such, were no longer represented on these bodies.
Most of the regulations laid down by the Vichy Government
were confirmed by the Provisional Government, pending two
Ordinances issued on 30 June 1945 x, which substituted for them
new regulations dealing with price fixing and the prevention of
offences connected with the economy. The Preamble set forth
the essential characteristics as follows :
Grouped under the Ministry of National Economy and Finance,
the Ministers responsible for the various products and services will
continue to be competent to fix the prices of all products and services ;
the local representatives of the central authorities and the occupational
bodies have powers in this field only if these are delegated to them
by a ministry ; the specialised price committees must be consulted
before any decision is taken on these matters.
These advisory committees are : the National Price Committee
and the departmental price committees. Representatives of the
administration and of private and general interests collaborate
with these committees. The latter representatives include manufacturers, traders, handicraftsmen, farmers, co-operators and
consumers, (delegates of the trade unions and the heads of large
families).
At the beginning of 1947, when the Government took action
to reduce prices, it ordered the establishment (compulsory in
all urban centres of more than 10,000 inhabitants and optional in
other centres) of committees for the reorganisation of the m a r k e t 2
with a view to enlisting the help of consumers in the supervision
and régularisation of prices. These committees, presided over
by the mayor, included an equal number of town councillors,
representatives of consumers, heads of undertakings, and representatives of union organisations of wage earners. 3
The effects of this policy for the reduction of prices were shortlived, and some months later prices again began to rise steadily.
1
J.O., J u l y 1945, p p . 4,150 and 4,156. The Ordinance of 30 J u n e 1945 regarding prices was modified by an Act of 15 Sept. 1947, J.O., 16 Sept. 1947, p. 9,249.
2
Decree of 9 J a n . 1947, J.O., 10 J a n . 1947, p . 257.
8
I n March 1947, the Federation of Trade Unions of the Paris district organised
a meeting for the reduction of prices, which included several hundred staff representatives on works committees, and during which stress was laid on the need for
liaison between the " works committees, which are carrying on a campaign for
the reduction of industrial prices, and the reorganisation committees, which are
endeavouring to reduce consumers' prices " {L'Humanité, 30-31 Mar. 1947).

62

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

Indeed, this rise was authorised by official increases in July and
August and again in December 1947. On the latter date, "however,
many products and services were no longer subject to fixed prices,
or were subject to a system of supervised freedom, so t h a t the
influence of the above-mentioned advisory bodies was limited. 1
A fresh campaign for the reduction of prices—more particularly the prices of products having an influence on the cost of
living—was undertaken at the beginning of 1948 2 as a result of the
examination of the price-wage problem by the Economic Council. 3

Participation in the Fixing of Social Activities
The most direct—and the most efficacious—participation of
t h e occupational organisations in the fixing of social activities
is effected through collective agreements by which, within the
general framework of labour legislation, employers and wage
earners fix conditions of employment and more particularly
wages. Since the beginning of the war this regulation by contract
has met with difficulties, particularly as regards wages, by reason of
t h e c o n t r o l t h a t t h e S t a t e exercised o v e r p r o d u c t i o n .

Since 1939

wages have been fixed by the public authorities, who, at least
since the liberation, obtain the opinion of the parties concerned
through the bodies on which the parties are represented. I t is
obvious, however, that these bodies will be liable to disappear
when production becomes free. Collective agreements will then
again have their former importance.
Furthermore, in order to be informed concerning social
questions generally, the Government has established, alongside
the Ministry of Labour, a tripartite body of general competence :
the National Council for Labour. I n other spheres—labour,
social security, mutual insurance, security and occupational
medicine, and conditions of employment other than wages—
bodies with special powers associate the representatives of the
public authorities, the employers and the workers in the social
activities of the public authorities.
1
As from July 1947 freedom of prices had been granted for a certain number
of products and services.
a
The C.G.T.-F.O., the C.F.T.C., the C.G.C., the consumer co-operatives and
t h e family associations are represented on a national committee, t h e object of
which is the campaign against the high cost of living (Productions
françaises,
May 1948, p . 97). The C.G.T.-F.O., the C.F.T.C. and the C.G.C, also formed
an association to work for a decrease in the cost of living.
3
See p. 68.

PRESENT SYSTEM

63

REGULATION OF W A G E S

Before the war, and particularly after 1936, wages were fixed
by means of collective agreements freely negotiated or resulting
from the working of the machinery for conciliation and arbitration.
After the declaration of war, in its desire to stabilise social and
economic conditions, the Government took over the control of
prices and wages. This control still exists, pending—in the
case of wages—the return to the regulation by contract under
new legislation concerning collective agreements.
Wage Fixing

by Public

Authorities

I t has been seen in the previous chapter how the Government,
after the declaration of war, blocked and regulated prices. At
the same time a Legislative Decree of 10 November 1939 laid
down t h a t conditions of employment would be stabilised from
1 September 1939 " in establishments working for national defence ". I n J u n e 1940 stabilisation was extended to all undertakings. 1
Up to the Armistice, the regulation of prices and wages was
fairly well respected. Later, the Vichy Government continued
the principle of stabilisation, but although wage rates did not
vary, the same did not apply to prices, which for various reasons
increased continuously and considerably. The several increases
in wages authorised by the occupation authorities, particularly
under the form of ' supplementary allowances, and the indirect
increases granted on the initiative of heads of undertakings
(bonuses, gratuities, facilities for obtaining food, etc.) still left a
constantly increasing gap between the scale of remuneration and
the cost of living. 2
At the time of the liberation the Provisional Government,
which had previously been directly in touch with the leaders
of the trade unions t h a t were being re-formed, ordered a general
increase in wages. 3 The increase was very speedily absorbed
by the continual increase in the cost of living, and there was
general confusion for some time in prevailing wage rates and scales ;
1

Decree of 1 J u n e 1940.
As compared with 1939 the index number for wages a t the moment of the
liberation was 1.65 ; with payments in kind, etc., it was 1.9 to 2. On the other
hand, the weighted index for agricultural products was 2.8 to 3, as compared with
1939, and this only referred to official prices ; it was impossible to live only on
products sold a t these prices.
3
Cf. J.L.R., May 1945, p . 598 : " W a g e Increases in Liberated France ".
2

64

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

wage rates varied between different areas, wage scales based on
skill differentials disappeared, and the rates for women fell far
below men's rates.
At the beginning of 1945 the Government decided to regularise
the situation and at the same time to bring wages into line with
the cost of living. For this purpose, and in order to carry out
the Decree of 10 November 1939, the Government set up for
every branch of industry occupational wage committees consisting
of representatives of the public authorities and of an equal number
of representatives of employers' associations and the workers'
unions (C.G.T. and C.F.T.C.). The work of these committees
was directed and co-ordinated by a national interoccupational
wages committee which included nine representatives of the workers
(six for the C.G.T. and three for the C.F.T.C), nine representatives
of employers, and representatives of the various ministries concerned. These committees were instructed to study the various
questions connected with wages : fixing of the minimum living
wage, grading of workers, women's wages, etc. ; they did not
take decisions but only submitted suggestions to the Minister
of Labour who, as the final authority, adopted the solutions he
deemed suitable and made the necessary Orders.
I n April 1945 the Government published the first Orders
regulating wages. Many more Orders were made during the
following year.
As regards wages for piece work, in which the Government
saw an incentive to increased productivity, and which for t h a t
reason were allowed by the trade unions, an Order 1 laid down
t h a t there should not be an average maximum wage, as in the
case of wages paid by the hour, on condition, however, t h a t the
rates for piece work should continue to be based on the standards
calculated for each occupation and t h a t their application should
not have the purpose or effect of increasing wages to the point
of enticing labour from one occupation to another. Regional
committees, in which were represented employers' and workers'
organisations, were to provide for supervision and application of
these provisions.
One year later the Government, wishing to link increased
production with wages, so that workers should benefit more from
their increased productivity, decided to extend the practice of
wages by the piece to all activities where it would be possible.
1

Act of 31 May 1945, J.O., 3 June 1945, p. 3,200.

PRESENT SYSTEM

65

For t h a t purpose the Minister of Labour set up an interoccupational
technical committee and occupational committees x responsible
for examining the conditions for fixing wages for piece work.
The most representative employers' and workers' organisations
were represented on these bodies.
I n general the measures for regularising wages ordered by
the Government in 1945 led to an average rise in wages of about
50 per cent. I t did not, however, ensure a correspondence between
wages and prices, since the latter continued to rise. For the third
time, in June 1946, the Government received an application for
increase of wages from those concerned. Resorting to a new method,
in 1946 it convened a National Economic Conference on prices
and wages which it instructed to study measures for putting prices
and wages in order. 2 This conference included representatives of
the Government, the large municipalities, the C.G.T.,the C.F.T.C.,
the C.N.P.F., the C.G.A., and of artisans, small traders, co-operative
societies and family associations. The conference sat from 4 to
23 July 1946 and unanimously adopted certain conclusions,
which constituted an agreement between all the factors in the
French economy.
The head of the Provisional Government took steps to lay
stress on the importance of this conference, " the first in France
and in the world ", and expressed his pleasure at the information
t h a t it had given. Basing its action on these recommendations,
the Government, at the end of July 1946 3 , proceeded once more
to raise wages ; the effect of this was to increase real wages by
about 20 per cent, on the average.
Nevertheless, as was stated by the Minister of Labour, the
recommendations of the conference concerning an increase in
wages should not be separated from those concerning reduction
in cost prices, the better organisation of distribution, and the
upholding of the currency. I t was only on this condition t h a t
higher wage rates would effectively increase purchasing power.
Unfortunately, the increase in wages still further accentuated the
tendency of prices to rise, and the cost of living increased by
about 50 per cent, in a few months, which involved a fresh gap
between wages and prices.
1
Act of 9 May 1946, J.O., 11 May 1946, p . 4,075. Such committees have been
set up for the iron industry, engineering, mechanical industries and the textile
industry.
2
Decree of 2 J u l y 1946, J.O., 4 July 1946, p . 5,978.
3
Act of 29 J u l y 1946, J.O., 30 J u l y 1946, p. 6,759.

66

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

At the beginning of 1947, the Government, which was anxious
to maintain real wages, by keeping or improving the purchasing
power of the nominal wage, resolved to change the tendency
of prices, and set on foot a campaign for lowering prices, placing
responsibility for its decisions on the trade unions, the works
committees, and the reorganisation committees, on which workers'
representatives served. The C.N.P.F. also promised to collaborate
with the Government.
This policy did not produce the results that had been expected,
and in February the Government was once more faced with claims
from wage earners for a general increase of remuneration with
an extension of the range of wages. It refused to adopt this
policy, which would have prejudiced the campaign for lowering
prices, from which stabilisation and later an increase in real wages
could be expected, but it stated that it was ready to examine
the living conditions of the working classes. For this purpose
it set up a mixed committee, on which the representatives of the
wage earners set forth their point of view, supported by documentation. Objective research made it clear that at the time a labourer
working normally needed a minimum wage of 7,000 francs a month
to ensure a modest standard of living. The Government therefore
authorised, in the form of a temporary and exceptional allowance,
that earnings of under 7,000 francs should be brought up to that
sum. There was to be a fresh examination of the question before
1 July 1947, a date later postponed until December 1947.
Shortly after this allowance was granted, the price of foodstuffs, which constitute the essential item of the budget of wage
earners, once more began to increase, so that the purchasing
power of wages once more decreased. Furthermore, the workers'
unions claimed that the workers had not had their proper share
of the profits from the increase in production of the past year,
and asked that production bonuses should be granted in order
to raise the remuneration of labour to the same percentage of
the national income as in the first six months of 1946.1 This
claim was strongly supported by strike movements which very
soon became general.
At the end of May 1947 the Government decided that " a
system of production bonuses should be set up with a view to
1
The Joint Committee on Prices and Wages found in Feb. 1947 t h a t the
share of wages in the national income a t the end of 1945 was only 39.8 per cent.,
whereas in 1938 it had been 49.7 per cent., while the share accruing to capital
had increased from 27.4 per cent, in 1933 t o 39.4 per cent, in 1946.

67

PRESENT SYSTEM

increasing production in all branches of industry and commerce,
in so far as the technical conditions of production or management
made it possible ". A technical committee, consisting of representatives of the various ministries concerned, was instructed to
fix, after hearing the qualified representatives of the occupational
organisations of employers and workers, the general rules for the
establishment of such bonuses, " particularly endeavouring to
establish an equitable division of the margin resulting from an
increase of production as between workers, consumers and the
undertakings ".1
As a result of the work of this committee, and on the advice
of the Higher Committee for Collective Agreements, the Government decided that production bonuses might be established by
means of agreements between employers and wage earners in a
category of undertakings or within one undertaking.2 These
bonuses should not involve an increase of prices, and they should
n o t b e t a k e n i n t o a c c o u n t w h e n prices were

fixed.

Disagreements

between the parties would be submitted to a special arbitration
procedure 3 ; in the last instance a decision would be taken by
either the departmental director of labour and manpower or
the Ministry of Labour, after consultation with a tripartite departmental committee or a tripartite national committee.4
Thus, within the above-mentioned limits and conditions, the
Government abandoned to the parties concerned the fixing of
the part of the remuneration of workers represented by the production bonus. This, however, only lasted a short time, for in
the month of August, as a result of an agreement concluded between
the C.G.T. and the C.N.P.F., the rates of legal wages resulting
from the measures taken in July 1946 were increased by 11 per
cent., and the regulations on production bonuses cancelled.5
Nevertheless prices continued to increase, and some months
1
Order of 31 May 1947, J.O., 1 J u n e 1947, p. 5,069. The C.N.P.F. was not
in favour of production bonuses, in which it saw " a disguised form of an actual
increase in remuneration " . On the contrary, i t " once more affirmed its support
of the generalisation and improvement of formulae for the payment of piece rates
(individual or collective), in cases where such production can be calculated "
(L'Usine nouvelle, 26 J u n e 1947).
2
Order of 20 J u n e 1947, J.O., 21 J u n e 1947, p . 5,757.
8
The legal regulations concerning conciliation and arbitration which were
suspended a t the beginning of the war have not yet been p u t into force again.
4
Order of 27 J u n e 1947, J.O., 28 J u n e 1947, p . 5,992.
5
Order of 21 Aug. 1947, J.O., 22 Aug. 1947, p . 8,298. The amount of the
temporary and exceptional allowance for raising the lower wages to the minimum
of 7,000 francs a month was permanently maintained and added to the new increase,
whereas the production bonuses were included therein.

68

CO-OPEBATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

later fresh adjustments of wages became necessary. The claims
of wage earners made to the public authorities were once more
supported by very considerable strike movements which, among
other consequences, led to the split in the C.G.T and the formation
of the C.G.T.-F.O. The Government, which, even during the
strike, had kept in touch with the occupational organisations,
proceeded at the end of December 1947, with effect from 1 December, to a fresh increase of wages amounting to about 25 per
cent, for the lowest-paid workers.1 The minimum monthly wage
was thus raised to 10,500 francs. This readjustment accompanied
a return to complete or controlled freedom of prices for a large
number of products and an increase in the price of those which
were subject to price control, so that the equilibrium established
in December was in danger of being upset. Indeed, the cost of
living continued to rise. The Government referred the question
to the Economic Council and instructed it, on 26 January 1948,
to " follow the application of governmental measures and make
all suggestions calculated to maintain stability of prices and
avoid upsetting the equilibrium established by the recent decisions
of the Government ".
The Economic Council, after examining the problem of prices
and wages in connection with other economic conditions in general,
on 26 February 1948 adopted a resolution 2 in which it noted
that " prices had risen on the average by 18 per cent, from 1
December to 8 February and by 4 per cent, from 1 January to
8 February ", recognised that the " re-establishment of the purchasing power of workers should be effected by a lowering of
prices " and suggested that the Government, before 1 March,
should take measures to lower the cost of living of workers by
at least 10 per cent, as compared with 1 February.3 At the
1
Order of 31 Dec. 1947, J.O., 1 J a n . 1948, p . 27, amended and completed by
the Order of 19 J a n . 1948, J.O., 19-20 J a n . 1948, p . 631. The details of application
of these texts appear to have resulted in a reduction of wage differentials.
2
Bulletin du Conseil économique, 24 Feb. 1948.
8
The Council particularly recommended strict application of the legal provisions
in respect of illegal raising of prices ; the revision downwards of all controlled prices
of industrial products directly or indirectly entering into the cost of the workers'
or farmer's budget ; strengthening of control over all prices of products subject
to the so-called rule of " freedom under supervision ", with a view to obtaining
a revision downwards of most of the prices ; the setting on foot of a policy for supplying the main centres with primary foodstuffs, with the assistance of all t h e
organisations concerned, with controlled sectors ; the import and allocation b y
closely supervised organisations of certain widely consumed foodstuffs in order t o
influence prices ; t h e manufacture on a large scale of currently used articles of
prime necessity, etc.

PRESENT SYSTEM

69

same time the occupational organisations represented on the
Economic Council undertook to associate themselves with the
carrying out of this policy, which should " unite the efforts of
producers, middlemen, and consumers with those of the public
authorities ".
However, the representatives of the C.G.T. did not participate
in the vote on this resolution, the Council having, some minutes
before, rejected a draft resolution which they had submitted in
which they asked, among other things, for a compulsory reduction
of prices, particularly of industrial prices, in order to obtain before
15 March an actual reduction of the cost of living of 10 per cent.
as compared with 1 February, with a tendency to a still greater
reduction, failing which they suggested t h a t as from 1 March
there should be a 50 per cent, increase in wages compared with
salaries prior to 1 February 1947, with a proportional increase
in family allowances.
Thus, the Economic Council had tackled the crucial aspect
of the problem of wages, t h a t is to say, the fixing of the actual
wage, and the establishment of a close connection between the
rates of nominal wages and the cost of living. As a result of the
continual fluctuations which had been noted in the French economic
situation since the beginning of the second world war, nominal
wages have been gradually readjusted in proportion to the cost
of living, which has continually increased. A simple comparison
between price and wage indices ignores too many factors to make
it possible to form an accurate estimate of the real purchasing
power of wages. Nevetheless it is certain t h a t this purchasing
power has considerably decreased as compared with the pre-war
period. 1
1
I t is not intended to examine in detail the fluctuations of prices and wages,
but some indices are given below.
Prices. On the basis of 100 for 1938, the general index of wholesale prices
averaged 989 in 1947, t h a t of industrial products 819, and t h a t of foodstuffs 1,159 ;
the figures were 1,122, 853 and 1,392 in Oct. 1947, 1,217, 1,001 and 1,434 in December 1947, and 1,535, 1,516 and 1,554 in Mar. 1948 (Bulletin de la Statistique de
la France, Nov.-Dec. 1947, p. 597, J a n . 1948, p . 15, Apr. 1948, p . 164). These are
official price figures.
Wages. On the basis of 100 in Oct. 1938, the weighted index—for the
whole of France—of wages per hour of unmarried workers was, for the same month,
104 in 1940, 117 in 1941, 130 in 1942, 142 in 1943, 231 in 1944, 380 in 1945, 527
in 1946 and 625 in 1947. On the same basis of 100 in Oct. 1938, the index
figure for monthly wages of a provincial worker, father of a family, responsible
for two children, and entitled to a single wage allowance, was for the same month
297 in 1944, 508 in 1945, 788 in 1946 and 1,002 in 1947. For Paris, and also for
October, these figures were respectively 255 in 1944, 393 in 1945, 629 in 1946
and 801 in 1947 {ibid., Supplement, Apr.-June 1948, p . 129.)

70

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

I t can be seen from the above that at the time of all these
readjustments the public authorities responsible for wages allowed
the occupational organisations of employers and workers to participate in different ways in the fixing of rates : direct contact with
the organisations, tripartite committees, and a national conference ;
sometimes the Government has even had resort to agreements
concluded directly, without the Government's participation,
between representative occupational organisations.
According to the law, wage fixing by the Government should
have ended on 31 December 1946. As from t h a t date there should
have been a return to the pre-war system whereby the parties
concerned were free to negotiate between themselves concerning
wage rates. The Government, however, in order to retain control
of wage policy, as it had retained to some extent control of prices,
and to direct the execution of the industrial equipment plan,
kept in force the regime set up in 1939-1940, and the Act of 23
December 1946 laid down t h a t temporarily, and up to a date
to be fixed later, collective agreements should not contain any
clauses concerning wages. Nevertheless, the decisions of the
Government concerning wages were henceforth to be taken after
consultation with the Higher Committee for Collective Agreements.
Thus, the new legislation concerning collective agreements set
up to some extent two systems of wage fixing : wage fixing by
the State, for so long as the Government considers it indispensable
to keep control of the essential factors of production ; and wage
fixing by collective agreements, which will become the rule when
the Government is of opinion t h a t economic circumstances make
it possible to return to complete freedom in respect of prices and
wages ; b u t both systems appeal to one body : the Higher Committee for Collective Agreements, on which are represented the general
interests of the country, and the special interests of the workers
and of the employers.
Collective

Agreements

The legislation of 1936 concerning collective agreements was
amended by the Act of 23 December 1946 * in order to adapt
it to the new conceptions of social legislation.
The law defines the collective agreement as " a n agreement
concerning conditions of labour concluded between one or more
workers' trades unions on the one hand, and on the other hand
1
J.O., 26 Dec. 1946, p. 10,932; corrigenda:
and 5 Jan. 1947, p. 138 ; L.S., 1946—Fr. 15.

ibid., 29 Dec. 1946, p. 11,066,

PRESENT SYSTEM

71

one or more trade associations of employers or any other group
of employers or one or several employers taken individually ".
The area and the occupations to which the agreement applies
are fixed by the agreement itself. From the territorial point of
view there may be concluded national, regional and local agreements, and agreements only applying to a given undertaking.
The Act has been designed with a view to creating a chronological
order in respect of the conclusion of the various agreements ;
national agreements should be concluded first and agreements
for undertakings last.
A ministerial decision taken as a result of the advice given by
the Higher Committee for Collective Agreements lays down t h a t
there will be one single national agreement for each industry,
but t h a t this agreement may contain special provisions for special
categories of wage earners. The number of national agreements
is thus limited to about 20.
The national collective agreements between employers and workers
of any given branch of activity are concluded by mixed national committees composed of representatives of the trade associations of employers and the most representative trade unions 1 , called together
1

In the drawing up of the provisions of the agreement which are common

to all categories of wage earners of a branch of activity the national organisations
of wage earners affiliated t o any of the following confederations m a y participate :
the C.G.T., the C.G.T.-F.O. and the C.F.T.C, so far as concerns the general body
of wage earners, including technical and managerial staff, and the C.G.C, for
the category of technical and managerial staff. W i t h a view to the negotiation
of the special chapters of national agreements of general character which cover
only a certain category of wage earners, or national agreements of a restricted
character, the Minister of Labour estimates the representative character of the
union organisations called on to negotiate (ministerial decision of 8 Apr. 1948, J.O.,
9 Apr. 1948, p . 3,541).
Before 8 Apr. 1948 and under a ministerial decision of 13 Mar. 1947 (J.O.,
15 Mar. 1947, p . 2,444) participation in the preparation of the provisions of the
agreement which applied to all the categories of wage earners of a branch of activity
was allowed to organisations of wage earners which complied with the general
conditions concerning " representative " organisations if 10 per cent, of their
numbers belonged to the branch of activity in question and 25 per cent, of the
members of the union belonged to one of the categories concerned. Participation
in the negotiation of the chapters of collective agreements concerning a given category of wage earners was open to trade union organisations which could claim
either 10 per cent, of union members for the whole of the branch of activity in
question and 25 per cent, of union members for the occupational category in
question, or 33 per cent, of union members for the category in question.
A Decree of 13 Mar. 1947 (J.O., 15 Mar. 1947, p . 2,445) had set up within the
Higher Committee for Collective Agreements a supervisory committee responsible
for judging the representative character of the union organisations called on to
negotiate agreements.
At the end of 1947, in order to apply the criteria fixed by the decision of 13 Mar.
1947, out of 23 national joint committees, workers had representatives in 18 committees (the C.G.T. in 18 cases, the C.F.T.C. in four cases) ; salaried employees
in 22 committees (the C.G.T. in 22 cases, the C.F.T.C. in 12 cases) ; and technical
a n 4 managerial staff in 20 committees (the C.G.T. in 20 cases, the C.F.T.C. in 10
cases, the C.G.C, in 12 cases). (Droit social, Nov. 1947, p . 378.)
6

72

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

by the Ministry of Labour at the request of a national association of
employers or workers concerned, on condition that it be of a representative character.1 The national collective agreements must contain
provisions concerning freedom of association and freedom of opinion
for workers ; the wages applicable by occupational category and by
district, under conditions fixed by the laws and regulations in force ;
the conditions of engagement and dismissal of workers (but these
provisions are not to prejudice the free choice of a trade union by the
worker) ; the period to be worked before entitlement to holidays ;
the organisation of apprenticeship and of vocational training within
the undertaking. They may also contain provisions concerning staff
delegates 2 and works committees and particularly the financing of
the welfare schemes of these committees ; the general conditions for
payment for piece work ; the scheme for seniority and attendance
bonuses and bonuses for dangerous and unhealthy work ; travel
allowances ; paid holidays.
The characteristic feature of national agreements is that they tend
to unite so far as possible production policy with social policy in the
fixing of conditions of employment in each industry so far as economic
possibilities allow. This explains the part taken by the public authorities.
For this reason also, as long as the economy continues to be directed,
provisional measures will provide, up to a date to be fixed by law,
for wages to be regulated by the State ; the ministers concerned, before
taking any decision on this matter, are to consult the Higher Committee
for Collective Agreements.
W i t h a view t o adapting the national collective agreement or certain

of its provisions to special local conditions of work, regional or local
agreements may be concluded by joint regional or local committees
applying a similar procedure to that followed for national agreements.
Lastly, agreements for the undertaking, concluded on the one hand
between an employer or any group of employers and on the other
hand with the representatives of the most representative trade unions
of the undertaking or undertakings concerned, regulate within the
limits provided for by the national, regional or local agreements the
conditions of employment in the undertaking, and particularly conditions of engagement and dismissal, the definition and classification
of particular employment in the undertakings in question, and the
conditions of allocation and method of calculation of individual and
collective bonuses for piece work.
Collective agreements are only applicable after they have been
approved b y the Minister of Labour who makes his decision after

1
If the joint committee does not agree on the clauses of an agreement, the
Minister of Labour, a t the request of one of the parties, intervenes for the purpose
of assisting in solving the dispute. If agreement proves impossible, a regulation
established by the public administration, after consultation with the organisations
of employers and workers, shall provisionally fix the salaries and conditions of
work in the branch of activity concerned.
2
The national collective agreement concerning the staff of banks which has
been published in the Journal officiel after the approval of the Minister of Labour
lays down the electoral procedure for the election of staff representatives (J.O.,
13 Sept. 1947, p . 9,154).

PRESENT SYSTEM

73

having received the opinion, with reasons, of the Higher Committee for Collective Agreements set up by the Act of 23 December
1946.1
Higher Committee for Collective, Agreements.
The Higher Committee for Collective Agreements, on which
sit representatives of the public authorities, employers, and workers,
at present plays a very important part as an advisory body attached
to the Ministry of Labour, for it has very considerable powers
for studying economic and social questions. Furthermore, it
does the work of the wages and conditions of employment section
of the National Labour Council, which, as will be seen later, has
not yet been established.
Composition. The Higher Committee for Collective Agreements
consists of five representatives of the public authorities, including the
Minister of Labour, who is the chairman, one representative of the
Ministry of National Economy, and five representatives of workers

appointed by the Minister of Labour and proposed by the most representative confederations of trade unions. The employers' and workers'
members may further be assisted, for the consideration of a question
concerning a given branch of activity, by qualified representatives of
the employers or workers of that branch, up to a number not exceeding
five for each of these two categories ; these representatives act in an
advisory capacity.
The Committee sets up among its members a permanent bureau
composed of four persons representing respectively the Minister of
Labour, the Minister of National Economy, the employers and the
workers, who are responsible for preparing for the meetings of the
Commission, and between meetings are kept in touch with questions
raised in respect of the preparation of collective agreements and difficulties arising out of their application, particularly questions concerning
relations between wages and prices.
The Committee meets when convened by its chairman and it
may be convened compulsorily at the request of the bureau or a majority
of ex officio members, employers or workers. I t may demand from the
administrations concerned any investigations and the communication
of all documents concerning prices, wages, and production in the branches
of activity in question. I t may call in to participate in its work or
hear in an advisory capacity experts, technicians or representatives
of the administration, particularly the commissioners for fixing prices,
economic experts, labour inspectors, etc.
Duties and powers. The Higher Committee for Collective Agreements has very wide advisory powers so far as wages and conditions of
employment are concerned.
As the law stands at present, it gives its opinion on Decrees, Orders
and decisions taken in respect of wages. It co-ordinates the work of
the national joint committees and draws up the general regulations
1
The composition and conditions of working of the committee were regulated
by the Decree of 16 J a n . 1947 {J.O., 17 J a n . 1947, p . 672).

74

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

for the preparation of national collective agreements. It gives its
advice to the Minister of Labour in respect of the approval of collective
agreements and decrees issued in the event of negotiations breaking
down. From the economic point of view, it examines the effects of
collective agreements on prices, production, and the cost of living,
and for that purpose must meet at least once a month to follow the
changes in production and prices in the branches of activity in respect
of which a collective national agreement has been concluded.
Lastly, it acts as an arbitrator : at the request of the Minister of
Labour or parties concerned, it gives its opinion on the solution of
a dispute arising out of the negotiation or application of a collective
agreement ; and at the request of those concerned it is called on to
arbitrate in respect of social disputes arising out of the conclusion,
application or renewal of any collective agreement.
Work carried out by the Higher Committee for Collective Agreements?- The Higher Committee for Collective Agreements began
its work on 18 J a n u a r y 1947 in the presence of the Minister of
Labour, who drew the attention of its members to the importance
of the task entrusted to them. I n less than a year the Committee
carried out a great deal of work, dealing essentially with the preparation and approval of collective agreements and the fixing of
wages.
In the sphere of collective agreements, the first question which
came before the Committee was that of deciding the approximate
number and extent of national collective agreements to be considered.
It expressed its views with regard to a list of branches of activities
suitable to be dealt with by collective national agreements, which
list had been submitted to it by the Minister of Labour. After various
corrections, at the present moment this list includes 23 branches.2
The second question was that of having one or several agreements
in each branch of activity. The C.G.T. declared itself in favour of
a single agreement concerning all wage earners in the branch of activity.
The C.F.T.C. was in favour in principle of a single agreement including
all the general provisions, it being understood that there should be
separate chapters containing special clauses for the various categories.
The employers asked that it should be recognised as possible for the
various categories of workers in the same branch of activity to prepare
separate agreements on a national basis. Lastly, the Commission
expressed the opinion that it would be desirable, in each of the main
branches of activity, to proceed to the preparation of a single national
agreement for all categories of the personnel. Nevertheless, this agreement should contain separate chapters dealing with special provisions
in each category of wage earners, for instance : manual workers, salaried
employees, foremen, engineers and technical and managerial staff.
The Minister of Labour's decision was to this effect.
The Committee also proceeded, in connection with the previous
question, to the examination of the problems concerning the representative character of the trade unions called on to negotiate collective
1

Droit social, Nov. 1947, p . 367.
» Ibid., p . 378.

P R E S E N T SYSTEM

75

agreements. In respect of this very delicate question, it submitted
to the Minister of Labour proposals which formed the basis of the
Ministerial Decision of 13 March 1947.1
This decision gives the Higher Committee for Collective Agreements
and the supervisory committee set up within i t 1 the powers of enquiry
necessary to judge the representative character of the trade unions
called on to negotiate collective agreements.
Lastly, the Committee was called on to consider three collective
agreements already concluded, in order to advise the Minister of Labour
before he approved them. The agreements were concerned with the
national collective agreement concerning work in banks, and two
agreements dealing with special points : one concerning the pensions
and welfare scheme for technical and managerial staff and the other
the maintenance of previous advantages for wage earners who have
just come under the social security legislation. These three agreements
were approved, the first after having been referred back, at the request
of the Committee, to a joint committee to settle various clauses on
which the parties had not been able to agree.
In respect of wages, the Committee gave opinions concerning the
temporary cost-of-living allowance (March and May 1947), production
bonuses (May 1947), the wage increase of December 1947, allowances
granted to displaced workers in the building trade and public works,
and the Orders fixing wages in certain branches of activity which had
been published since the establishment of the Commission.
NATIONAL LABOUR COUNCIL

The National Labour Council established in 1946 is not yet
working. Pending its coming into ofBee, its duties are carried
out by various specialised bodies, such as the Higher Committee
for Collective Agreements, the National Manpower Commission and
the Higher Committee for Works Committees. The National Labour
Council is called on to play a leading part in the fixing and preparation of the social policy of the Government, as the Higher
Labour Council did before the last war.
Establishment
The National Labour Council, established by the Act of 22
May 1946 2, takes the place of the Higher Labour Council and the
National Manpower Council, which were suspended at the beginning of the war. 3 The explanatory statement attached to the Bill
to establish the Council runs as follows :
1

See footnote 1 on p. 71.
J.O., 23 May 1946, p. 4,481. The details of application of this Act were laid
down b y the Decree of 27 Nov. 1946 (J.O., 18 Dee. 1946, p . 10,441). Cf. I.L.R.,
July-Aug. 1946, p . 75.
3
The Act of 22 May 1946 declares null and void the legislation of the Vichy
Government concerning the committee for studying social questions and the Higher
Labour Council.
2

76

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

The reason for the establishment of the National Labour Council
is the imperative necessity to associate more closely the organisations
of workers and employers in the preparation and carrying out of the
social policy of our country. It is indeed necessary, now that social
problems are assuming exceptional importance and calling for fresh
solutions, that all the representatives of the economic forces of the
nation should be called on to collaborate in a better organisation of
social life.
The representatives of the various interests, meeting periodically
and working hard together, can with their collective responsibility
attain the co-ordination of effort and harmony of results which alone
can produce fruitful reforms.
From the various interests represented will emerge the higher
interest of the nation, which requires not only increased efforts for
production but also greater social justice and increased social welfare.
Composition
The National Labour Council consists of two categories of
members : those having the right to vote and those sitting in
an advisory capacity only.
The members entitled to vote number 61. They include
members of Parliament and representatives of the occupational
organisations, the Council of State and the Higher Social Security
Council.
The members of Parliament, nominated by that body, number
five.
The representatives of the occupational organisations represent
four groups of activities : industry and commerce, agriculture, independent workers and the co-operative movement. In the first two
groups, employed and employers are equally represented as follows :
industrial and commercial occupations : 18 representatives of employers,
and 18 of workers, appointed by the Minister of Labour on the proposal
of the most representative organisations of employers and workers ;
agricultural occupations : six representatives of farmers and six of
workers, nominated by the Ministry of Labour on the advice of the
Minister of Agriculture and on the proposal of the most representative
organisations of agricultural employers and agricultural workers ;
organisations of independent workers : two representatives of artisans
and one representative of the National Federation of Intellectual
Workers ; the co-operative movement : two representatives.
The Council of State is represented by the president of its social
section, and the Higher Social Security Council by two members elected
by it.
The members, who sit only in an advisory capacity, include
experts and technicians on labour questions nominated by the
Minister of Labour and all representatives of various ministerial
departments who have been called upon to participate in the
discussions of the Council, one of whom must be a representative

PRESENT SYSTEM

77

of the Minister of National Economy. They are nominated by
the Minister of Labour on the proposal of the Minister concerned
before the opening of each session. The explanatory statement
accompanying the Bill setting up the National Labour Council
says : " Thus the Council can, owing to its threefold composition,
draw on the experience of its members—occupational, technical
and administrative—and derive from the divergent and sometimes opposed views and interests the essential principles of a
new social policy which can be recommended to the public
authorities as the most suitable ".
With the exception of the chairman of the social section of
the Council of State, who is an ex officio member, and the representatives of the ministerial department who are nominated before
the beginning of each session, the members of the Council are
appointed for a period of two years and their nomination can
be renewed indefinitely.
A very important provision, -which testifies to the responsibility
of the representatives of the occupational organisations in these
bodies, enables the Minister of Labour to terminate the appointment of a member of the Council, should the organisation which
has opposed his appointment so request.
The National Labour Council is presided over by the Minister
of Labour and Social Security. The employer members and the
worker members each elect a vice-chairman from among their
number.
The reporters to the Council appointed by the Minister of
Labour are chosen for any given investigation either among the
members of the Council or among officials or any other persons
qualified by their competence on social or economic questions.
Those who are not members of the Council can be heard in an
advisory capacity.
Organisation
The National Labour Council consists of a plenary assembly,
a permanent committee, technical sections and a secretariat.
The plenary assembly meets not less than twice a year in ordinary
session ; it may be convened for an extraordinary session in urgent
cases.
The permanent committee, which is presided over by the Minister
of Labour or his representative, consists of : the vice-presidents of
the Council, one member of Parliament, five members for the employers
and five members for the workers, elected respectively by the employers'
group and the workers' group of the Council, and one employer member

78

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

and one worker member for agriculture elected by the Council from
among its members. Its duties are to allocate and co-ordinate work
between the technical sections, to provide for relations with the public
authorities, to prepare for the sessions of the assembly, to carry out
urgent enquiries, and to take decisions on all questions on which the
assembly has delegated its powers to it. Between sessions, or in urgent
cases, it is qualified to reply to requests for opinions made by the
Government, subject to accounting for them to the plenary assembly
or to the competent technical sections.
The technical sections are established for the purpose of studying
special problems concerning various branches of social legislation. Their
composition and competence are fixed by decrees of the Minister of
Labour, enacted after consultation with the Council, but it is laid
down that there must be a section for wages and conditions of employment 1 , a manpower section, a section for industrial relations and
social welfare and an agricultural section.
Each technical section is presided over by a representative of
the Ministry of Labour, and includes a member of Parliament chosen
by the Council, six employer members and six worker members, two
members representing the organisations of independent workers and
the co-operative groups and representatives of the ministerial departments concerned and the experts and technicians nominated by the
Minister of Labour from among the members of the Council belonging
to these categories. For the examination of the questions for which
they are competent, the technical sections may consult experts not
belonging to the Council.
The technical sections, either on their own initiative or at the request
of the President of the National Labour Council, study the questions
for which they are competent and forward to the Council all proposals
or opinions which they think might be useful. They meet whenever
it is necessary, and not less than six times a year.
The technical sections and subsections can set up committees
composed of an equal number of employers' and workers' members,
who may be chosen outside the Council, and who may call in representatives of the administration and of the experts or technicians who
are members of the Council. Each of these committees is presided
over in turn and by six-monthly rotation by a worker member and
an employer member of the Council. These committees examine
questions for which the section or subsection to which they belong
is competent and which concern the industry of the occupations that
they represent.
The permanent general secretariat of the Council is under the direction of a secretary-general, appointed by the Minister of Labour and
assisted by deputy secretaries-general nominated among the officials
of the Ministry of Labour. The secretary-general provides for the
working of the Council and more particularly for liaison between the
various organisations of the Council and between these organisations
and the Minister of Labour and the organisations represented on the
Council. He prepares the work of the Council, collects the necessary
documents and provides for the distribution of the documents connected
with the opinions and work of the Council.

1
The duties of this section are at present carried out b y the Higher Committee
for Collective Agreements.

PRESENT SYSTEM

79

Working
The rules of procedure of the Council are drawn up by the
plenary assembly in pursuance of the report of the permanent
committee.
The decisions of the various organisations are valid only if
a majority of the members are present at the meeting. They
are taken by a majority of votes, the chairman having a casting
vote. The Minister of Labour may always cause studies and
enquiries to be carried out in respect of questions which he thinks
he will have to submit to the Council.
The working expenses of the Council are included in the
budget of the Minister of Labour.
Powers
The National Labour Council is an advisory body attached
to the Minister of Labour and Social Security, and to Parliament.
Its competence is very extensive and includes all fields concerning
labour and social policy, with the exception of those connected
with social security, which come under the Higher Social Security Council.
I t has extensive powers which go as far as compulsory consultation, and it may be directly associated with the work of
Parliament.
The law more particularly confers on it the three following
duties :
(1) The Council may take up any question within its competence and request the Minister of Labour to have any enquiry
carried out either directly or through the Ministers concerned.
I t s recommendations are made to the Minister of Labour who,
if necessary, by agreement with the Ministers concerned, notifies
as soon as possible the action which has been taken as a result
of them.
(2) All Bills concerning labour and social policy, with the
exception of those concerning social security, must be accompanied
by the opinion of the Council. Furthermore, all draft regulations
of public administration for the application of any of these laws
must also be submitted to the Council for its opinion before they
are laid before the Council of State. The qualified committees
of Parliament may call on one of the members of the Council
for advice. I n urgent cases, only the opinion of the permanent
committee is required.

80

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

(3) Lastly, in practice, and by the very manner in which
it works, the National Labour Council co-ordinates the activities
of other advisory organisations attached to the Ministry of Labour.
" Thus organised and given real power ", states the explanatory
note to the Bill to establish the Council, " the National Labour
Council constitutes an important stage of progress towards active
participation of the organised forces of labour and of production
in the organisation of social life and the preparation of considerable
social reforms, and may give effective service to the cause of
social progress."
B O D I E S WITH SPECIAL P O W E R S

With a view to preparing or applying policy concerning the
various social problems, the Government has set up, in the same
way as for wages, bodies with special powers, through which
the occupational organisations may give their opinion or communicate suggestions. This has been done particularly in the
case of problems of manpower, social security, mutual assurance,
safety, occupational medicine and conditions of employment
other than wages.
Manpower
The problems of manpower, as has been shown in the chapter
concerning the industrial equipment plan, are continually causing
anxiety to the public authorities in view of the actual shortage
of workers, particularly skilled workers. I t is necessary to make
the best use of the manpower available, to recruit manpower
from abroad and to increase the skill and hence the output of
workers by apprenticeship and rapid vocational training, and
to place or replace in production by means of vocational retraining
the disabled and handicapped who otherwise would • not have
been used. I n these tasks the public authorities have secured
the collaboration of the occupational organisations by calling on
their representatives to serve on ad hoc bodies.
Use of

Manpower.

Since the National Labour Council, which is competent in questions of manpower, is not yet working, a provisional national
committee for manpower, which was set up immediately after
liberation, a t present examines in an advisory capacity all problems
of manpower at the national level. Among others it includes repre-

PRESENT SYSTEM

81

sentatives of employers and representatives of workers. At the
departmental level the same problems are studied by provisional
departmental manpower committees, established at the end of
1944 1 and constituted on the same basis as the national committee. 2
So far as concerns dock labour in ports, there may be set up in
each port a central manpower office established as an occupational
section of the departmental manpower services 3 , which is more particularly responsible for the classification of dock workers, the general
organisation and control of engagement, allocation of work, etc. The
central bureau consists of the harbour master and representatives of
port undertakings and dock workers.
Recruitment of Foreign

Workers.

France, as already indicated, needs to recruit a considerable
number of workers from abroad. For this purpose the Provisional
Government set up in 1945, under the Minister of Labour, a
National Immigration

Office 4

which is exclusively

responsible

for the recruitment for France and the introduction into France
of all foreign immigrants.
The Office is administered by a council of 24 members, including,
over and above the representatives of the various ministries concerned,
four workers' representatives (one of whom represents agricultural
interests) and four employers' representatives (one of whom also represents agriculture). The Office has been more particularly instructed
to carry out the agreements concluded with the Italian Government
in 1946 and 1947 6 concerning the migration of Italian workers to
France. These agreements provide that French and Italian trade
unions are to be represented at the assembly centres in Italy and at
the reception and sorting centres in France (Lyons and Nancy).6
1

Ministerial Circular of 2 Nov. 1944.
The departmental advisory councils for manpower provided for b y the
Decree of 27 Apr. 1946 (J.O., 12 May 1946, p . 4,107), which reorganised the departmental manpower services and made them responsible for the placement of workers,
the control of engagements and the cancelling of labour contracts, have not yet
been set u p .
3
Act of 6 Sept. 1947, J.O., 7 Sept. 1947, p. 8,926 ; cf. L.S., 1947—Fr. 6. This
Act also sets up a national fund guaranteeing an allowance to dockers for each
working day in which they are unemployed after they have reported for work
in the regular manner. The governing body of this fund includes an equal number
of representatives of the State, employers and dockers.
4
Act of 2 Nov. 1945 (J.O., 4 Nov. 1945, p . 7,225, and Decree of 26 Mar. 1946,
J.O., 31 Mar. 1946, p . 2,641) ; cf. I.L.B., May-June 1946, p . 416.
6
Cf. I.L.R., May 1947, p . 395.
6
I n each of the regional centres of the Office an advisory committee has been
set up which includes, among others, representatives of the employers' and workers' organisations, and for questions concerning Italian immigrants a representative of the Italian General Confederation of Labour. I t gives its opinion as to
conditions of reception, lodging, employment, and despatch to their place of
employment of immigrant workers (Ministerial Circular of 12 Apr. 1947).
2

82

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

Furthermore, the representatives of the French and Italian trade
union organisations sit on the technical committees in Paris and Eome
which are responsible for supervising the enforcement of the agreement.
In 1947 the Onice recruited 64,352 foreign technicians, of whom
48,956 were Italians and 7,128 displaced persons.1
Apprenticeship

and Rapid

Vocational

Training.

Apprenticeship and vocational training, strictly speaking,
concern young people who, before entering an occupation or
during the first years after their entry into a firm, are trained in
the work which they are called on, or will be called on, to do. This
training may last several years. I t corresponds to the normal
conditions of economic activity and of the employment market.
The so-called " rapid " vocational training is caused by the exceptional shortage of skilled manpower for activities essential to
the national economy. Its object is to enable workers of all ages
in a very short time to carry out work at a satisfactory rate of
production. I n France apprenticeship is under the Ministry of
National Education, and comes under the scheme of technical
training. Rapid vocational training is supervised by the Ministry
of Labour, for it is above all intended to make the best use of
existing manpower in vital industries.
Apprenticeship. Apprenticeship has been organised in France ever
since the end of the first world war by the Act of 25 July 1919 concerning the organisation of technical, industrial and commercial training.
For the purpose of applying this Act an advisory body was set up, the
Higher Council for Technical Training 2 , the essential function of which
was to assist and advise the Minister responsible for technical education. s
On the Council sit, alongside representatives of the public authorities and of education, industrialists, merchants, engineers, representatives of chambers of commerce and chambers of trade and of employers'
and workers' organisations. In each department committees for technical training, which include representatives of the administration,
the occupational organisations (employers, workers and handicraftsmen), local bodies and bodies representing the teaching staff control
and supervise training and study all measures calculated to encourage
the progress of technical education.
Just before the second world war, in order to meet the scarcity
of skilled workers, a Legislative Decree of 24 May 1938 4 organised,
for the purposes of technical information, compulsory vocational
guidance and training, with which the employers and workers were
associated by their representation in the departmental committees
set up for that purpose.
1

J.O., 20 May 1948, p . 2,759.
Decree of 9 J u l y 1920, J.O., 18 J u l y 1920, p . 10,247.
Also attached to t h e . Directorate for Technical Training is a committee for
vocational guidance and information, on which the employers' and workers'
organisations are represented (Order of 27 J u n e 1947, J.O., 22 July 1947, p . 7,079).
4
J.O., 25 May 1938, p . 5,904. Cf. Industrial and Labour Information, I.L.O.,
18 July 1938, p. 71.
2

3

PRESENT SYSTEM

83

Furthermore, a special committee on which sit representatives of
employers and workers deals with all practical questions concerning
the apprenticeship tax. Recently the Minister for National Education directed his attention to the manpower requirements of the
building and public works industry and the metallurgical industry. In
the case of each of these industries a national advisory committee for
apprenticeship 1 is set up which includes an equal number of representatives of the public authorities, employers and wage earners. These
committees are responsible for preparing a list of skilled trades for
which a certificate of efficiency should be issued ; to give their
opinion on the programmes of apprenticeship and the programmes and
regulations for the certificate of efficiency ; to prepare the draft regulations for apprenticeship ; to give their opinions on Bills, Decrees and
Ordinances concerning apprenticeship, and to study all questions concerning apprenticeship in their occupation. In each of these two industries
the work of apprenticeship is directed on a departmental basis by a
governing body, and co-ordinated on a national basis by a central
committee. The representatives of employers and workers sit in equal
numbers in each of these bodies.2
Bapid vocational training. In order to ensure in as short a period
as possible an adequate supply of skilled workers for the reconstruction
of the country, an Ordinance of 25 October 1945 3 provisionally allowed
the occupational or interoccupational organisations approved by the
competent Ministers to provide the expenses either of apprenticeshid
or of rapid vocational training, and, in order to meet the expenditure,
to levy compulsory charges on their members. ' In order to obtain
ministerial approval, these organisations had to be administered by a
council, including an equal number of employers' and workers' representatives. 4
Later, the Government systematically organised the centres for
vocational training 5 and set them the task of either giving workers
rapid vocational training to enable them to carry out a trade, to adapt
themselves to a new occupation or to improve their qualifications, or of
training instructors capable of giving such education and the examiners
necessary for manpower services. These centres may be set up by an
industrial or commercial undertaking in its own establishments (works
centres) or by organisations of employers and workers, public bodies,
or associations established for the purpose of retraining workers (collective centres). The centres, which must be approved by the Minister
of Labour, after an opinion has been given by the departmental manpower committee and the National Vocational Training Committee,
receive grants from the State.
Apart from the direct role that the occupational organisations may
play in the creation of the centres, they are called on to participate
in the preparation and application of vocational training policy and
to supervise the management of the centres. In fact, the National
Vocational Training Committee at the Ministry of Labour, which is
competent to submit any suggestions concerning the development of
1

Order of 29 Nov. 1946, J.O., 12 Dec. 1946, p . 10,537 ; and Order of 6 Mar. 1947,
19 Mar. 1947, p . 2,587.
I n the building trade the number of apprentices increased from 8,000 in 1942
t o 38,000 in 1946, and to approximately 60,000 in 1948 {Professions, 24 J a n . 1948).
V . O . , 26 Oct. 1946, p . 6,921.
4
Order of 13 Nov. 1945, J.O., 21 Nov. 1945, p. 7,734.
5
Decree of 9 Nov. 1946, J.O., 13 Nov. 1946, p. 9,584 ; cf. I.L.B., Mar.-Apr. 1947,
p. 298.
J.O.,

2

84

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

training and enforcement of regulations with regard to it, includes,
besides representatives of the public authorities, representatives of the
employers and workers chosen from the building trade, the metallurgical
industry, the textile and leather industry, and also some appointed by
the most representative occupational organisations.
Furthermore, the management of the works centres is subject to
supervision by the works committees and that of the collective centres
to the supervision of a committee composed of representatives of
employers and wage earners appointed by the departmental manpower
committee.
In the building trade and in the metallurgical industry, where it is
particularly important to have skilled labour, supplementary measures
have been taken by the institution at the national and departmental
level of committees which include, among others, an equal number of
representatives of the organisations of employers and workers concerned
and who deal with rapid vocational training in these industries with a
view to speeding it up.
The number of rapid vocational training centres, which in July 1946
was 70 with 3,000 pupils, had increased by January 1947 to 125 with
about 8,000 pupils, and in December 1947 to 196 with 15,670 pupils,
11,572 belonging to the building trade and 2,414 to the metal trades.
Vocational Retraining of Disabled and Handicapped Workers.
A recently established interministerial technical committee is
responsible more particularly for co-ordinating the activities of the
various ministerial departments in respect of the retraining of disabled
and handicapped workers and for giving opinions on the problems raised
by retraining as regards openings, placement and methods of selection
and retraining. Representatives of the workers' confederations and of
the C.N.P.I\ serve on this Committee along with the representatives of
the various ministries concerned.1
Social

Security

The Ordinance of 4 October 1945 2, as amended by the Act
of 30 October 1946 3, set up an organisation for social security
intended " to guarantee workers and their families against risks
of all kinds liable to reduce or destroy their earning capacity and
to meet maternity and family expenses which they have to bear ".*
1

Order of 29 Sept. 1947, J.O., 8 Oct. 1947, p . 10,033.
J.O., 6 Oct. 1945, p. 6,280; L.S., 1945—Fr. 14; cf. I.L.R., Jan.-Feb. 1946,
p . 106.
3
J.O., 31 Oct. 1946, p . 9,270 ; L.S., 1946—Fr. 1 G. This Act changed the
composition of the governing bodies of social security organisations, and replaced
the system of appointment of members of these councils by the most representative
occupational organisations by a system of election with proportional representation.
4
At the end of 1947, 8,300,000 wage earners (40 per cent, of all wage earners)
were under the social security scheme ; including the families of beneficiaries, the
total was 16-17 million persons. Furthermore, there are special schemes for sailors,
miners and railway workers, and agriculture has an independent scheme. I n 1947,
social security redistributed in benefits 180,000 million francs, i.e., 6 per cent, of
the national revenue (Cahiers français d'information, 1 Mar. 1948).
2

PRESENT SYSTEM

85

This legislation was extended to the whole population by an
Act of 22 May 1946.1
This organisation includes two advisory bodies set up to assist
the Minister of Labour and Social Security—the Higher Social
Security Council and the Higher Committee for Family Allowances
—and management bodies at the local, regional and national
levels. The occupational organisations are represented on all
these bodies—indeed, they constitute their essential elements.
Advisory Bodies.
Higher Social Security Council. The Higher Social Security Council
is composed as follows :
one half consists of representatives elected by the regional social
security funds, three quarters of them workers (24 members), including
two members of the staff of the funds, and one quarter employers (five
members) and persons known for their work or for various services
rendered in the sphere of social security (three members) ;
one quarter consists of representatives of national occupational
organisations (two members), wage earners (seven members), practitioners—doctors, dental surgeons, midwives, chemists (five members)—
and the family associations (two members) ;
one quarter consists of representatives of the public administrations
concerned, representatives of the staff of administrative services for
social security and experts.
The total, therefore, is 64 members, to which are added four members
of Parliament. The Higher Social Security Council has advisory and
jurisdictional powers ; the latter extend in case of need to the settlement
of certain disputes.
The Council is assisted by a technical action committee for social
sanitation, which is responsible for drawing up, within the framework
of the general plan for sanitary equipment prepared by the Ministry of
Public Health and Population, the programme of sanitary action of the
social security funds, and by a committee to which appeal may be made
against the classification of risks according to which are fixed the rates
of subscription prepared yearly by the regional offices of the fund,
a committee composed of representatives of the administration, of the
employers and of the workers.
Higher Committee on Family Allowances. This Committee is responsible for giving its opinion on all questions laid before it by the Minister
of Labour and Social Security. Its composition is as follows :
one quarter consists of representatives of the funds for family
allowances (12 members), half of whom represent the workers, including
the representatives of the staff of the funds, one quarter represent selfemployed workers, and one quarter employers ;
1
J.O., 23 May 1946, p . 4,475, L.S., 1946—Fr. 1 C. Since amendments in t h e
economy of this Act were found to be necessary, the Government referred them
for consideration to a committee including members of Parliament and representatives of the Ministries concerned, organisations of employers and workers,
agricultural workers a n d farmers, groups of artisans, t h e liberal professions, family
associations, mutual insurance associations, etc. (Decree of 29 Apr. 1947, J.O.,
2-3 May 1947, p . 4,140).

86

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

one quarter consists of representatives of the National Federation
of Family Associations (12 members) ;
one quarter consists of representatives of national organisations of
employers (three members), wage earners (six members) and selfemployed workers (three members) ;
one quarter consists of representatives of the.public administrations
concerned, representatives of the staff of the social security administrative services and experts (12 members) ;
a total, therefore, of 48 members, to whom are added two members
of Parliament.
Managing Bodies.
The technical and financial organisation of social security includes
primary and regional funds and a national fund, and provisional funds
for family and " single-wage " 1 allowances.2 With the exception of the
national fund, which is a public establishment, the funds are private
bodies subject to the mutual insurance regulations.
Primary social security funds.3 Each primary fund is administered
by a governing body three quarters of which consists of representatives
elected by the workers belonging to the fund and one quarter of representatives elected by the employers. It further includes one or two
elected representatives of the staff of the fund, two doctors elected by
their colleagues, one elected representative of the family associations
and two persons known for their work on social insurance and industrial accidents or for the assistance given by them in applying this
legislation. These funds provide for the risks of sickness, maternity
and death, industrial accidents and action to be taken in respect of
occupational diseases in the case of temporary incapacity. Later they
will also provide for family and single-wage allowances.
Regional funds. Each regional fund is administered by a governing
body of 31 members : 18 elected by the representatives of the workers
on the governing bodies of the primary funds ; six elected by the representatives of the employers on the same governing bodies ; two elected
by the staff of the fund ; two doctors elected by the representatives of the
medical profession on the governing bodies of the primary funds ; one
elected by the family associations, and two persons known for their
work or for services rendered in the sphere of social security.
These funds are particularly responsible for risks of disablement and
old age and risks of industrial accidents and occupational diseases so
far as permanent incapacity is concerned ; and also for promoting and
co-ordinating the prevention of incapacity from industrial accidents and
occupational diseases ; for organising and directing medical supervision
for the whole of the district and promoting and directing sanitary and
social action for all the funds of the region. The governing body is
assisted in dealing with risks of industrial accidents and occupational
1

A special allowance granted when only the head of the family works.
Over and above these funds there are also special bodies corresponding to
special social security schemes.
3
The Paris district and certain industrial areas have a special organisation
including a central primary fund and sections known as local funds.
2

PRESENT SYSTEM

87

diseases by technical committees for each branch or group of branches
of activity, consisting of equal numbers of the organisations of workers
and employers.
National social security fund. The national fund is a public institution
administered by a governing body consisting of 37 members, among
whom, over and above the representatives of the various administrations,
there are three members elected by the Higher Social Security Council,
two of whom are workers ; two members elected by the Higher Committee for Family Allowances, one of whom is a worker ; 16 elected representatives of the regional funds, 12 of whom are workers and four employers ;
six elected representatives of the funds for family allowances (three
wage earners, one self-employed worker and two employers) ; one
member elected by the National Federation of Family Associations, and
one person known for his work or for services rendered in the sphere of
social security.
The national fund serves as an equalisation fund, promotes a movement for the prevention of accidents and co-ordinates on a national basis
the work of the primary and regional funds, and for that purpose manages
certain funds.
I t is assisted by management committees responsible for the
fund for t h e prevention of industrial accidents or occupational diseases,

which provides the resources necessary for the study of special risks
attached to certain industries, and the fund for sanitary and social
action which, within the framework of the general plan of health equipment drawn up by the Ministry of Health and Population, prepares the
programme for health activities of the social security funds.
The governing body of the national fund is also assisted by technical
committees, consisting of equal numbers of workers and employers,
who are responsible for assisting it in the technical study of all questions
connected with the prevention of accidents, statistics, insurance, and
the fixing of the amount to be paid for risks.
Family allowance funds. Each family allowance fund is administered by a governing body, the members of which are elected by the
members of the fund ; half of the members represent wage earners,
one quarter represent self-employed persons and one quarter represent
employers. There are also two representatives elected by the staff of
the fund, two persons known for their work on demographic questions
or on behalf of the family, and one person elected by the departmental
federation of family associations.
These funds provide family and single-wage allowance services for the
employers and self-employed and employed persons in the district.
Mutual

Insurance

At the same time t h a t the Provisional Government was organising the new social security scheme, by an Ordinance of 19 October
1945 1 , it enacted new regulations for mutual insurance, the object
of which, according to the explanatory note, was " to give to
the mutual insurance associations maximum freedom and elasticity,
1

J.O.,

7

20 Oct. 1945, p . 6,731.

88

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL

LEVEL

to widen their field of action, and to increase the efficacy of their
activities ".
" Mutualist societies " (formerly mutual aid societies) are
qualified to carry on activities by means of subscriptions from
their members and in the interests of their members or their
families, for provident funds, joint assistance, particularly for
the prevention of social risks and protection against their
consequences, the encouragement of maternity, the protection
of childhood and the family, and the moral, intellectual and
physical development of their members. I t will be seen later
what an important part the mutual insurance societies are called
on to play, along with the works committees, in the management
of the social work of the undertakings.
Higher Council for Mutual Insurance. In order to encourage the
development of mutual insurance, the Ordinance of 19 October 1945
set up alongside the Ministry of Labour and Social Security a Higher
Council for Mutual Insurance, consisting of 70 members, of whom half
represent organisations for mutual insurance and the other half includes
members of Parliament, of the Council of State, of the Audit Office,
and of administrations, and experts, practitioners and representatives
of the workers' confederations and the C.G.A.
The Higher Council for Mutual Insurance has powers of an advisory
capacity ; it gives its opinion on all provisions concerning the working
of mutualist societies, and on its own initiative it submits to the
Minister of Labour suggestions concerning questions which are of
interest to the mutual insurance associations. Furthermore, it
administers the national Solidarity and Mutual Aid Fund, the purpose
of which is to advance loans to mutual insurance bodies, or bodies
depending upon them, which have suffered from public calamities or
any other damages resulting from force majeure or which have had to
face exceptional risks. The Fund also contributes towards the cost of
publicity and the diffusion of information concerning mutual insurance.

Safety and Occupational

Medicine

Government efforts to protect, for humanitarian, social and
economic reasons, the health of workers against risks of diseases
or accidents inherent in any occupation, although begun a long
time ago, received a new impulse during and since the war. Among
the advisory bodies on which the occupational organisations are
represented, and on which the action of the public authorities
is based, are to be found the Permanent Committee for Occupational
Medicine, the Industrial Safety Committee, the Committee for
Industrial Hygiene, and a special committee on health in mines.

PRESENT SYSTEM

89

Permanent Committee for Occupational Medicine. This committee,
attached to the Ministry of Labour, is responsible for laying down the
rules for medical treatment of workers and fixing the general rules
of medical inspectors of labour. I t has 32 members, of whom 12 are
chosen by the Minister of Labour by reason of their office and six
by the same minister by reason of their special competence, nine are
appointed on the proposal of the Minister of Public Health, and nine
by the Minister of Labour on the proposal of the employers'and workers'
organisations (three representatives of employers and three of workers).
Industrial Safety Committee and Committee for Industrial Hygiene.
These committees, attached to the Ministry of Labour immediately
after the second world war, were reorganised after the liberation particularly with a view to increasing the number of representatives of
employers and workers.1 The Industrial Safety Committee consists
of 10 representatives of the public administration, 10 representatives
specially qualified in respect of industrial safety, six representatives
of employers, and six of workers. The Committee for Industrial Hygiene
consists of 10 representatives of public administration, eight doctors,
eight persons specially qualified in respect of industrial hygiene, eight
representatives of employers and eight of workers.
These committees are responsible, among other things, for preparing
draft public administrative regulations concerning respectively the
safety and health of workers, and they may be consulted by the
Minister of Labour on all questions which concern them.
Special committee on health in mines. This Committee which was
set up in 1912, and has several times been reorganised, is at present
attached to the directorate of mines at the Ministry responsible for
mines. It is presided over by an inspector-general of mines and includes,
along with representatives of the various ministries, officials of the
mining service, experts, doctors, ruining engineers and representatives
of mine workers.2

Conditions of Work other than Wages
Questions concerning conditions of work other than wages
may, within the framework of legislation, be dealt with by provisions in collective agreements, and thus come under the Higher
Committee for Collective Agreements.
However,
certain
legislation, such as t h a t concerning hours of work or weekly rest,
provides for direct intervention of the organisations of employers
and workers in respect of the application of certain of their

1
Order of 25 Oct. 1945, J.O., 9 Nov. 1945, p. 7,437, and 10 Nov. 1945, p. 7,471 ;
Order of 25 Mar. 1946, J.O., 27 Mar. 1946, p. 2,517.
2
Order of 4 Sept. 1946, J.O., 6 Sept. 1946, p. 7,728 ; Order of 1 Mar. 1948,
J.O., 5 Mar. 1948, p. 2,310.

90

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL

provisions. For instance, the Decrees concerning regulations for
the application of the Act of 21 June 1936 on the 40-hour week
can only be made after the employers' and workers' organisations
concerned have been consulted, and should refer to any existing
agreements concluded between these organisations. The Decrees
themselves provide for the intervention of employers' and workers'
organisations in the fixing of conditions in matters such as hours
of work, the organisation of work, etc.
In agriculture, the departmental joint committees set up by the Ordinance of 7 July 19451, on which wage earners and employers are represented, act as advisory bodies to the prefects for the preparation of the
labour regulations drawn up by them 2 and of Decrees for the application
of the Act of 10 March 1948 regulating hours and the weekly rest in
agricultural occupations.

Table of Co-operating Bodies
In order to sum up this part of the report and to give a general
view of the machinery of co-operation between the public authorities and the occupational organisations of employers and workers,
the following table shows the bodies through which this co-operation is carried out, grouped according t o their purpose, their
territorial area, and, on the national plane, according to their
interoccupational or occupational basis.

1

J.O., 8 J u l y 1945, p . 4,163 ; L.S., 1945—Fr. 9.
These regulations and Decrees must be ratified b y t h e Ministers of Agriculture
and Labour.
2

PRESENT SYSTEM

TABLE IV.

Activities or
problems
Economic
activity
Industrial Equipment Plan
National economy

Industrial produc-

tion

Reconstruction and
town planning

CO-OPERATING BODIES
National

Interoccupational

E c o n o m i c Council
P l a n n i n g Council
National Economic
Council
National
Centre
for
Economic
Information
Commission
for
Standardisation
of A c c o u n t s
Advisory Committ e e for Distribution
P e r m a n e n t Council for I n d u s t r i a l
Production

Occupational

Joint
advisory
committees
Higher Committee
for
Economies
in Mineral F u e l
P e r m a n e n t Advisory Committee
for Coal Distribution
Committee
on
Price of Mineral
Fuel
A r b i t r a t i o n committees on rationing

H i g h e r Council for
Agriculture
Advisory
committees
Higher
Council
for A g r i c u l t u r a l
Co-operation
Central
Control
Committee
H i g h e r Council for
Transport

Transport
Higher
Advisory
Committee
Permanent National Committee

Regional,
departmental or local

Modernisation
committees

W o r k e r s ' represent a t i v e s o n reconstruction

Agriculture

Rationing

91

A r b i t r a t i o n committees on rationing
Departmental.cant o n a l or c o m m u nal
investigation committees
Departmental
workers' repres e n t a t i v e s o n reconstruction
D e p a r t m e n t a l reconstruction
committees

D e p a r t m e n t a l control committees
Departmental advisory c o m m i t tees

92

CO-OPERATION AT NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL
TABLE IV.
Activities or
problems

(cont.)

National
Interoccupational

Occupational
National
Meat
Council
National Advisory
Committee on
Fish
National Advisory
Commission for
the Rationing of
Sea Fish

Prices

National
Price
Committee

Regional,
district or local
Departmental
meat
councils
and local committees
Departmental and
local advisory
committees for
the rationing of
sea fish
Departmental price
committees
Local reorganisation committees

Social activity
Wages and conditions of work

Wages

National Labour
Council
Higher Committee
for
Collective
Agreements

National interoccupational committee on wages
National Conference on Prices
and Wages
Technical
Interoccupational
Committee on
Piece - work

National
joint
committees for
collective agreements

Joint regional and
local committees
for
collective
agreements
Joint committees
on agricultural
work

Occupational committees
on
wages

Technical occupational committees on piecework wages

Wages
Joint Committee
on Wages and
Cost of Living
Manpower
Placement

Foreign workers

Apprenticeship

Temporary National Manpower
Commission

National Immigration Office
Permanent technical commissions
Higher Council for
Technical Train ing

Commission
for
the Apprenticeship Tax

Temporary departmental committees on manpower
Central manpower
offices in ports
Regional advisory
committees
Departmental
committet s for
technical education

93

PBESENT SYSTEM
TABLE IV.
National

Activities or
problems

Interoccupational

Rapid vocational
training

National Vocational
Training
Committee

Retraining of disabled and handicapped
Social security

Interministerial
Technical Committee
Higher Social Security Council
Technical Committee for Social
Health Work
Committee for Appeals
against
Classification of
Risks
National
Social
Security F u n d 1
Higher Committee
for Family Allowances
Higher Council for
Mutual Insurance
Permanent Committee for Industrial Medicine
Industrial Safety
Committee
Committee
for
Industrial Hygiene
Higher Committee for Works
Committees

Security and occupational medicine

Co - o p e r a t i o n
within the undertaking *

» Administrative body.

Occupational
National advisory
committees on
apprenticeship
and
national
committees on
apprenticeship
work (building
and metallurgy)

,

Mutual insurance

(conci.)

' See Part III.

National committees on rapid vocational training
(building
and
metallurgy)

Technical committees

C o m m i t t e e for
Health in Mines
Higher a d v i s o r y
councils for joint
production committees

Regional,
district or local
Departmental councils for administration of apprenticeship
work (building
and metallurgy)
Departmental advisory committees on vocational guidance
Departmental
committees on
rapid vocational training (building and metallurgy)
Control committees for rapid
vocational training centres

Regional and primary funds 1
Family 2 allowance
funds

PART I I

NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES AND UNDERTAKINGS

INTRODUCTION
The participation of the organised forces of production in
the application of measures taken by the authorities on the occupational plane is an extension of the principle of co-operation on
the governmental plane. Such participation existed before the
second world war. I t found its expression, for example, in the
occupational sections of the National Economic Council, whose
powers were purely advisory.
I t has been seen that the Vichy régime endeavoured to organise
the various occupations on a corporative basis by instituting,
in the economic sphere, organisation committees and, in the social
sphere, occupational " families ", regulated by the Labour Charter.
After the liberation, the organisations instituted by the Charter
were immediately suppressed and, though the organisation committees survived for some time, at any rate the trade union organisations were called upon to take part in their activities.
The existing system of co-operation in the occupational sphere
between the Government and the trade unions is being developed
along lines which might be expected in two sectors of the national
economy, namely, the private sector and the nationalised sector.
Co-operation in the private sector of the national economy is
not systematically organised. I t exists in many forms and is
carried out b y means of various organisations, the most important
of which have been referred to in Part I, namely, modernisation
committees, advisory committees of the Ministry of Industrial
Production, advisory occupational and interoccupational bodies
for the settlement of wages questions, joint committees for the
preparation of national collective agreements in industry, departmental and joint agricultural committees, etc.
Co-operation in the nationalised sector is more highly developed and has a definitely organic shape, since the nationalising
Acts have explicitly defined the functions and duties of the trade
unions in the bodies which direct the nationalised industries and
in the management of such industries. Consideration of this
co-operation is the subject of Part I I of this study.
To form some idea of the extent and meaning of co-operation
between the authorities and the trade unions in the functioning

98

NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES AND UNDERTAKINGS

of nationalised industries or undertakings, it must first be considered how, in what circumstances and why the nationalised
sector of the national economy arose ; the characteristic features
of the existing system of nationalisations must then be distinguished and, finally, some account must be given of the methods
by which the trade unions take part in the administration and
control of nationalised industries and undertakings.
These questions will be treated solely from the point of view
of co-operation between the Government and the trade unions.
The following chapters therefore will not contain any extensive
analysis of nationalisation either from the technical or juridical
point of view ; nor, a fortiori, will they contain any appreciation
of the value of such nationalisation.1

1

Cf. Droit social, Nov. 1947, p . 358 : " Bibliographie méthodique sur les nationa-

lisations ",, b y M. A. H .

ADRIAN.

CHAPTER

I

DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONALISATION 1
ORIGINS

The creation of nationalised or semi-nationalised sectors of
the national economy is not a recent innovation.
Before the first world war, the State carried on industrial
and commercial activity in various forms. 2
Apart from certain
public services, such as posts, telegraphs and telephones, it ran
certain undertakings either as a monopoly or in competition with
private enterprise. For budgetary reasons it kept control of the
monopolies of tobacco, matches and playing cards and, for reasons
of public order and of the common interest, it maintained a monopoly of explosives and currency. To meet the permanent requirements of national defence, the Government possessed its own
arsenals. I t also continued, in the non-monopoly sphere, certain
old royal manufactures, such as Sèvres porcelain, Beauvais carpets,
Gobelins tapestries and the national printing works. Certain
of these organisations possess at the moment separate legal personality, enjoy financial autonomy and have a budget which is
annexed to the general budget. Such are the Mint, the postal,
telegraph and telephone services, the monopoly of explosives,
the national printing works, etc. 3
I n addition, mines and other national sources of wealth, and
certain public services, such as railway and sea transport, were
worked by private companies under a system of farming or under
1
The term " nationalisation", as employed in the present study, is to be understood in a wide sense. I t includes all undertakings which the State has removed,
wholly or in part, from the operation of the private economy.
2
Cf. A. MAGNIEK : La Participation du personnel à la gestion des entreprises
(Paris, 1946), p. 67.
3
No account will be taken here of public offices a n d establishments of a n
administrative nature, such as welfare and humanitarian organisations, financial,
cultural and research organisations, etc. Some of these are of long standing and
possess an autonomous budget, which is often fed by subsidies inserted in the
Finance Act. An example of such organisations is the national lottery, whi
its profits into the general budget. Cf. on this subject : Inventaire de
financière, 1913-1946, drawn u p on the instructions of Mr. R. SOHTTI
of Finance (Paris, Imprimerie nationale, 1946), p. 80.
/">'

100

NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES AND UNDERTAKINGS

concession, with the corresponding obligation of conforming to
certain conditions, and often with financial assistance or under
the guarantee of the State.

INTER-WAR PERIOD

After the first world war, the State, which had during hostilities
intervened directly in certain spheres of the national economy,
continued such intervention, although it was not always easy
to fit its activities into the traditional budgetary framework.
The formula most frequently employed was t h a t of the " office ",
a public autonomous institution endowed with legal personality.
This was in order to ensure t h a t the carrying out of the services
concerned should be done within a definitely industrial and commercial framework. 1 Other public autonomous establishments of
an industrial and commercial nature were also created under
various names with a view to their being worked by the State
or under State control. Among the most important of these many
institutions are the potash mines of Alsace and the National
Industrial Nitrates Office. Both of these were the direct offspring
of the treaty of peace with Germany, which ceded to France possession of the Alsace potash mines and the Haber patent for the
manufacture of synthetic ammonia. On the eve of the second
world war the Petroleum Onice, which became later the autonomous
Petroleum Administration, was set up to prospect for petroleum
and to work any deposits found in a district north of the Pyrenees.
Similarly, the administrations of the autonomous ports of Le Havre,
Bordeaux and Strasbourg were created in order to facilitate the
equipment and development of these ports.
During the same period, the intervention of the Government
in economic activities was carried out in a simpler fashion by the
State taking a share in the capital of private undertakings and
acquiring in return the right of administering such undertakings
through its nominees. Thus were created the " joint undertakings "
in which State participation varies from 3 to 99 per cent. 2 The
most important of these undertakings are the National Society
1

The National Navigation Office had, however, already been set up in 1912.
Out of about 40 of the more important of these joint undertakings existing
a t the moment, the State share is 99 per cent, in four, between 90 and 98.5 per cent.
in five, between 50 and 89 per cent, in 11, between 25 and 48 per cent, in 10,
between 10 and 24 per cent, in six, and up to b u t not exceeding 5 per cent, in
five (Inventaire de la situation financière, 1913-1946, op. cit., pp. 512-513).
2

DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONALISATION

101

of French Railways (S.N.C.F.), the General Transatlantic Company, the National Aeronautical Construction Societies, the
Society for the Manufacture of Armaments Material, etc. I n
the first two cases the undertakings concerned were carrying
out a public service and in the other cases they were necessary
for the national defence, and their financial position necessitated the constant intervention of the State, which therefore
brought the undertakings concerned under its control.
The creation of these " joint undertakings ", especially when
the State share was large, was a further stage towards nationalisation proper.
The trade unions had been called upon to take part in the
administration of some of these undertakings. The General
Council of the Bank of France, which had been reorganised in
1936, and the boards of directors of the S.N.C.F., the potash
mines, the National Nitrates Onice, the autonomous ports, etc.,
contained representatives of the workers among their members.

SECOND W O R L D W A E

During the second world war and the years which immediately
followed it, certain undertakings were requisitioned and operated
by the State under the Act of 13 July 1938 concerning the general
organisation of the nation in time of war. This was the case,
for example, with the merchant marine. 1 After the departure
of the occupying power, a certain number of industrial and commercial undertakings were for various reasons sequestrated, and
the administration of them was handed over to administrators
chosen by the Government. These administrators often found
the collaboration of the works committees most valuable. 2

A F T E R THE LIBERATION

Until the liberation, it would not seem t h a t any general plan
informed the various nationalisation measures which were taken.
Each case was settled on its individual merits. After the liberation
the various provisional Governments systematically practised a
pohcy of nationalisation, which they considered to be indispensable
1

Cf. p . 119.
Under the Vichy regime also a number of undertakings were operated under
sequestration.
2

102

NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES AND UNDERTAKINGS

for the recovery of the country. On this subject the
de la situation financière, 1913-1946, stated :

Inventaire

There was a general feeling after the liberation that in important
sectors of the national economy it was necessary to substitute for the
sometimes exclusive concern for private profit the motive of the general
interest. The economic development of the pre-war period fostered
the idea that the premature obsolescence of the national equipment,
which was largely responsible for the military events of 1940, arose
from a faulty appreciation of the position by the directors of certain
branches of the national economy, and from their unfortunate concern
for immediate profits at the expense of long-term investments.
This tendency towards the direct intervention of the State, which
is a generally observed fact . . . showed itself between October 1944
and October 1946 in the nationalisation of coal, gas, electricity, the banks
and insurance. Side by side with these systematically conceived nationalisations, other nationalisations took place for special reasons (e.g.,
the Renault factories) x, or in order to develop a previously conceived
policy (e.g., the Gnome and Rhône aircraft engine works).
To these undertakings have recently been added, among
others, the Biochemical Products Society 2 , the National Society
of Press Undertakings 3 , the National Society for the Sale of
Surpluses 4 and the National Office for Aeronautical Study and
Research 5, while more recently the problem of reorganising and
co-ordinating the transport of passengers in the Paris district
led to the creation of a regional office and the autonomous administration of Parisian transport. 6 The merchant marine 7 and
aviation 8 were also reorganised within the framework of " joint
economy ".
The Constitution of 27 October 1946 has thus given official
sanction to the principle of nationalisation : " All property ",
1
The introduction to the Order nationalising the Renault factories (Order
of 16 J a n . 1945, J.O., J a n . 1945, p . 222 ; cf. I.L.R., Oot. 1945, p . 388) stresses the
important p a r t which the Renault Company plays in the national economy and
its preponderant place in the French motor car industry, to which it should be a
guide and an example in the improvement of methods of production and the
conditions of the workers. The national administration of the Renault factories
a t present employs over 30,000 wage earners.
2
This society was entrusted with the study and operation of all processes for
the manufacture of biochemical products of general interest (Act of 23 May 1946,
J.O., 24 May 1946, p . 4,538).
3
Cf. p . 120.
4
The object of this society is to liquidate so-called surplus material (e.g.,
American Army surplus), or to take charge of it, maintain and preserve it and, if
necessary, sell it (Act of 24 Aug. 1946, J.O., 25 Aug. 1946, p . 7,407).
5
The object of this office is to develop, direct and (in liaison with the National
Scientific Research Centre) to co-ordinate scientific and technical research in the
field of aeronautics (Act of 3 May 1946, J.O., 4 May 1946, p . 3,758).
6
Act of 21 Mar. 1948, J.O., 26 Mar. 1948, p . 2,970.
' Act of 28 Feb. 1948, J.O., 29 Feb. 1948, p . 2,122.
8
Act of 16 J u n e 1948, J.O., 17 J u n e 1948, p . 5,863.

DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONALISATION

103

says the preamble, " and all undertakings the working of which
takes on the character of national public service, or of an actual
monopoly, must become collective property ".

EEASONS FOR NATIONALISATION

The nationalisation policy practised since the liberation became
necessary at t h a t historic moment for both political and practical
reasons.
On the political side, nationalisation was the fulfilment of a
promise made to the French people during the occupation, a
promise made both inside and outside the country. When promising a free France, General de Gaulle stated in general terms in
April 1943 in London, and more precisely later at Algiers :
An economic and social system under which no monopoly or coalition can burden the State or regulate the fate of individuals, a system
in which the main sources of national wealth shall be either administered
or at least controlled by the nation, such is the beneficent reform with
which the reconstituted country will be able to console her children.
The promise came also from within, from the main directing
organisation of underground warfare, the National Council of
Resistance, which, on 15 March 1944, in its programme of objects
to be achieved after the departure of the occupying power,
demanded—
the creation of a real economic and social democracy involving the
eviction of the great economic and financial vested interests from the
direction of the national economy. . . and the return to the nation
of the most important means of monopolist production, the fruits of the
common labour of the people, sources of energy, underground wealth,
insurance compames and the great banks.
This programme, to which most political parties subscribed,
and which had the assent of the great workers' organisations
such as the C.G.T. and the C.F.T.C, became the programme of
the Provisional Government under the régime of the Provisional
Consultative Assembly and then of the National Constituent
Assemblies.
The policy of nationalisation also appeared to be inevitable
in view of the situation of the country at t h a t time.
The very success of reconstruction seemed to require t h a t the
principal means of production should be put at the disposal of
the nation. " A nation ", said the Minister of National Economy
on 23 April 1946, during the discussion of the Bill for the nationali8

104

NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES AND UNDERTAKINGS

sation of insurance 1 , " can only have control of the whole of its
economic policy to the extent to which, as the result of nationalisation, it has at its entire disposal . . . all means of transport,
all sources of energy, the banks and the insurance companies chiefly
concerned."
Nationalisation, therefore, was not an end in itself ; it was
intended to allow the initiation of a policy inspired solely by the
higher interests of the country.
In addition to the arguments drawn from their own individual
views, most of the parties laid stress on this imperative interest,
namely, that the reconstruction of France could be guaranteed
only by the nation as a whole and therefore that the nation itself
should possess the indispensable means of carrying out this work.
Thus, the four great nationalisations were adopted by large majorities, e.g., the banks, 521 votes to 35; insurance, 487 votes to
63 ; electricity and gas, 512 votes to 64. In the case of the Act
for the nationalisation of mineral fuel, it was not even necessary
to take a record vote.
The nationalisations were intended to constitute, under the
control of the State, an instrument for use in connection with
plans for modernisation and re-equipment.
At the same time it was believed that nationalisation would
create a social atmosphere favourable to the work of reconstruction, and that in that atmosphere the working classes would feel
themselves more and more closely associated with the work.
To these general ideas were added, as will be seen later, special
reasons for each individual nationalisation according to the character, structure and technique of the industry concerned, and
its part in the national economy.

1

Cf. J.O.,

24 Apr. 1946, p. 2,144.

CHAPTER II
PRESENT POSITION OF NATIONALISATION
In the previous chapter an account was given of how, in recent
decades, nationalised or semi-nationalised undertakings were set
up.
The object of the present chapter is to explain the chief characteristics of such undertakings, in order to define the framework
within which the trade unions are called upon to co-operate.1
A brief summary will be given of the sphere and extent of nationalisation, the methods by which it has been carried into effect
and the legal position of nationalised undertakings.
SPHERE AND EXTENT OF NATIONALISATION

The present position as regards nationalisation is that in
certain industries most (sometimes all) undertakings are affected,
whereas in other industries certain individual undertakings are
nationalised while other undertakings do the same work under
private enterprise.
Nationalised industries fall within three main sectors of the
national economy : credit and insurance, power in all its forms,
and transport.
Among credit establishments, those nationalised are the Bank
of France (1945) and the Bank of Algiers (1946), and the four
great deposit banks 2 : namely, the Crédit Lyonnais, the Society
for the Development of Commerce and Industry in France, the
National Discount Bank of Paris, and the National Bank of Commerce and Industry (1945). Furthermore, two additional banks
1
I n future reference will be made only to undertakings or offices in the administration of which the trade unions take part.
2
Deposit banks are those which accept from the public deposits for not more
t h a n two years or withdrawable on demand. They m a y n o t hold more t h a n 10
per cent, of the capital of any undertakings other t h a n banks, financial undertakings or real estate companies necessary for their own operations. They are
forbidden to use deposits which they receive from the public in any form of investment in real estate companies, except b y authorisation from the Deposit Committee
of the National Credit Council.

106

NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES AND UNDERTAKINGS

have been created, namely, the French Bank for Foreign Trade
(1947), and the French Insurance Company for Foreign Trade
(1948). In the sphere of insurance, 34 insurance companies have
been nationalised (1946), and also one new undertaking, the Central
Reinsurance Fund, which began operations on 1 January 1947.
In the sphere of power, the nationalisation Acts deal with
all mineral fuel mines (1944 and 1946), and also electricity
and gas (1946).
In the sphere of transport, State control is exercised over
the National Railway Company (S.N.C.F.) (1937), the General
Transatlantic Company (1933 and 1948), the Messageries Maritimes
(1948), and the Air-France Company (in course of formation),
while passenger transport in the Paris district is assured by a
special autonomous administration (1948). The ports of le Havre,
Strasbourg and Bordeaux have autonomous administrations.
Among various undertakings or offices, apart from State
industrial establishments, may be mentioned : in the motor car
industry, the national administration of the Renault factories
(1944) and perhaps, in the near future, the national administration
of the Berliet factories ; in the sphere of power, the autonomous
Petroleum Administration (1939); in the sphere of chemical products, the National Industrial Nitrates Office (1924), the potash
mines of Alsace (1924), the Society for Biochemical Products
(1946) ; in the sphere of technical research may be mentioned the
National Office for Aeronautical Study and Research (1946) ; in
the sphere of news, the National Society of Press Undertakings
(1946). Mention may finally be made of a temporary undertaking,
the National Society for the Sale of Surpluses (1946).1
The mines and the gas and electricity industries are almost
entirely nationalised. In point of fact the only mines excluded
from the system of nationalisation are those of secondary importance, and in the gas and electricity industry the only undertakings
excluded are electrical undertakings whose average annual production in 1942 and 1943 was below 12 million kilowatt hours,
and, gas undertakings whose average annual production in the
same two years was below six million cubic metres. Undertakings
for the production of natural gas are also excluded from nationalisation.
Nationalisation also covers a very important section of bank1
The boards of directors of the national societies for aircraft construction (1936)
do not appear to include representatives of the workers' organisations.

PRESENT POSITION OF NATIONALISATION

107

ing 1 and insurance industries2, and those undertakings which
continue to serve private enterprise fall into the general framework of the organisation of these two industries. In the transport
industry the problem of nationalisation has not been completely
solved. For the moment, nationalisation has been extended to
all the great railways and to air transport. In the merchant
marine the two most important companies have been constituted
as " joint economy " companies. In other spheres of economic
activity, nationalisation applies only to individual undertakings
which are in competition with private undertakings, except in
cases where the State exercises a virtual monopoly, as is the case,
for instance, in the manufacture of aircraft.
NATURE OP NATIONALISATION

After the second world war nationalisation was carried out
b y t w o different

methods.

The

first,

which was

exceptional,

consisted in the confiscation of shares belonging to companies
whose directors had collaborated with the occupying power.
Such had been the request of the National Council of Resistance.
Those assets which had been put at the disposal of the enemy
were taken over for the benefit of the nation and reserved exclusively for the use of the community. Such was the case in particular with the Renault factories and the Gnome and Rhône factories, and also certain press undertakings which carried out their
activities under the occupation. Although its legal status is not
yet definitely fixed, this is also the case with the Berliet factory
1
The four deposit banks nationalised had bet-ween them, on 31 December 1946,
1,875 permanent counters out of the 3,549 owned by the 444 banks (of which 28 were
foreign banks with 59 counters between them) functioning in France a t t h a t date.
On 30 September 1946, these four banks were responsible for deposits amounting
to 224,000 million francs, or 57.4 per cent, of the total amount of deposits in all
the banks (cf. Premier rapport annuel du Conseil national du crédit, 1946, pp. 95
and 128). If to these deposits be added those in public or semi-public funds or
establishments the percentage would be 80 of all deposits in France (J.O., 3 Dec.
1945, p . 159).
The comparative share of business of the four nationalised banks before
and after their change of status has varied very little as regards the total balance
sheet, the total of deposits and the total of investments. This is a tribute both
to the financial stability of these undertakings and to the indifierence of banking
clients to the fact of nationalisation (" Le crédit en France avant et depuis la guerre
(Part II) ", in La Documentation bancaire. Notes documentaires et études, No. 834,
19 Feb. 1948).
a
The 34 insurance companies which were nationalised were responsible in 1944
for very nearly 60 per cent, of premiums paid (see introduction to the Bill nationalising certain insurance companies, National Constituent Assembly, 1946, Document
679, p . 9), and more t h a n 70 per cent., if account be taken of French companies
only. (J.O., 24 Apr. 1946, p . 2,121).

IÒ&

NATIONALISED ESTDÌJSTRIES AND UNDERTAKINGS

at Lyons (motor car construction), the shares in which, belonging
to the brothers Berliet, have been confiscated as a result of a court
decision. In cases of confiscation, the rights of shareholders other
than the guilty shareholders have been respected, and such shareholders have been or will be compensated. In other cases of
nationalisation, e.g., fuel, electricity and gas, banks and insurance,
nationalisation has consisted in the creation of new companies
which have been endowed with the assets of the dissolved undertakings with the consequent responsibility of paying compensation
to displaced shareholders, the assessment of this compensation
being determined in each of the nationalisation- Acts concerned.
LEGAL STATUS OF NATIONALISED UNDERTAKINGS

The history of nationalisation shows that the State has successively used various methods for withdrawing undertakings or
industries, wholly or in part, from private enterprise.
The result is a series of undertakings whose legal status is
very different and sometimes none too well defined, from the
undertaking which is a mere concession, with the duty of accounting
for its activities, to a regular State establishment actually administered by the Government. Thus there are undertakings
entirely and directly run by the State, e.g., the post, telegraph
and telephone services, arsenals and the National Printing Works.
Some of these establishments have a special State budget, of
else they are autonomous offices of a purely administrative nature,
with their own budget. Then there are public undertakings
of an industrial or commercial nature, as in the case of most
industries or undertakings nationalised since the liberation by
the purchase or confiscation of private capital, or created directly
by means of State capital. Finally, there are the " joint economy "
companies where State and private capital are employed side
by side, such as the railways (S.N.C.F.), the General Transatlantic
Company, the Messageries Maritimes, the Aeronautical Construction Company, etc. In the case of these companies, a Decree of
30 October 1935, supplemented by a Decree of 16 October 1946,
defines the rights of the State and assures it a representation on
the boards of directors proportional to the capital invested in
the company, and also guarantees it the right of financial control.
In the individual case of the two sea transport companies referred
to above, the State is assured of an absolute majority in the general
meetings of the companies.

PRESENT POSITION OF NATIONALISATION

109

Even in the case of nationalisation effected since the liberation,
" no general principles were laid down in advance to define the
functioning of the new organisations, and therefore each nationalisation was carried out on individual lines. The result is a certain
lack of uniformity between the regulations and rules for administration. "*
Nevertheless, post-war nationalisation had to be effected by
methods and in forms which would secure the approval of the
great majority of the country. Public opinion from the outset
rejected the idea of direct administration by the State through
its own officials and on its sole responsibility. Here are some
of the more characteristic declarations made to the Consultative
Assembly during the various debates on nationalisation : " The
State should not become the master of nationalised undertakings ";
" Nationalised undertakings must be run by other authorities
than the State " ; " Nationalisation should be as far removed
as possible from bureaucratic methods " ; " The administration
of nationalised undertakings should be set free from all over-rigid
administrative and bureaucratic methods ".
Such was also the position taken up by the C.G.T. A report
submitted to the Federal Congress in April 1946 stated :
Nationalisation should avoid bureaucratic reforms, which are often
sterile. Nationalised undertakings should enjoy the greatest possible
autonomy, and their directing organisations should be given all the
necessary authority, and consequently all responsibility for administration.
The C.G.T. had been demanding the fulfilment of its nationalisation programme ever since the end of the first world war. I t s
main thesis in this matter, which had been arrived at as the result
of profound study, was expressed as follows on the occasion of
the Federal Congress referred to above :
Nationalised companies should be conceived in such a manner as
systematically to eliminate the interests of the great capitalists, to
allow of the admission of producers to the administration, to avoid
officialdom and bureaucracy... They should be administered by boards
of directors composed of delegates of all workers (manual workers,
salaried employees, technicians, engineers, etc.) and of representatives
of the consumers and of the general interests of the nation (ministries
or, if necessary, other public bodies).
1
Cf. Inventaire de la situation financière, 1913-1946, op. cit. I t is for this reason
t h a t various Bills h a v e been placed before the National Assembly with a view
to creating uniform regulations for public undertakings (see page 137).

110

NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES AND UNDERTAKINGS

The C.F.T.C., in its reports on nationalisation submitted to
its Congress of September 1945 and June 1946, also laid down
the principle t h a t nationalisation should not mean direct administration by the State. Furthermore, it rejected the system of
" joint economy " and proposed t h a t administration should be
carried out by boards of directors from which " the representatives
of money and capital would be excluded, and which would include
solely representatives of all classes of workers and representatives
of consumers ". Such a board of directors, it held, should work
under the control and with the assistance of as small a number
as possible of representatives of the State.
The National Council of Resistance had also urged " the participation of workers in the direction of the national economy " .
These principles have in general been adopted by the legislature,
which has pronounced against direct administration by the State
and has therefore given independence and elasticity to nationalised
undertakings by conferring on them the status of public nationalised
establishments of an industrial or commercial character, endowed
with legal personality and financial autonomy and administered
in the interests of the community by the parties concerned,
namely, the public authority, consumers, staff and producers.
This point is brought out in the Inventaire de la situation financière
as follows :
The most important and the most regularly observed of the general
principles in this connection is that which brings together on boards
of directors representatives appointed by the State, representatives of
the staff appointed by the most representative of the trade unions,
and representatives of the general interests of the country, chosen
in most cases by trade union federations, large-scale family associations
or various groups of consumers and users.
Thus, the administration of nationalised undertakings is a
matter of co-operation, in which the workers take part, as will
be seen later, with rights equal or approximately equal to those
of the other parties represented.

CHAPTER III
TRADE UNION PARTICIPATION IN THE ADMINISTRATION
AND CONTROL OF NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES
AND UNDERTAKINGS
For the purposes of the present study, the interest of the
nationalisation problem centres on the participation of trade
unions in the administration and control of nationalised industries
or undertakings. In order to show how this participation works
in practice, some account must be given of the administrative
organisation of nationalised industries and undertakings. Further
chapters will deal with the structure of the bodies which assist
in the administration of such industries and undertakings, and
will show how the staff is represented on these bodies, how administrative control actually functions and what are the financial
results. It will also be shown to what extent the staff shares in
profits, and some account will be given of the situation of the
staff in the industries themselves.
Administration
ADMINISTRATIVE

ORGANISATION

In general the administrative organisation of nationalised
industry may be summed up as follows : at the head of each
industry there is a general administrative body ; at the head
of each undertaking is a board of directors ; and within the undertaking itself there is an arrangement for the representation of
the staff.
None the less, each one of the great nationalised industries
—fuel, electricity and gas, banks, insurance, etc.—has its own
technical problems inherent in its structure. No single stereotyped
administration could possibly cover these technical divergencies
and it is therefore necessary to summarise briefly what is required
in the nationalisation of each industry, and to examine separately
the administrative structure of each one of the nationalised

112

NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES AND UNDERTAKINGS

industries, or at least of the most important. 1 A summary will
also be given of the new organisation of the merchant marine,
which remains within the framework of " joint economy ".
The detailed composition of the various organisations to which
reference will be made is shown in table V, page 122.
Mineral Fuel
The nationalisation of mineral fuel was carried out in two stages.
The Order of 13 December 1944 2 inaugurated a series of large-scale
nationalisations by instituting the national coal mines of the Nord
and Pas-de-Calais. 3 The preamble to this Order, after explaining the
situation of the French mining industry and particularly of the coal
basins of the Nord and Pas-de-Calais, after the liberation, said that
" absolute unity of views both in conception and in action is indispensable if the highly interdependent problems of the mining industry—
technical, economic and social—are to be effectively solved. The State
alone has the authority to carry out such a task, the success of which
is closely bound up with the interests of the country as a whole ".
The scheme adopted for the mines of the Nord and Pas-de-Calais
was a provisional one, since the second stage of fuel nationalisation,
which was achieved by the Act of 17 May, 1946 4, applies (with the
exception of undertakings of secondary importance) to all mining
and fuel undertakings, with the exception of natural gas, mineral oils
a n d peat.

The preamble of the Bill p u t forward b y t h e Government

points out that, in all highly industrialised countries, coal is a problem
of general interest, since it is a basic factor in industrial activity and
consequently in all economic activity. The increase of production in
this key industry is therefore of imperative necessity, and such increase
can be obtained only by the re-equipment of the mines and the modernisation of mining methods. This necessitates a large-scale financial
effort, which the mining companies did not make in the past, and
which the country itself cannot make unless it owns and manages this
natural source of national wealth. From the technical point of view,
the nationalisation of the coal mining industry was facilitated by its
comparative concentration. In 1938, out of 150 undertakings, 50 produced
97 per cent, of the total tonnage extracted, and about 30 accounted
for 90 per cent, of the total.
Furthermore, the Act of 17 May 1946 provides for the regulation
and control by the State of imports and exports of fuel. Thus, the
nation as a whole is in a position to control all the factors in its coal
policy in the interests of the national economy.
At the end of 1947, the French Government set up the administration
of the Saar mines, the duty of which was to manage, from 1 January
1948, all the Saar coal mines and their affiliated industries and undertakings.5
1
Cf. I.L.B., Sept.-Oot. 1946, p . 206 : " Nationalisation of Banks and Industries
in France ".
2
J.O., 14 Dec. 1944, p . 1,876 ; of. I.L.B., Oct. 1945, p . 388.
3
The mines of Gard, Tarn and Aveyron were requisitioned a t the liberation.
i
J.O.,
18 May 1946, p . 4,272.
5
Act of 15 Nov. 1947, J.O., 15 Nov. 1947, p . 11,294 ; Decree of 31 Deo. 1947,
J.O., 4 J a n . 1948, p . 131.

ADMINISTRATION AND CONTBOL

113

The direction and general management of the fuel industry is
assured by a Coal Board (Charbonnages de France) whose activities
extend over the whole of French territory. The actual working
of the mines is done through local agencies (houillères de bassin),
the activities of which are confined to a clearly defined geographic
zone. 1
The Board and the local agencies are public national establishments
of an industrial and commercial nature, endowed with legal personality
and financial autonomy.
The Board is administered by a governing body of 18 members,
including equal numbers of representatives of the State, consumers
and the staff. 2 Its duties are, inter alia, to ensure the general direction,
control and co-ordination of the economic activities of the local agencies;
to submit for the approval of the Government plans for the production
and equipment of mines and to submit any proposals concerning the
price of fuel ; to see to the repayment of expropriated shareholders
and the financing of its own requirements and those of the local agencies;
to develop, direct and co-ordinate all technical research ; and to improve
methods of working the mines and utilising and treating all material
extracted. It is also its duty to develop, direct and co-ordinate vocational training and apprenticeship in the mines ; to establish a general
system of accounting for all French mines ; and to establish an equalisation scheme between individual mines for the purpose of ensuring
their financial stability. It also arbitrates on any disputes that may
arise between the various local agencies, and is qualified to make proposals and to express opinions on fuel import and export programmes.
Each local agency is administered by a governing body composed
of experts appointed by the Coal Board, representatives of the economic
interests concerned and representatives of the various categories of
the staff. The agencies are organisations for the production, working
and sale of fuel. It is their duty in particular to develop the working
of seams and the treatment of their products by the best technical
processes, in such a way as to increase in every way possible the production which is necessary for the requirements of the national economy.
The administration of the Saar mines, which is under the authority
of the Ministry of Mines, is administered by a director-general, assisted
by a committee composed of officiais chosen by the various ministers
concerned, or by the French High Command in the Saar, and also
by a representative of the Coal Board. Side by side with the General
Directorate there is an advisory organisation, namely, the Higher
Council for the Saar Mines, on which sit representatives of the
staff.

1
There are nine such agencies, corresponding to the following mining districts :
Nord a n d Pas-de-Calais, Lorraine, Blanzy, Loire, Auvergne, Aquitaine, Cévennes,
Dauphiné, Provence. A Decree of 16 J a n . 1947 (J.O., 17 J a n . 1947, p . 648), as
modified b y Decree of 17 Sept. 1947 (J.O., 18 Sept. 1947, p . 9,356), set u p a n agency
for South Oran, the sphere of whose activity is the territory of Aïn-Sefra. Each
agency includes a certain number of administrative groups, a n d each of these
groups includes a certain number of mines a n d affiliated undertakings ; as a general
rule, each mine includes several shafts.
2
The chairmen of the boards of directors of the agencies m a y attend, in a n
advisory capacity, meetings of the board of directors of t h e Coal Board when questions concerning their particular districts are under consideration.

114

NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES AND UNDERTAKINGS

Gas and Electricity
Gas and electricity undertakings, that is to say, undertakings for
the production, transport, distribution, import and export of gas and
electricity, were nationalised by the Act of 8 April 1946. 1
On the technical side it has been urged in favour of the nationalisation
of both coal and of gas and electricity that these sources of energy
should be used on rational lines in the public interest, and that the
industries should combine their activities instead of carrying on a
ruinous competition for the satisfaction of private interests. In particular it is of great importance that electrical energy, which can be
produced in abundance in the country, should be used as far as possible
to make up for the lack of coal in order to reduce imports of solid fuels,
and that the gas industry should make the most economical use of the
coal allocated to it.
The nationalisation of gas and electricity was facilitated by the
considerations set forth in the National Constituent Assembly by a
committee reporter : " Few industries are better adapted to nationalisation than electricity and gas, since they perform a public service, are
subject to State intervention and concession and are both legally and
in practice compelled to observe the strictest continuity of service.
Furthermore, they enjoy a geographic monopoly, since the user is
not allowed to apply to any supplier he may choose. " 2
The administrative organisation for the nationalised industries of
electricity and gas is complicated in the extreme, in view of the fact
that the two industries have different techniques. On the national
plane, a number of bodies have been established for t h e two industries :

a consultative organisation, the Higher Council for Electricity and Gas, a
National Equipment Fund, an Equalisation Fund, and a National
Council for Welfare Work.
The working of the two industries is entrusted to two sets of bodies,
one for electricity and the other for gas. Each industry has a national
establishment—" French Electricity—National Service, " and " French
Gas—National Service ", and also regional or local establishments.
The Higher Council for Electricity and Gas is composed of equal
numbers of representatives of Parliament, the Government, local
communities, national services and the staff. The Council is an advisory
body which gives an opinion on any question referred to it by the
Minister for Industrial Production. It is also qualified to act as a final
arbitrator in any complications that may arise between the various
establishments set up by the Nationalisation Act and the concessionary
authorities.
The National Equipment Fund for Electricity and Gas is a public
establishment endowed with financial autonomy. Its board of directors
includes representatives of the State, the electricity and gas services
and the National Credit Council, and also the Chairman of the National
Agricultural Credit Fund. The trade unions are indirectly represented
through representatives of the national electricity and gas services,
and by the representatives of the National Credit Council. The object
of the National Fund is to place at the disposal of the production and
distribution services the means necessary for carrying out their duties
and, in particular, to enable them to work out plans for the improvement
and development of the electricity and gas industries.
1

Cf. J.O., 8-9 Apr. 1946, p . 2,951.
J.O., 23 Mar. 1946, p . 1,016.

2

ADMINISTRATION AND CONTROL

115

The Equalisation Fund for Electricity and Gas, the administration
of which is entrusted to a joint committee of the national electricity
and gas services, is fed from contributions taken in the form of a fixed
sum from receipts from the distribution services.
The national electricity service and the national gas service are
each administered by a board of directors, including equal numbers
of representatives of the State, consumers and the staff.
The services for the distribution of electricity and the production
of gas and electricity are each administered at the regional level by
a board of directors including members of the national service, consumers
and staff.
All these establishments are endowed with financial autonomy
and therefore with technical and commercial independence.
The National Council for Welfare Work, the composition of which
has not yet been determined, but whose members will be entirely
chosen from among the staff, will administer a special budget for the
improvement of existing social work and for the creation of new welfare
activities for the benefit of the staff of electricity and gas undertakings.
Banks
The nationalisation of credit was the first of the four great nationalisation measures. I t was carried out by the Act of 2 December
1945 1 to nationalise the Bank of France (the regulations of which
had already been democratised in 1936) and the great deposit banks
(Crédit Lyonnais, General Society for the Development of Commerce
and Industry in France, National Discount Bank of Paris and National
Bank for Commerce and Industry). The Act of 2 December 1945,
which was completed by the Act of 17 May 1946 2 concerning the organisation of credit in France, placed credit at the disposal of the nation.
Another Act of 17 May 1946 nationalised the Bank of Algiers.3 Finally,
a Decree of 1 June 1946 *, issued in virtue of the Act of 2 December,
created a national bank entitled " French Bank of Foreign Trade "
to facilitate the financing of import and export operations, and also
a "French Insurance Company for Foreign T r a d e " 5 to assure the
proper conduct of import and export operations and, generally speaking,
all operations connected with foreign trade.
During the discussion in the Constituent Assembly of the Bill for
the nationalisation of the banks, the President of the Provisional Government stated that the object of the Act was " to place credit in the hands
of the nation with a view to its reconstruction and renovation, for
this end only, and to any extent necessary ". The Minister of Finance
added :
" The nationalisation of credit is essentially the establishment of
a financial plan for the service of production . . . It is impossible, at
a time when our country is called upon to undertake reconstruction,
to leave to private enterprise the task of directing haphazard and
distributing without any rational plan the credits necessary for the
reconstruction of the national economy. "
» J.O.,
2
J.O.,
Ibid.,
V.O.,
6
«7.0.,

a

3 Dec. 1945, p . 8,001.
18 May 1946, p . 4,271.
p . 4,272.
7 J u n e 1946, p . 5,008.
21 J a n . 1948, p . 662.

116

NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES AND UNDERTAKINGS

Nationalisation of credit necessarily implies the nationalisation or
control of the chief banks. Furthermore, the Act of 2 December 1945
creates an organisation for the control of banks still under private
enterprise, and sets up a directing body for the banking industry as
a whole.
At the apex of the banking and credit organisation is a general
directing body, namely, the National Credit Council and, side by side,
a technical body called the Control Commission, which also works
on the national plane. Dependent upon these two bodies and under
their general supervision, banking establishments properly so-called
belong to three sectors : the nationalised sector, the controlled sector
and the sector of private enterprise. In the nationalised sector are
the Bank of France and the great deposit banks. To the controlled
sector belong commercial banks constituted in the -. form of jointstock companies whose total balance-sheet (plus any liabilities not in
the balance-sheet) exceeds 500 million francs. All other banks belong
to the sector of private enterprise. Each nationalised bank that has
branches or agencies on metropolitan territory, on dependent territory
or abroad, is administered by a board of directors (General Council
for the Bank of France). The control of commercial banks is ensured
by a Government commissioner-general assisted by a supervisory
committee.
The National Credit Council is under the chairmanship of a Minister
appointed by the Government, who may delegate his powers to the
Governor of the Bank of France, who is ex officio vice-chairman. It
consists of representatives of the public authorities, the active forces
of the country, public or semi-public financial bodies, and experts.
The Director of the Treasury attends all meetings of the Council. The
Council has very wide advisory powers in connection with the direction
of credit—and in certain spheres it exercises powers which are definitively legal or directive—in the form of recommendations, proposals and
opinions. In short, its work is partly to organise the whole of the
French banking system and partly to consider problems raised by the
distribution of credit and the orientation of a credit policy based on
the general economic policy of the country, especially as concerns questions of reconstruction and modernisation.1 It submits yearly reports
on the credit situation and related problems to the Ministers of
National Economy and Finance.
The Banking Control Commission is composed of the Governor
of the Bank of France, three high officials of the Ministries of Finance
and National Economy and a delegate of the most representative
federation of banking employees. It exercises powers of investigation,
supervision and discipline over all financial undertakings. As regards
the nationalised banks, it assumes the powers of general meetings of
shareholders and for this purpose co-opts three members of the National
Credit Council. All its decisions are notified to the National Credit
Council.
The General Council of the Bank of France includes representatives
of industry and commerce, of the collective interests of the nation,
of users of credit and of the staff.2
The boards of directors of the great deposit banks are composed
of representatives of industry, commerce or agriculture of the most
1

Premier rapport annuel du Conseil national du crédit, 1946-1947.
The composition of this Council is to be modified under the Act for the
nationalisation of the banks.
2

ADMINISTRATION AND CONTROL

117

representative trade union organisations, of the staff, the Bank of
France and other public or semi-public credit institutions, and also
of experts. The chairman of the board, who is elected by the Council
and by the director-general (if a director-general is appointed) must
be approved by the Minister of Finance.
For the control of commercial banks 1 , a Government commissioner
is appointed to each commercial bank constituted as a joint-stock
company whose total balance-sheet or commitments outside the balancesheet are over 500 million francs. He is assisted by a supervisory
committee composed of a delegate of the most representative commercial and industrial organisations, a delegate of the most representative large trade union organisations, and a representative of public
or semi-public financial bodies.
The Government commissioner attends all meetings of the board
of directors and the general meetings of shareholders. He is empowered
to take cognisance of all bank documents. He may veto- any decision
taken by the board of directors or by the shareholders' meeting which
may be contrary to the national interests and may propose any measure
which seems to him in the general interest and, in particular, to be
in accordance with the views or decisions of the National Credit Council.
Appeals against the decisions of the Government commissioner come
before the National Credit Council.
Insurance
The very considerable importance of the insurance industry has
for some time attracted the attention of the public authorities, and
they have been concerned to supervise and regulate its activities.
The Legislative Decree of 14 June 1938 had already set up an effective
control over insurance undertakings, at their creation, during their
operation, and at the time of their liquidation.
In bringing before the National Constituent Assembly the Bill to
nationalise insurance, the Government argued as follows : the existing
regulation of insurance had led to the constitution of capital on a large
scale, which was not really necessary for the compensation of risks ;
the accumulation of such capital in the hands of private enterprise
gave private individuals a considerable power which was a potential
threat to the independence of the State ; it would not appear natural
to leave the administration of such large capital sums in the hands
of private companies, sums which did not really belong to the shareholders, but constituted the actual guarantee of insured persons. Since
such funds should be considered as the property of aU users of the
insurance industry, they should be handed over to the State, which
is the legal representative of the nation and consequently the only
representative of the community of users as a whole.
During the discussion in the Assembly, the Minister of Finance
argued also that insurance, as a result of the large capital which it
represented, was, like the banking industry, one of the elements of
the national life which should be absorbed into the general economic
administration of credit and investment. The argument was also
1
Commercial banks are those whose main business is to acquire and administer
shares in undertakings which only accept deposits for not more t h a n one year
or withdrawable on demand, from their staff, their associates or brokers, or from
undertakings of which they own 15 per cent, of the capital, or which they
launched by taking shares equal to 15 per cent, of the initial capital.

118

NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES AND UNDERTAKINGS

put forward that insurance was a real public service which it behoved
the State to administer.
The nationalisation of insurance was effected by the Act of 25
April 1946.1
The insurance industry is directed by a National Insurance Council.
Every nationalised insurance company is a separate undertaking
administered by a board of directors. Non-nationalised private insurance companies are compelled to hand over a definite quota- of
their premiums to a new undertaking entitled the Central Reinsurance
Fund. For the training of technicians, staff and insurance agents,
a special National Insurance School has been set up.
The National Insurance Council is an advisory body under the
chairmanship of the Minister of Finance. It includes representatives
of the State, insured persons, and professional insurance agents. The
Director of Insurance at the Ministry of Finance attends meetings
of the Council in an advisory capacity. With a view to co-ordinating
the activity of the National Insurance Council and the National Credit
Council, the Director of Insurance at the Ministry of Finance attends
in an advisory capacity all meetings of the National Credit Council,
and the Director of the Treasury attends all meetings of the National
Insurance Council, with the same rights.
The Council proposes to the Minister of Finance any measures
necessary for the proper working of insurance, in particular concerning
rules and financial directives imposed on all insurance organisations
and on all reinsurance organisations, whether nationalised or not, as
regards the general conditions of their activity, e.g., the co-ordination
of national insurance funds with nationalised insurance undertakings,
or their amalgamation ; general conditions for contracts and tariffs ;
foreign investments and foreign branches of nationalised companies ;
rationalisation of the activity of the insurance industry from the point
of view both of organisation and of the reduction of costs, particularly
by means of the judicious use of the staff available ; reduction of

risks and organisation of preventive action. In addition, the Council
exercises all powers which had previously devolved on the general
shareholders' meetings of nationalised companies.
The board of directors of each nationalised undertaking includes
representatives of the State, the staff and insured persons, and also
experts.
The Central Reinsurance Fund, which is a public undertaking of
a commercial nature endowed with financial autonomy, is administered
by a board of directors, the composition of which is identical with that
of the board of directors of nationalised undertakings. Private insurance
undertakings, French or foreign, which have not been nationalised,
are compelled to pay over to this Fund a proportion, prescribed under
definite rules, of premiums concerned with operations which they are
carrying out on French territory. Thus, the Fund is in a position to
supervise the activities of these undertakings. It is empowered to
conclude reinsurance agreements of any kind with all French and
foreign insurance undertakings.
The National Insurance School, which has been created by the
National Insurance Council in co-operation with the most representative
trade union organisations concerned in insurance, has the duty of
training technicians and insurance agents.
1

J.O., 29-30 Apr. 1946, p . 3,566.

ADMINISTRATION AND CONTROL

119

Merchant Marine x
Before the war it became necessary for the- State to subsidise several
shipping companies. One of the most important, the General Transatlantic Company, had been in 1933 transformed into a " joint economy"
company in which the share of the State was 81 per cent. Individual
agreements had been concluded between the State and other companies,
such as the Messageries maritimes.
I n 1939 the merchant marine was requisitioned. A friendly agreement had been arrived at between the Government and the central
committee of French shipowners to the effect that all French merchant
vessels should be placed at the disposal of the State. After the liberation
the control and working of the subsidised companies was ensured by
a provisional committee on which both sea and land staff were represented. The Act of 28 February 1948 2 derequisitioned the merchant
fleet and endowed the merchant marine with new regulations 3, which,
said the reporter of the Bill when it was brought before the National
Assembly, " should allow of the solution of all problems of reconstruction
and the rational working of the merchant marine ".
At the centre of the organisation contemplated for the merchant
marine is an organisation which is both occupational and administrative,
namely, t h e Higher Council for the Merchant Marine, the t a s k of which

is advisory ; in some cases consultation may be compulsory. The
Council considers general questions, particularly the general construction, modernisation and utilisation of shipping material, and also
general and special problems concerning co-ordination between the
various shipping companies. The Council is also entrusted with the
duty of preparing a general plan for the organisation of regular shipping
lines, either existing or such as may be created. The Council works
in close liaison with the Higher Council for Transport. 4
The Higher Council for the Merchant Marine may require traffic
agreements to be concluded between French shipping companies serving
the same shipping lines and it must be informed of all agreements
concluded between such companies and foreign companies. It is also
required to give its opinion on conditions under which French shipowners
should be compelled to ensure such transport as might be necessary
for the execution of any plan of reconstruction and modernisation,
as also of any plan which might be of national interest. The Council
includes representatives of the public authorities, the shipping industry
and the staff, and also experts.
There are special provisions concerning the General Transatlantic
Company and the Messageries maritimes5 ; these companies undertake
services which are of national interest. The former company remains
a " joint economy " company but from now onwards the State will
have an absolute majority in all its general meetings, ordinary or extraordinary. The Messageries maritimes has been reorganised under the
same name as a "joint economy" company with the capital of the
former company and of the State. The State must possess at least
1
See " La marine marchande française ", in Documentation française. Notes
documentaires et études, No. 849, 12 Mar. 1948.
2
J.O., 29 Feb. 1948, p . .2,122.
3
The regulations do not cover vessels of less t h a n 500 gross tons.
4
Cf. p . 59.
6
The National Assembly and the Council of the Republic voted against the
nationalisation of these companies.

9

120

NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES AND UNDERTAKINGS

two thirds of the votes in general assemblies, ordinary or extraordinary.
Each of these two companies will be administered by a board of directors comprising representatives of the public authorities (including
experts), representatives of sea and land staff, and representatives of
private shareholders.
Other Undertakings
The other nationalisations each concern an individual undertaking,
the management of which is provided for by a board of directors. 1
The composition of these various boards is shown in table V.

P O W E R S AND D U T I E S OF THE B O D I E S

I n t h e previous pages an account has been given of t h e part
played by each of the bodies which constitute the administrative
framework of the nationalised industries, a part in which the
workers' organisations share, since they are represented on most
of them. Without going back to this question in detail, it would
nevertheless seem desirable to indicate the characteristic features
of the powers and duties of the bodies in question, including
those of isolated nationalised undertakings.
In a general way a distinction should be made between the
bodies placed at the head of nationalised industries (mineral
fuel, electricity and gas, banks, insurance companies and, in the
field of mixed economy, the merchant navy) and those placed
at the head of nationalised undertakings or undertakings of mixed
economy or of public establishments such as the National Fund
for Electrical and Gas Equipment or the Central Reinsurance
Fund. The former have general powers to direct, co-ordinate
and control, which they generally exercise in an advisory capacity,
and the latter, just like boards of directors of private companies,
1
I n the case of the press the situation is somewhat different. The Act of 11 May
1946 (J.O., 12 May 1946, p . 4,093) transferred to the State, by confiscation or
against compensation, the property of certain press undertakings and news agencies
which continued work during the occupation. The property thus transferred to
the State was handed over to the National Association of Press Undertakings
and its board of directors manages it. The allocation of property transferred
is provided for by a National Commission and by regional committers for press
and information undertakings. Standard contracts for the purchase or renting
of the property transferred or confiscated are prepared by the Higher Council
for Press Undertakings, which has also arbitration and advisory powers.
Furthermore, a n Act of 2 April 1947 (J.O., 3 Apr. 1947, p . 3,126) laid down
t h a t the grouping and distribution of newspapers and periodicals should be provided
by co-operative societies for press services, the regulations of which it established.
A Higher Council for Press Services co-ordinates the use of long-distance communications by these associations. I n all these associations there are representatives
of the occupational organisations concerned.

ADMINISTRATION AND CONTROL

121

have powers of administration and management which they
exercise in an executive capacity. Some, however, have powers
of both kinds, such as the governing body of the Coal Board.
Certain managing bodies, such as the boards of directors of
undertakings which have been recently nationalised, have very wide
powers ; the powers of others are limited b y the intervention
of the State, which is desirous of keeping t h e undertaking under
its supervision and divides the powers of administration and
management between the board of directors and the presiding
director-general or the director-general appointed by itself (the
Renault Works Administration, for instance) or exercises a right
of supervision and veto as to the carrying out of certain decisions
of t h e board of directors (National Industrial Office for Nitrogen,
Petroleum Administration, etc.).
Certain important decisions of the board of directors must
be submitted for the approval of the responsible ministry, which
must indicate its decision within a given period, failing which
the decision is executory. When powers are divided between
the presiding director-general and the board of directors, disputes
which may arise between them are settled by the competent
Minister.
Workers' Representation
In the general organisation of nationalised industries and
undertakings it is generally true that in most of the bodies which
carry out activities at the national, regional or local level in the
industry or undertaking, and which provide direction, administration, management and supervision, provision is made for the
interests of the workers, who are regarded as producers, to be
represented alongside the general interests of the national community as a whole and the special interests of consumers. 1 In
practice representation depends on the nature of the industry ;
in the case of mineral fuel and electricity and gas, the public
authorities are directly represented only a t the national level
and in the body administering the whole industry ; in the administration of undertakings the interests of the community as a whole
are represented by those of the industries themselves.
1
Apart from these three essential groups, other groups are sometimes represented, e.g., shareholders in the case of companies of mixed economy or former
shareholders (holders of shares in the Government-owned Alsatian potash
mines). On certain bodies experts and technicians are also represented.

TABLE V. COMPOSITION OF GOVERNING BODIES OP NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES OR UNDERTAKINGS

Industry
or establishment
and body

NumRepresentation of
ber of the public authorities
memor the interests
bers
of the public

Power sector
Mineral fuel
Coal Board (Charbonnages de France)
(PE)>
Board of directors

G representatives of
various ministries

Representation of consumers
or of collective economic interests

Representation of staff or
of workers' trade unions

6 representatives of consumers :
main consumers' industries and
consumers' services 3 ; domestic
users 3 (including National Union
of Family Associations 1 ; the
most
representative
trade
unions 2)

6 representatives of staff nominated on the proposal of the
most representative trade unions
of the various categories of the
staff (wage earners, salaried employees, foremen, engineers and
technical and managerial staff)
6 representatives of
the Coal Board in
a technical capacity

Local agencies for
working the mines
(Houillères de Bassin) (PE)
Board of directors

19

Agency for Soulh
Oran (PE)
Board of directors

18

7 : 4 representatives 3 representatives
of
economic
of ministries ; 3
interests : Algerian railways 1,
representatives of
Algiers electricity and gas indusAlgeria
tries 1, general interests of consumers 1

6 representatives of staff : wage
earners 3, salaried employees 1,
foremen 1, engineers and technical and managerial staff 1 ; nominated by the most representative unions of each category

Saar Mines Administration
Higher Council

30

20 : 16 representing 2 representatives of Saar economic
various ministries,
interests
2 representing the
French High Commissioner in the
Saar, and 2 the
Government of the
Saar

8 representatives of staff : technical
and managerial staff, foremen,
salaried employees and wage earners : French 3, Saarlanders 5

Autonomous Petroleum
Administration (EP)
Board of directors

12

6 representatives of
various ministries

3 representatives of staff : wage 3 persons chosen for
their previous reearners 1, salaried employees and
search work in hyforemen 1, engineers and higher
drocarburates
staff 1 ; chosen from a list of 3
names for each category proposed
by the works committee

60

20 : representatives
of Parliament 10 ;

Gas and electricity
Higher Council

(See column 6)

6 representatives of economic inter- 7 representatives of staff (wage
ests : consumers' industries 2,
earners, salaried employees and
domestic users 2, general interests
foremen, engineers and technical
of consumers 2
and managerial staff) nominated
by the most representative unions
of the area

Various

20 : representatives of collective
bodies 10 (City of Paris 1, depart-

2 representatives of
the Coal Board
having extensive
knowledge of the
working of mines or
the solid mineral
fuel industry

10 representatives of the staff nomin- 10 representatives of
the national serviated on the proposal of the most

representatives of
various ministries
and of the Council
of State 10

ments and communes 9) ; representatives of users 10 (chambers
of commerce, agricultural organisations and associations, chamber
of trade, associations of consumers, electrochemical and electrometallurgical industries, other
main consumers' industries, railways)

representative trade union organisations ; staff of the national
electricity service 3, of the
electricity distribution service 3,
of the national gas service 2,
of the gas distribution service 2

National Services :
Electricity and gas
(PE)
Board of directors

18

6 representatives of
various ministries

i representatives
of consumers :
local associations 4 ; main consuming industries 1, agricultural associations (electricity) or national
federation of family associations
(gas) 1

6 representatives of the staff appointed on the proposal of the most
representative trade union organisations of this staff : wage
earners 2, salaried employees 1,
technical and managerial staff 3

Distribution Services (electricity and
gas) (PE)
Boards of directors

18

(See column 6)

representatives of users : local
associations 6, consuming industries 1, agricultural associations
(electricity) or family associations
(gas) 1

6 representatives of the staff nominated by the most representative trade union organisations of
the service in question : wage
earners 2, salaried employees 1,
technical and managerial 3

National Equipment
Fund (PE)
Board of directors

13
plus
the
chair-

4 representatives of
various ministries

Transpori sector
French
Railways
(S.N.C.F.) (ME)
Board of directors

Paris
Transport
Administration (PE)

28

5 representatives of
the higher administration

10 representatives of local associations elected b y them

4 representatives of
the corresponding
national service

4 representatives of
the National Credit
Council

5 representatives of the national
electricity and gas services :
electricity 3, gas 2

20
Í 0 : members of the
(18 as
Council of State 2,
from
members of the
1.1.56)
main State bodies
or of an inspectorate-general of the
main public services 3 , officials of
the Ministry of
National Economy
and
Finance 3,
members of the
Public Engineering
and Mines Corps 2

ces : electricity 6,
gas 4

5 representatives of the officials
appointed on the proposal of the
union organisations from among
workers actually serving

5 members nominated b y the boards
of directors of the
former
railway
companies (as from
1.1.56 : 3 members
nominated by the
holders of the new
shares)

8 representatives of the staff : management staff 1 ; technical, supervisory and office staff 3 ; traffic
staff and workers 4 : elected b y
the members of each of these
categories (in the last two categories by secret ballot and b y
proportional representation on

5 experts appointed
b y the Ministry of
Transport outside
the officials and representatives of the
staff or the unions
and the local associations, and cho-

TABLE V
Industry
or establishment
and body

NumRepresentation of
ber of the public authorities
memor the interests
bers
of the public

(cont.)

Representation of consumers
or of collective economic interests

to

Representation of staff or
of workers' trade unions

separate lists drawn up by the
representative trade union organisations)

Merchant Marine
Higher Council

28
plus
the
chair-

Messageries mariti11
mes and General plus
Transatlantic Comthe
pany (SM)
chairBoards of directors
administraPort
tions (PE)
Air-France (SM)

16

Various

sen from lists submitted by the
workers'
trade
unions and the associations of technical and managerial staff and employers, the Chambers of Commerce
of Paris and Versailles, the Council
of the Association
of Chartered Accountants, and the
National
Credit
Council

12 : 7 representatives 8 representatives of shipowners : 8 representatives of the staff nominated on the proposal of the
of various minisCentral Committee of French
representative trade union orgatries ; 5 experts
Shipowners 6 ; chairmen of Mesnisations : officers of the merchant
chosen outside the
sageries maritimes and of the
navy 2, subordinate sea-going
administration
General Transatlantic Company, 2
staff 3, shore staff of the shipping
companies 3
3 representatives of the staff appoint- 2 representatives of
: 3 representatives
ed on the proposal of the repreprivate shareholdof various minissentative trade union organisaers appointed by
tries, 3 experts
tions and from among the staff of
the general assemthe company : sea-going staff 2,
bly of shareholders
shore staff 1
4 officials represent- 4 persons (not officials), two of whom 4 representatives of the staff : 4 representatives of
shareholders other
technical and administrative staff
ing various mirepresent chambers of commerce
than the State
1 ; sea-going staff 1 ; salaried
nistries
(metropolis or North Africa 1 ;
employees 1 ; wage earners 1 ;
overseas territories or abroad 1)
elected by secret ballot by members of each category

Engineering sector
Renault Works Ad15
7 representatives of
ministration (PE)
plusthe
various ministries
Board of directors chairman,
director-general

2 representatives of the users of
automobiles

6 representatives of the staff chosen fron among the permanent
representatives of the staff on
the central works committee

M

O

co
tel
Ö
Ö

a
ce

i

H
co

¡>
Ö
Ö
tei
Hi

co

National Company
for the Study and
Construction of Aeroplane
Engines
(ME)
Board of directors

11

National Office for
17
plus
Aeronautical Study
the
and Research
Board of directors director
Sector for chemical
industries
Alsace Potash Mines
19
(PE)
Board of directors

National Industrial
Office for Nitrogen
(PE)
Board of directors

17
plus
the
chair-

Company for Biochemical Products
(PE)
Board of directors

24

Credit sector
National
Council

3 representatives of the
staff
chosen from a list of 9 names
drawn up by the central works
committee

5 representatives of
the shareholders
appointed by the
general assembly
on the proposal of
various ministries

7 representatives of 3 heads of undertakings for construc- 4 members of the staff chosen from
tion of aircraft chosen from lists
lists drawn up by the most reprevarious ministries
drawn up by the most representasentative occupational organisative occupational organisations
tions

3 representatives of
the National Centre for Scientific
Research

8 representatives of
various ministries

1 representative of
private holders of
mining shares

3 representatives of
various ministries

5 representatives of economic inter- 5 representatives of the staff : wage
ests and consumers : Chamber of
earners 3, salaried employees and
Commerce of Mulhouse 1, departforemen 1, heads of services and
ments of Haut-Rhin, Bas-Rhin
engineers 1 ; chosen from among
and Moselle 2 ; National Committhe staff delegates on the works
tee for Agricultural Action 1,
committees of the mines
agricultural associations 1

8 representatives of 3 representatives
various ministries
associations

of

agricultural 6 representatives of the staff : wage
earners 3, salaried employees 1,
foremen 1, heads of service and
engineers 1 ; chosen from among
the representatives on the works
committee of the office

8 representatives of
various ministries

8 representatives of the staff appoint- 8 representatives of
ed on the proposal of the most
French scientific
representative trade union organibodies or establishsation or organisations
ments

Credit 38 plus 7 representatives of
the
various ministries
chairman or
vicechairman

10 members appointed on the pro- 7 members proposed by the most 7 members chosen for
their competence
posal of : the C.G.A. 2 ; groups of
representative large workers' orin matters of finanagricultural consumers' and proganisations, 4 representing the
ce or banking, inducers' co-operatives, the National
general interests of these organicluding : 3 repreCentre for Foreign Trade and the
sations and 3 representing the
sentatives of naAssembly of the Presidents of
technical and managerial staff
tionalised banks ;
Chambers of Trade 5 ; the Assemand bank employees
2 representatives
bly of Chambers of Commerce
of non-nationalised
(including one representative of
banks proposed by
industry) 2 ; Assembly of Marithe Professional Astime Chambers of Commerce 1
sociation of Banks ;
1 representative of
7 representatives of public or semithe organisations
public financial bodies
for financing foreign trade ; the
syndic of the Paris
Association of Brokers

TABLE V

(cont.)
Ci

Industry
or establishment
and body

Representation of
Number of the public authorities
or the interests
members
of the public

Representation of consumers
or of collective economic interests

Representation of staff or
of workers' trade unions

1 representative of the most repreBanking
Control 5(inclu- The Chairman of the
sentative federation of bank
Finance
Section
Commission
ding
employees
of the Council of
the
State ; the Chief of
Govthe Treasury at the
ernor
Ministry of Finanof the
ce ; the director
Bank
responsible
for
of
credits at the MiFrance,
nistry of National
who is
Economy
chairman)
1 representative of 1 representative of the most repre- 1 representative of the most repreControl committee
sentative commercial and indussentative large trade unions
for
commercial
public or semitrial organisations
banks (assisting the
public
financial
Government Combodies
missioner)
Bank of France (PE)
Board of directors '
4 administrators ap- 4 administrators chosen from among 4 administrators nominated by the
Large nationalised
12
most representative large trade
persons in industry, commerce or
pointed by the Mideposit banks (PE)
unions, 2 of whom must belong to
agriculture on the proposal of the
nister of Finance :
Boards of directhe technical and managerial
most representative occupational
2 representing the
tors
staff and be employed by the
organisations
Bank of France and
bank in question
the public or semipublic credit institutions and 2 chosen among persons
having considerable banking experience
5 : 1 representing the
Bank of Algeria (PE)
11
Minister of FinanProvisional board plusthe
ce ; the Governorof directors
direc
General of Algeria ;
torthe Resident-Gegeneral
neral of Tunis ; the
Governor of the
Bank of France ;
the Director of the
Central Fund for
Overseas France

: Algerian organisations of the 2 representatives of the staff :
C.G.A. 1 ; Algerian and Tunisian
technical and managerial staff 1 ;
chambers of commerce 1 ; Mutual
other 1
Agricultural Credit Fund of Algeria and Tunis 1 ; the most representative workers' organisation 1

Various

f<

O

Ê
co
ö
ö

ci
¡»
H

S
H
so

a
a
%
e

o
CD

French Bank for
Foreign Trade (PE)
Board of directors
Insurance Company
for Foreign Trade
(EP)
Board of directors

Insurance sector
National Insurance
Council

Central Reinsurance
Fund (PE)
Board of directors

Nationalised insurance companies (PE)
Boards of directors
Press sector
Higher Council for
Press Undertakings

15

5 administrators appointed
among
persons
having
considerable banking (or insurance)
experience on the
proposal of the
establishments
which have taken
part in the setting
up of the bank (or
of the company)

21

7 representatives of
various ministries

12

12

administrators appointed from 5 administrators nominated on the
persons having considerable exproposal of the most representaperience of foreign trade and with
tive large trade unions, two of
experience in industry, commerce
whom must belong to the techor agriculture in the export or
nical and managerial staff and
import trade, on the proposal of
be employees of the establishment
the most representative occupational or interoccupational organisations

representatives of insured persons 7 representatives of persons in the
appointed by : the C.G.T. 1 ; the
insurance profession nominated
C.F.T.C. 1 ; the C.G.A. 1 ; chamby the federations, unions or
bers of commerce 1 ; chambers of
national organisations concerned ;
trade 1 ; chambers of foreign
management staff 1 ; technical
trade 1 ; family associations 1
staff and inspectors 1 ; salaried
employees 2 ; general agents 2 ;
staff of agricultural mutual insurance associations or funds 1
3 representatives of 3 representatives of the insured (re- 3 representatives of the staff : insur- 3 technicians
in
presenting agriculture, industry
the Ministry of
ance employees 1 ; higher staff
respect of insurand private persons) nominated
and inspectors 1 ; general agents
Finance
ance, nominated
on the proposal of the most quali1 ; appointed by the most repreon the proposal of
fied national organisations of prosentative unions
the National Inducers or consumers per branch of
surance Council
insurance
As for Central Rein- As for Central Reinsurance Fund
As
for Central ReinAs for Central Reinsurance Fund
surance Fund
surance Fund

Ö
%
M
CO

H
M

O
t>

%

ö

a
o
14
plus
the
chairman

National Commission for Press Undertakings
Regional Committees Numfor Press Undertakber
ings
varies

7 : 5 representatives 4 representatives of the National 3 representatives of the staff : printof various minisPress Federation, 2 at least of
ing workers 1 ; technical and
tries ; director of
whom represent the provincial
managerial staff and press empress
services ;
press
ployees 1 ; professional journahead of the legal
lists 1 ; nominated by the most
information service
representative occupational organisations
5 : 2 representatives 3 representatives of the National As for Higher Council
of ministries ; 3
Press Federation
representatives of
the National Assembly
2 representatives of 3 representatives of the directors of As for Higher Council
ministries ; 1 reprenewspapers
sentative of each of
the general councils of the departments included in
the region

!z¡
Etì
O
F

to

TABLE V (GOTICI.)
00

Industry
or establishment
and body

NumRepresentation of
ber of the public authorities
memor the interests
bers
of the public

Representation of consumers
or of collective economic interests

Representation of staff or
of workers' trade unions

Various
6

2

3

4

5

National Association
of Press Undertakings (PE)
Board of directors

18

6 : 5 representatives
of various ministries ; 1 member of
the Audit Office

6 representatives of the National
Federation of the French Press

6 representatives of the staff : wage
earners 3 ; technical and managerial staff and salaried employees
1 ; professional journalists 2 ; nominated by the most representative occupational organisations

The Higher Council
for Press Services

27

1

Various
National Society for
Sale of Surpluses (PE)
Board of directors

22

6 representatives of 18 representatives of economic in- 3 representatives of the staff occupvarious ministries
terests : co-operative distribution
ied in the press distribution undersocieties 3 ; press organisations 9 ;
takings, appointed by the most
sellers of newspapers and periodirepresentative trade unions
cals 2 ; commercial undertakings
participating in distribution of the
press 1 ; S.N.C.F. 1 ; Air-France 1 ;
road carriers 1
11 representatives of
various ministries

6 representatives of trade and 5 representatives of workers : C.G.T.
industry : retail trade 3 ; wholesale
2 ; C.F.T.C. 1 ; C.G.A. 2
trade 1 ; automobile industry 1 ;
engineering industry 1 ; the first .
three chosen from a list of 6 persons
proposed by the National Association for allocation to commerce,
and the others appointed on the
proposal of the C.N.P.F.

National
Social
Security Fund
Board of directors
(PE) «

3

>
M

O
!z¡
t>
tri

M
oo
tel
ö

ö
00

S)
M

H

00

t>

!2¡

Ö

a
Ü
H

w
DO

1

Ahbreinaiions : PE : public establishment ; ME : companies of " mixed economy ", i.e., partly owned by the State. * The administration of these
ports (Bordeaux, Le Havre, Strasbourg) is provided for by a director and by a board on which there is a harbour worker appointed by Decree and chosen
out of the list of candidates submitted by the trade unions and heads of gangs or foremen taking part in the actual carrying out of the handling of the goods
on the quays of the harbour. * The Act of 2 December 1945, nationalising the Bank of France, lays down that the composition of the governing body
and the regulations of the Bank are to be amended by an Act which should already have been passed. Under the Act of 25 July 1936, the governing
body consists of the Governor, the two Assistant Governors, the three auditors and 20 councillors, two of whom represent the shareholders, nine the collective
interests of the nation, and more especially the public banking interest, and nine economic and social interests. Among the latter there is a representative
of the staff of the Bank of France, a representative of consumer co-operatives, a representative of the Confederation of Handicraftsmen, a representative
of the C.G.T., a representative of the Assembly of Chairmen of Chambers of Commerce and a representative of the Assembly of Chairmen of Chambers
of Agriculture, etc. * For composition, see p. 87.

ADMINISTRATION AND CONTROL

129

The workers are represented either directly—this is the
usual method—or indirectly through another body of which
they are one of the constituent elements. Thus, the governing
body of the National Fund for Electrical and Gas Equipment
does not include representatives of workers in these industries,
but they are indirectly represented through the fact that the
national and distribution services of these industries and the
National Credit Council have seats on that body.
I n order to apply the general principle of tripartite representation (public authorities, consumers and workers), the number of
workers in the various bodies which have been considered is
generally equal to that of each of the other categories, t h a t is
to say, equivalent to one third of the number of the members
composing the body in question. This rule is not absolutely
strictly applied. I n State administrations and offices and companies of mixed economy the number of representatives of the staff
is less than the number of the Government representatives, but,
with a few exceptions, it is at least equal to t h a t of the consumers.
The proportion of representatives of the staff in the total number
is less than one third in the bodies which include more than three
categories of members each having an equal number of representa• tives, such as the Higher Council for Gas and Electricity (10
representatives of the staff out of 60) and the National Credit
Council (10 representatives out of 38). On the other hand, in
the boards of directors of the local coal-working agencies the
representatives of the staff are the most numerous, in view of the
all-important part that labour plays in the mining industry.
The qualifications of the workers' representatives vary according
to the nature of the organisation. As a general rule, in the boards
of directors of undertakings strictly so called, seats are reserved
for the staff of the undertaking itself. In the ease of a body extending beyond the undertaking, the representatives of the workers
sit as representing the general interests of the workers, part of
the seats being however reserved for workers nominated by the
industry in question. This applies to the National Credit Council
(three representatives of the general interests of the main workers'
organisations and four representatives of the technical and managerial staff and employees of the banking industry) and the boards
of directors of the nationalised deposit banks (four representatives of the trade unions of bank employees, two of whom
must belong to the technical and managerial staff and be
employees of the bank concerned). I n certain cases the workers

130

NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES AND UNDERTAKINGS

have, apart from their qualified representatives, representatives
appointed as consumers, as in the case of the Bank of Algeria and
the National Insurance Council.
The representation of the workers within t h e organisations
in question generally brings together t h e various categories of
the staff : wage earners, salaried employees, foremen, engineers
and technical and managerial staff. Often t h e salaried employees
and foremen on the one hand and the engineers, heads of services
and technical and managerial staff on t h e other are represented
jointly. However, the governing bodies of the National Industrial
Office for Nitrogen and t h e Petroleum Administration, for instance,
include four distinct categories of representatives : wage earners,
salaried employees, foremen, heads of services and engineers. The
technical structure of each industry sometimes brings out special
distinctions among t h e staff (sea-going and shore staff in shipping
services, and air and ground staff in air services) or special
categories of staff (general agents in insurance, professional
journalists in press undertakings).
The number of representatives of each category of staff varies
with the industries. While representatives of wage earners are
most numerous in industries proper, representatives of salaried
employees are most numerous in the case of banks and insurance
companies.
The appointment of members of the bodies directing or controlling nationalised undertakings results from Government
action—decree or ordinance. Members representing workers or
consumers are usually appointed on t h e proposal or nomination
of those concerned b y the trade unions or other most representative
organisations. The Government only ratifies the choice of the
organisations, except for the governing body of t h e National
Office for Aeronautical Study and Research, in respect of which
the Minister can choose from a list drawn up b y the most representative workers' organisations.
I n t h e appointment of directors of t h e Alsace potash
mines, the Renault Works Administration, and the Petroleum
Administration, t h e members representing t h e staff are chosen
from among t h e representatives on t h e works committees of
these establishments or proposed b y these committees, whereas
in t h e governing body of the Paris Transport Administration
t h e y are elected by t h e staff itself.
The allocation of seats between the various trade union centres is
dealt with b y definite rules only in t h e case of t h e constitution

ADMINISTRATION AND CONTBOL

131

of the board of directors of the National Association for the Sale
of Surplus Stores. I n the other organisations the trade unions
have each a number of seats corresponding to their numerical
strength on a national basis or on the basis of the industry or
the undertaking.
Control of Management
The control of undertakings in the nationalised or semi-nationalised sector is subject to various special controls, in order t h a t
the interests of the various parties, the national community as
a whole, consumers and wage earners should be safeguared. As
the case may require, this control is carried out b y Parliament,
by the State, or by bodies specially established for this purpose.
The public authorities have endeavoured to facilitate control
through publishing the accounts and introducing a plan for
accountancy.

L a s t l y , c e r t a i n n a t i o n a l i s a t i o n A c t s h a v e laid d o w n

the responsibilities of the administrators.
CONTROL BY PARLIAMENT

Each of the nationalised industries or undertakings is placed under
the supervision of a Minister, who can be required to give explanations
in Parliament as to the working of the establishments which he controls.1
Furthermore, in the case of the mineral fuel and electricity and gas
industries, the Minister responsible for them must submit to Parliament
every year a report on their situation accompanied by documentary
evidence.
A measure of a general character taken at the beginning of 1947
provides that the financial situation of nationalised undertakings is
to be brought every year to the knowledge of Parliament, and that,
both in the National Assembly and in thé Council of the Republic,
subcommittees having powers of parliamentary enquiry shall be
instructed to follow and judge the management of nationalised industrial undertakings and companies of a mixed economic character.
The members of these subcommittees have powers to carry out examinations on the spot and examine documents.2
STATE CONTEOL

All national autonomous establishments of an industrial or commercial character or other establishments which apply for financial
assistance from the State are subjected to an economic and financial
control exercised by State controllers who are under the authority
of the Ministers of National Economy and Finance. The control of
1
A general debate on the management of nationalised undertakings took
place in the National Assembly in J u n e 1947 (J.O., June 1947). See p . 137.
2
Act of 21 Mar. 1947 (Art. 70), amended b y Act of 3 July 1947, J.O., 25 Mar.
1947, p . 2,767, and 4 J u l y 1947, p . 6,215.

132

NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES AND UNDERTAKINGS

economic activities extends to questions of equipment, production,
exchange and allocation of products, occupational organisation and
financial control of all operations liable to have a direct or indirect
financial effect. The State controllers have all powers to investigate
on the spot and they can attend in an advisory capacity the meetings
of all the boards of directors of the establishments in question.1
CONTROL BY A SPECIALISED BODY

The accounts of public State establishments of an industrial or
commercial character and of nationalised undertakings and mixed
companies in which the State owns at least half the capital are audited
by an ad hoc committee set up by the Act of 6 January 1948.2
This committee, which has very large powers of investigation,
submits to the Ministers concerned reports on the accounts of the
undertakings and expresses an opinion as to the quality of the commercial and financial management of the latter. It also submits every
year to Parliament and the Prime Minister a report on the activities
and results of the controlled undertakings, suggests any changes that
it considers necessary in the structure or organisation of the undertakings, and expresses its view concerning future prospects.3
PUBLICITY OF ACCOUNTS

The reports and accounts of the boards of directors of certain
nationalised undertakings (mineral fuel, gas a n d electricity, the aircraft

construction companies, etc.) are published in the Journal officiel.
APPLICATION OF THE ACCOUNTANCY PLAN

Since the main nationalisations date from the end of 1945 and 1946,
the first results of the new management were to appear at the beginning
of the year 1947. In order to facilitate supervision, the Government
at the beginning of 1947 took the preparatory measures for the application of the accountancy plan prepared by the Committee for the
Standardisation of Accounts 4 , and from 1 January 1947 public services
of an industrial or commercial character, nationalised undertakings, and
industrial or commercial companies in which the State owns more
than 20 per cent, of the capital are obliged periodically to produce
balance sheets giving in standardised form all the information essential
for a clear view of their economic management, and to submit these
reports to the competent Ministers. These measures took on a permanent character when the general accountancy plan was adopted. 4
1

Ordinance of 23 Nov. 1944, J.O., 16 Dec. 1944, p . 1,726.
J.O., 7 J a n . 1948, p . 199. This committee is composed of officials of the
Audit Office and representatives of the Ministers of Finance and of Economic
Affairs.
3
A Decree of 12 Nov. 1947 (J.O., 13 Nov. 1947, p . 1,197) had already
authorised the Government to set up committees of enquiry for the purpose of
proposing measures and rules calculated to improve the organisation and working,
and reduce the cost of public establishments of an industrial and commercial
character and companies of mixed economy. Such a committee was a t once set
up for the mineral fuel industry.
4
See p. 53.
2

ADMINISTRATION AND CONTROL

133

RESPONSIBILITY OF ADMINISTBATOKS

The Acts nationalising mineral fuel and electricity and gas lay
down not only that the administrators are responsible at law for their
management under the same conditions as administrators of limited
liability companies, but also that penal proceedings can be initiated
against administrators or general directors, in particular for endeavouring to hide the real position of the establishment, or for using the property
or credit of the establishment or the powers that they possess in a
manner contrary to the interest of the undertaking or in order to assist
a company in which they are directly or indirectly interested. Furthermore, should a financial year result in a loss, the administrators of
the public establishment in question may be kept in office only by a
special decision of the competent body. Furthermore, this body may
at any moment dismiss them for a serious error of management.

Profit Sharing
In the nationalised undertakings a special problem arises—
what should be done with the profits, should there be any, i.e.,
with the credit balance at the end of the financial year, after
deducting all paying off of capital, payments for establishment
of reserves, charges and liabilities, etc.
I t may be argued that the three groups of interests—public
authorities representing the general interest, consumers and staff
—should each have a share in the profits. The part to be used
in the public interest could be paid into the State budget, which
is used for the benefit of the national community. A reduction
in the cost of products or services could represent the consumers'
share. The staff might receive its share directly in the form of
increased wages or annual bonuses, or indirectly through grants
to workers' welfare services. Lastly, the community as a whole,
consumers and staff, might all derive advantage in the future
from the allocation of part of the profits to the renewal or modernisation of equipment and plant.
So far as concerns more particularly the share of wage earners
in one form or another in profits, we will merely recall here the
measures taken for t h a t purpose in the regulations of certain
nationalised undertakings—the local coal mining agencies, the
Saar Mines Administration, the Insurance Company for Foreign
Trade, the Alsace potash mines, and the National Industrial
Office for Nitrogen.
The share of the staff in the profits is either allocated to staff
welfare services or divided between the members of the staff and such
services.

134

NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES AND UNDERTAKINGS

In the coal agencies and the Saar Mines Administration, these
sums are allotted to welfare services only. The fraction of net profits—•
after meeting the expense of paying off debentures to holders of property
transferred to the establishment in question for the coal agency, and
after meeting the charges for paid-off loans and advances by the Treasury
to the Saar Mines Administration—may not exceed one fifth.
Allocation between the staff and the welfare services is provided
for by the regulations of the Insurance Company for Foreign Trade,
the Alsace potash mines and the National Industrial Office for
Nitrogen.
In the Insurance Company for Foreign Trade, after deduction
from the net profits of the sum necessary for paying a dividend of
5 per cent, to the shareholders, 10 per cent, of the balance is divided
among the staff, in accordance with regulations adopted by the board
of directors (and, should a works committee be set up, on the proposal
of the latter), and 10 per cent, to the welfare organisations of the company and the union activities of the staff, which are allocated by the
board of directors (or, should a works committee be set up, by the
latter).
The regulations of the Alsace potash mines lay down that, out
of the net yield of working, after deductions for paying off industrial
liabilities and the establishment of reserves, of the remaining balance
10 per cent, shall be allocated partly to welfare work and partly (not
less than half) to the share of the staff in profits. These sums must
be allocated in accordance with the following provisions : a first fraction,
equal to 10 per cent, of the total amount of the sum, will be allocated
to staff welfare work, according to the methods fixed each year by
the board of directors of the mines on which staff representatives sit ;
the remaining 90 per cent, will be divided between all wage earners
and salaried employees whose employment contract in the mines
has not been interrupted during the year for reasons other than death,
retirement, military service, sickness or absence authorised by the
regulations. This allocation shall be made on the following basis :
four fifths by equal individual shares for all persons concerned and
one fifth pro rata according to years of service in the Government
mines since 1 January 1924, the date on which these mines were repurchased by the State (this applies to workers who have at least
three years' service in the Government mines, the rate being one share
per year of service). The right to these latter allocations applies to
only half the sums in question in the case of workers and employees
who have not yet reached the age of 17 during the year in respect of
which the profits are to be distributed.
In the National Industrial Office for Nitrogen only the staff of
the directorate (director-general, heads of service and engineers) have
a direct share up to 2 per cent, in the net profits after reckoning
the results of previous financial years and deduction from the credit
balance of the profit and loss account with a view to providing for
paying off of liabilities, maintenance and establishment of reserves.
Staff social welfare work and provident funds receive 5 per cent.
of the profits.
In certain companies of mixed economy the State has endeavoured
to associate the staff with the output of the company. This is the
case, for instance, in the railways, whose regulations, established by
the agreement of 31 August 1937, lay down that the staff shall receive
bonuses according to the technical and commercial results of management.

ADMINISTRATION AND CONTROL

135

The staff of the Paris Transport Administration also receive a
bonus based on receipts, the financial results of working, and the technical results, the regulations for calculation and allocation of which
will be fixed in the rules of the Administration and the staff regulations.
Furthermore, in nationalised undertakings, as in undertakings of
the private sector, in accordance with the legislation on works committees,
the sums formerly allocated to welfare work for the various undertakings will continue to be paid, but it cannot be said that it is actually
a division of profits, since these sums and their allocation appear in
the expense account of the undertaking. This question has been dealt
with by regulations in respect of the electrical and gas industries.
The sums " allocated for improvement of the welfare work of these
industries " are covered by a levy on the receipts of the gas and
electricity distribution services ; they may not be less than 1 per
cent, of these receipts.

Staff Regulations of Nationalised Industries
Not only do the staff of each of the four main nationalised
industries and of certain nationalised undertakings or undertakings of mixed economy participate in the administration
through their representatives in the various governing or managing bodies; they also have the advantage of special regulations
which associate them even more closely with t h e industry or
undertaking, within which they are guaranteed rights and advantages of very varying character.
I n certain of the industries these regulations already existed,
in others they have been recently established. The Act nationalising banks laid down t h a t " nothing shall be changed in the staff
regulations of the nationalised banks, including the Bank of France ' '.
The Act nationalising insurance contained exactly the same
provisions, but added that the regulations should be revised and
adapted by the National Insurance Council, in collaboration
with the most representative corresponding trade unions, all the
advantages acquired by the staff being kept in the new regulations.
Miners were given special regulations 1 several months before the
nationalisation of the mineral fuel industry, and the rights granted
b y these regulations were recognised on t h e nationalisation of t h e
industry. The regulations were extended to the staff of the
electrical and gas industries 2 shortly after the passing of t h e
Act nationalising these industries.
1
Act of 14 Feb. 1946, J.O., 15 Feb. 1946, p. 1,362 ; Decree of 14 June 1946,
J.O., 15 J u n e 1946, p . 5,274.
2
Decree of 22 J u n e 1946, J.O., 25 J u n e 1946, p. 5,680 ; cf. I.L.R., Jan.-Feb. 1947,
p. 115.

10

136

NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES AND UNDERTAKINGS

These last regulations are, therefore, the most recent and for that
reason are particularly interesting, since they reflect the tendencies at
present prevailing. They were drawn up in collaboration with qualified
representatives of the most representative unions of the staff. With
few exceptions they apply to all persons in the mining and electricity
and gas industries, whether nationalised or not. Only those provisions
of the regulations will be considered here which concern joint committees,
since these make it possible to appreciate the role played by the staff
itself through its representatives in respect of its position in the undertaking. 1
The organisation and grading of these committees are part of the
very structure of the industry. The staff regulations for miners establish
joint committees for discipline and conciliation on a local basis (mines,
factories and undertakings), on a district basis (groups of mines or
mine fields), on a regional basis (mineralogical districts) and on a
national basis. The national staff regulations for the electricity and
gas industries provide for the establishment of a Higher National
Committee and subsidiary committees, all of them joint committees.
In their territorial field, and so far as their competence goes, these
committees deal, among other things, in the coal industry with the
application of the staff regulations, with the establishment of internal
rules, the examination of all complaints by workers concerning engagement, dismissal and disciplinary punishments 2 , with the settlement
of collective and individual disputes affecting workers 3 , the granting
of scholarships for study, etc., and, in the electrical and gas industries,
with questions concerning recruiting, classification, change of employment, discipline, apprenticeship, advanced training, application of
the provisions of the staff regulations to social security, individual
claims, etc.
The national regulations of the staff of the electrical and gas
industries also provide for the establishment of joint production committees and the institution of the national council for social welfare
work already referred to.
As a result of the special staff regulations, the staff of the
nationalised industries or undertakings enjoy stability of employment and conditions of work which, in a general way, are more
favourable than those prevailing in privately managed undertakings.
1
These regulations determine, among other things, the composition and
grading of staff, the conditions and rules for employment, promotion in a given
category and promotion to another category, discipline, conditions of employment
and dismissal, wages, bonuses, deliveries in kind and other conditions of work,
hours of work, overtime, weekly rest, paid holidays a n d special leave, special
advantages, particularly from the military point of view, the situation of those
concerned in respect of recent legislation as to social security, etc. They also deal
with apprenticeship and vocational training, recognise the right of association
and provide for t h e exercise of it, organise t h e representation of workers, and
provide for the constitution and working of joint committees.
2
I n case of disputes certain punishments only become executory if the competent joint committee agrees.
3
At the district level individual questions concerning engagement, dismissal,
promotion, and disciplinary punishments concerning a salaried employee, foreman
or an engineer are examined by separate committees on which are represented
only the employer and the workers of the same grade as the employee concerned.

ADMINISTRATION AND CONTROL

137

Scheme for Unifying the Regulations of Public Undertakings
The preceding summary shows, as is mentioned in the Inventaire
de la situation financière1, a lack of harmony in the regulations
and rules of management of State undertakings which are sometimes in the form of industrialised or commercialised public services and sometimes of administrations, offices, public administrations for economic purposes, limited liability companies, companies
of mixed economy or national companies. This diversity of
regulations leads to a certain confusion. The determination of
the legal regulations of each undertaking gives rise to uncertainties,
whereas the type of organisation chosen at random often leads to
different solutions for very similar and even identical situations.2
At the end of 1945 the Council of State raised the question of
unifying the regulations for public undertakings, and several
m o n t h s l a t e r a c o m m i s s i o n s e t u p b y t h e V i c e - P r e s i d e n t of t h e

Council for Administrative Reform was instructed to draw up
draft model regulations. The work of this commission resulted
in a number of Bills embodying different ideas, which were laid
before the National Assembly in 1947.
During an important discussion in the Assembly on the management of nationalised undertakings in June 1947, several speakers
asked that public undertakings should very shortly be given
common regulations. The Minister of Industrial Production
himself recognised that such regulations were necessary and
urgent. The debate ended by the adoption of a resolution in
which the National Assembly paid tribute to the " efforts to
increase production made since the liberation by the staff of the
nationalised undertakings, and expressed its confidence that the
staff would continue its efforts to ensure the success of these
undertakings ", declared that it was resolved " to apply the
legislation concerning nationalisation in order to establish firmly
the credit of the nationalised undertakings, fixing as soon asi
possible their permanent holdings and providing for their financial
equilibrium and their industrial and commercial character ", and
emphasised that publicity should be given to the results of the
national undertakings, " which can only be improved by allowing
1

See p . 109.
Report of t h e Committee of t h e Economic Council charged with t h e study
and preparation of a scheme for general regulations for public undertakings (Bulletin du Conseil économique, 13 Nov. 1947, p . 392).
2

138

NATIONALISED INDFSTEIBS AND TTNDE;RTAKINGS

each grade to exercise the share of initiative and responsibility
proper to it apart from any consideration of trade union or
political affiliations, and without affecting the rights of the works
committees and trade unions ", and lastly requested the Government to bring forward as soon as possible draft regulations for
public undertakings. 1
In the meantime, the National Assembly, having had the
above-mentioned Bills laid before it, referred them to t h e Economic
Council for its opinion. The latter, in an opinion given on
6 November 1947 after long discussion, pointed out t h a t " t h e
increasing interventions of the State in the economic sphere have
resulted in the creation of a new form of undertaking which, in
varying degrees, has the double character of an industrial or
commercial undertaking and of a public service or service of
general interest ". I t was of opinion " t h a t the industrial or
commercial purpose of these undertakings requires t h a t their
management should approximate as closely as possible to t h a t
of private companies " and on the other hand " t h a t t h e public
character of these undertakings, whose holdings all belong to
the nation, requires effective control ", and after having noted
" t h a t the legal forms at present existing cannot fully meet this
double requirement, the term chosen for them, namely, ' public
undertakings ', is a perfect definition and t h a t it is urgent to
put an end to a transitory régime, the lack of unity in which,
due to the circumstances, would eventually prejudice the national
interest ", proposed to give the public undertakings regulations,
the text of which it submitted to the National Assembly.
Without going into the details of the provisions of these regulations, it may be noted that the " public undertakings ", whether
undertakings having a monopoly or a quasi-monopoly or forming
part of the competitive sector, must be managed by a board of
directors of tripartite composition (public authorities, staff and
consumers) and that there should be established a higher council
for t h e purpose of supervising the accounts of public undertakings. 2
The nationalisations, and particularly the four main nationalisations—coal, electricity and gas, banks and insurance—are of
too recent date for it to be possible to form an opinion based on
t h e results obtained, especially as economic conditions have been
1
2

J.O., 21 J u n e 1947, p . 2,288.
Bulletin du Conseil économique, 13 Nov. 1947, p. 392.

ADMINISTRATIOSr AND CONTROL

139

particularly unstable since the nationalisation took place. These
industries, moreover, remain subject to the control of prices, wages,
credits, etc., and, therefore, are not entirely freely managed, and
the coal and electricity and gas industries have to meet considerable
expenditure on equipment. For these two industries and for
the railways certain data will be found in the conclusions, which
will give a general idea of their activities.

PART III

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

INTRODUCTION

The third part of this study is devoted to an examination of
the way in which workers collaborate in t h e operation of undertakings in general, both privately owned and nationalised, in
the social and economic fields. I t does not, however, touch on
their direct participation in the management of nationalised
undertakings through direct representation on the board of directors, since t h a t has been dealt with in Part I I .
There are a variety of bodies and institutions through which
workers participate in the life of an undertaking. In two of these
institutions, safety delegates and staff delegates^ only the staff
are represented. The former operate mainly in the technical
sphere of the workers' safety, while the latter are entrusted with
the defence of their interests. Other bodies are the joint committees for co-operation, in which the head of the undertaking
or his appointees and the representatives of the staff sit side by
side ; they comprise the health and safety committees, the works
committees and similar bodies, the joint production committees
and the so-called management committees. The latter are sometimes composed exclusively of representatives of the staff, whose
specific duty it is to assist the management, in an advisory
capacity, in the working of the undertaking.
The first of these bodies to be established was that of safety
delegates for miners (1890). Staff delegates were given legal
status in 1938, on the eve of the second world war, but the origin
of this institution, from which all the others spring, dates back
to the end of the 19th century. The safety committees, established
in 1941 under the Vichy Government, were replaced in 1947
by the health and safety committees. In May 1944 the Provisional
Government of the French Republic at Algiers formed the first
joint production committees. At the liberation various committees
were instituted, either spontaneously or following a decision by
the Commissioners of the Republic, in a number of undertakings,
among them the so-called management committees. Early in
1945 an Ordinance was issued establishing works committees,

144

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

which were given their definite status by the Acts of 16 May 1946
and 7 July 1947.
For the sake of clarity we shall deal first with the agencies
which defend the workers' interests, i.e., the staff delegates ;
secondly, with those whose sphere of action is safety, i.e., the
safety delegates and the health and safety committees ; and
thirdly, with the machinery for co-operation in the economic
and social field, i.e., the works committees and similar bodies.

CHAPTEK I
STAFF DELEGATES

Origin and Development
Progressive industrialisation brought in its wake the necessity
of defining the relations between employers and wage earners with
a view to solving the problems which arise out of daily work in
an undertaking. Trade unions, although legally recognised in
1884, for a long time found it extremely difficult to participate
in the life of the undertakings because employers were willing to
negotiate only with the direct representatives of their own employees. This led by degrees, towards the end of the 19th century,
to the idea of setting up staff delegations in undertakings to act
as intermediaries between employers and wage earners. The
delegations were originally independent of the workers' organisations, but later came under their control.
Before the outbreak of the first world war the establishment
of staff delegations was a matter for private initiative and only
17 such delegations were operating in 1914.1
During the first world war Albert Thomas, Minister of Armaments and subsequently first Director of the International Labour
Office, saw in staff delegations a means of avoiding the labour
conflicts which a t the end of 1916 were endangering the industrial
war effort. On 5 February 1917 he sent a circular to the military
controllers of manpower in the armaments factories calling their
attention in these words to the advantages of the system of staff
delegates :
I am convinced that a great many incidents would have been
avoided if all manufacturers had maintained continuous relations with
the workers, and for this reason I regret that the system is not more
generally applied of holding periodic conferences between staff delegates
and the management. It is in the interest of manufacturers and workers
alike that continuous relations should be established between them.
1
An enquiry by t h e Ministry of Labour showed t h a t the first was set up in 1880
(MINISTRY OF LABOUR : Règlement amiable des conflits collectifs du travail).

146

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

Dissatisfaction and the regrettable misunderstandings which derive
therefrom are due most frequently to the fact that one party is not
informed of the intentions of the other.
Other circulars x invited the controllers in more imperative
terms to take action with the management of factories within
their jurisdiction with a view to the establishment of staff delegations.
Meanwhile, Albert Thomas was called in personally to mediate
in a conflict t h a t had broken out in the Renault works. He succeeded in bringing the management and representatives of the
staff to an agreement which stipulated the establishment of staff
delegations. The experience thus gained led him to issue another
circular 2 stressing t h a t the functions of these agencies should not
be limited to investigating complaints made by workers and transmitting them to and discussing them with the management. They
should also have a part in " the application of wage scales and
health and safety measures ", and in improving production b y
informing the management of " new methods, processes and
machinery which render work more productive, improve the
utilisation of equipment, economise raw materials, reduce the
workers' fatigue, etc.". Thus t h e seeds of the various agencies
of staff representation in operation today were already contained
in t h a t circular.
Unqualified success did not crown the introduction of staff
delegations a t t h a t time. They were set u p in only 347 plants,
and three years after the war they had disappeared in all but 62.
The almost complete failure of the experiment is due to two causes.
Employers feared that the delegations might become too powerful
a n d t r y to control the management of undertakings. The workers'
organisations were disappointed because they did not at the
outset obtain through those agencies a more effective voice in
management. However, special machinery for staff representation,
which is still in operation today, was set up in the railways in 1920.
I n 1936 more propitious circumstances led to a new, and this
time decisive, step forward. The victory of the parties of the
left in the legislative elections, which strengthened the position
of organised workers politically, and the reconstitution of the
trade unions on a unitary basis brought about a movement which
promoted the introduction of a new system of relations between
1
2

Circulars of 17 Mar. and 24 J u l y 1917.
Circular of 6 Sept. 1917.

STAFF DELEGATES

147

employers and wage earners and placed the workers' organisations
in a better position to press their claims and at the same time
to prepare the way for the economic role t h a t they wished to
play in undertakings.
Moreover, the Government was conscious of the necessity of
organising and defining the relations between workers and employers and directing them towards a policy of co-operation
calculated to ensure the maintenance of social peace. This led
to the " Matignon Agreement " of 7 June 1936, concluded in the
presence of the Premier, Mr. Léon Blum, between the representatives
of the C.G.T. and those of the General Confederation of Employers,
which in addition to other provisions stipulated t h a t in establishments employing more than 10 workers there should be two or
more workers' delegates appointed by agreement between the
workers' organisations or the parties concerned.
The Act of 24 J u n e 1936 x, passed a few days later, laid down
that collective agreements between employers and employees
must contain provisions for " the appointment in establishments
employing more than 10 persons of delegates elected by the staff
from among their number and empowered to transmit to the
management individual complaints that had not received satisfaction relating to the application of wage scales, the labour
code and other laws and regulations aimed at the protection,
health and safety of the workers ; which delegates, once elected,
could if they so desired obtain the assistance of a representative
of their union ". In this Act we find, expressed in practically
identical terms, the ideas set forth by Albert Thomas in his circular
of September 1917.
The Act merely defined the underlying principle ; the method
of implementation was to be determined by collective agreements.
The status of staff delegations laid down by these agreements
served as a basis for the authors of the Legislative Decree of 12
November 1938.2 This Decree was in turn utilised in drafting
the current regulations in 1946. Meanwhile, the working of the
system was menaced at the beginning of the war by the Decree
of 10 November 1939 3 concerning labour conditions during the
hostilities, and finally suffered a temporary eclipse under the
Vichy Government. 4
1

J.O.y 26 June 1936, p. 6,698; L.S., 1936—Fr. 7.
J.O., 21-22 Nov. 1938, p. 13,198; L.S., 1938—Fr. 16.
s
J.O., 16 Nov. 1939, p. 13,298; L.S., 1939—Fr. 22 A.
4
I.L.R., Mar. 1942, p. 269.
2

148

CO-OPERATION I N THE UNDERTAKING

After the liberation there was some uncertainty as to the
functions of staff delegates. The texts of the Acts of 1938 and
1939 were incompatible, and neither of them harmonised with
recent social legislation. ÎSiew regulations were therefore drawn u p
in the Act of 16 April 1946 \ amended by the Act of 7 July 1947 2,
which introduced the system of proportional representation in
t h e election of the delegates.
Present Position of Staff Delegates
SCOPE

The legislation concerning staff delegates applies to the metropolitan territory of France, Algeria, t h e departments of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion and French Guiana. 3
Staff delegates are appointed in all industrial, commercial and
agricultural establishments 4, Government offices, the professions,
public companies, workers' organisations and associations which
give permanent employment to more than 10 workers. 5
NUMBER OP DELEGATES AND THEIR E L E C T I O N

The total number of staff delegates depends on t h e number
of workers employed in the establishment. Starting with one
in establishments employing 11 to 25 workers, it increases progressively to nine in establishments where 501 to 1,000 workers
are employed. From 1,000 employees upwards there is one delegate for every additional 500 workers. An equal number of deputy
delegates are elected.
For the purpose of representation by the delegates the staff
of the undertaking is divided into two groups, one comprising
the manual workers and salaried employees and the other engineers,
1
J.O., 17 Apr. 1946, p . 3,224; cf. I.L.R., July-Aug. 1946, p . 95. The provisions
of this Act were commented on and defined in two Ministerial Circulars dated
7 May a n d 21 J u n e 1946 respectively.
* J.O., 8 J u l y 1947, p . 6,391.
3
The conditions under which the Act will apply to colonies are to be laid
down in Decrees based on reports of the Minister of Labour and the Minister for
France Overseas.
4
An Order dated 12 Apr. 1947 (J.O., 13 Apr. 1947, p . 344) established a number
of special conditions for application in agricultural undertakings. I n agriculture
the functions entrusted b y the Act to labour inspectors are attributed to the
inspectors of social legislation.
5
For the mining industry, see p. 156. I n the S.N.C.F. the present regulations
concerning staff delegates were established by a collective agreement concluded
in 1938 between the company and the National Federation of Railway Workers.

STAFF DELEGATES

149

heads of sections, technicians, supervisors, etc. The number and
composition of t h e groups may, however, be altered by agreement
in accordance with the technical composition of the staff of t h e
undertaking. 1 Moreover, tradition has sanctioned the custom of
setting up a group for each plant of an important undertaking.
The allocation of the staff to the various groups and t h e allocation of the seats among the different categories are decided
by agreement between the head of the undertaking and the workers'
organisations concerned. If no such agreement can be reached
the decision rests with the labour inspector.
The presentation of t h e lists of candidates, t h e conditions for
eligibility and the right to vote, and the method of election are
t h e same as in t h e case of members of works committees, with
the only difference that t h e right to vote is not dependent on
t h e possession of French nationality. As in t h e case of t h e works
committees the Act of 7 July 1947 has replaced t h e majority
s y s t e m with, a s y s t e m of p r o p o r t i o n a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n . 2

TERM OF OFFICE AND FUNCTIONS

Staff delegates are appointed for one year and are re-eligible.
Grounds for termination of office are death, resignation, cancellation of contracts of employment, or loss of qualification for
election.
1
The C.G.T. a n d the C.F.T.C. hold divergent opinions on the groups question.
The C.G.T. favours bringing all wage earners into a single group, while the C.F.T.C.
advocates distribution in four groups for manual workers, salaried employees,
foremen, and technical and managerial grades, respectively. The national collect i v e agreement governing the conditions of banking staff provides for three groups,
one for salaried employees and two for higher staff (J.O., 13 Sept. 1947, p . 9,154).
2
The question of the representation of different trade union tendencies which
might exist side b y side within t h e undertaking h a d already been raised. The
C.G.T. expressed the following opinion on the subject :
" The system of proportional representation should not be applied here, since
it sacrifices t h e authority of t h e staff delegates t o t h e search for absolute
equality of the workers' organisations. When they face the employer the s t a S
delegates must represent the maximum cohesion of the 'working class'. This
does n o t imply t h a t one workers' organisation m u s t automatically eliminate the
other. I n m a n y cases, no doubt, the solution which has already given good results
will be adopted, i.e., a single list compiled by the organisations on a proportional
basis will be presented to the wage earners. Moreover, a t the first ballot a n
elector m a y split u p his vote to suit his personal taste. But, while this amicable
form of proportional representation, established before the elections, is most
desirable, the enforcement b y the law of proportional representation after the
elections would have a deleterious effect on t h e agency. For, if a n amicable agreem e n t cannot be reached, to impose it by compulsion would very often involve
sacrificing the interests of the working class to the ill-understood principle of
freedom of organisation " (C.G.T. : Les comités d'entreprise. Les délégués du personnel, op. cit., pp. 61-62). The C.F.T.C. on the other hand has always favoured
proportional representation.

150

CO-OPEKATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

A staff delegate may be revoked during his term of office if
a proposal to t h a t effect advanced by the organisation t h a t presented him is approved by the secret ballot of a majority of the
group to which he belongs. This provision is of the greatest
importance and transforms in fact the representative function
of the delegate into a mandatory function. 1 I t very forcibly
stresses t h e fact t h a t t h e appointment of t h e delegates rests with
the workers' organisations.
The Act lays down that there is no incompatibility between
the functions of a staff delegate and those of a member of the
works committee. The same person may perform both. Moreover, in undertakings where there is no works committee t h e
staff delegates perform, within certain limits, in addition to their
own specific functions as delegates, some of those usually allotted
to the members of works committees. How this dual function
may be performed will be seen later.
The head of the undertaking must allow t h e delegates sufficient
time within working hours for the performance of their duties ;
in principle the time occupied in this way should not exceed 15
hours a month. 2
The head of the establishment is also obliged to place premises
at the disposal of the delegates.
The staff delegates are received in a body at least once a month
by the head of the establishment or his representatives. 3 I n urgent
cases they may be received on their request. According to the
questions to be discussed they may also be received either singly
or in groups, or according to plant, department or speciality.
They may also, at their request, obtain the assistance of a representative of their union. 4 If the undertaking is a limited company
1

P . BAYART : Comités d'entreprise. Délégués du personnel (Paris, 1946), p. 202.
The Minister of Labour considers it very desirable t h a t agreements should be
reached in larger undertakings with a view to increasing t h e time stipulated by the
Act so as to enable the delegates to fulfil their mission satisfactorily (Ministerial
Circular of 7 May 1946).
3
Reception of the delegates is governed by t h e following procedure. Except
when rendered necessary by unusual circumstances the delegates transmit a
written communication two days before the date on which they wish to be received,
briefly explaining the object of their demand. This communication is entered
by order of the head of the establishment within six days in a special register in
which his answer is also noted. This register must be accessible to the labour
inspector and, for one working day every fortnight outside the hours of work, the
staff of the establishment.
4
I n this connection the question has been raised whether such union representatives should be employees of the undertaking or not. From the discussion
in the Constituent Assembly it would seem t h a t they are " u n i o n representatives
from outside the u n d e r t a k i n g " . This interpretation automatically entails the
2

STAFF DELEGATES

151

and the delegates wish to present complaints which can only
be dealt with after a decision by the board of directors, they may,
if they so desire, be received by the board in the presence of the
manager.
Staff delegates are specially protected as regards tenure of
employment. If the management wishes to dismiss a delegate
or deputy it must ask the consent of the works committee.
I n case of disagreement on this point dismissal is subject to the
consent of the labour inspector. Nevertheless, in the event of
grave misconduct, the head of the undertaking is authorised to
order the immediate suspension of the person concerned, pending
the final decision. If there is no works committee in the establishment the question is submitted directly to t h e labour inspector.
The C.G.T. sees in this provision " an additional guarantee of
the delegates' fidelity to the interests whose defence is entrusted
to them ".
T h e p r o v i s i o n s r e l a t i v e t o s a n c t i o n s for a t t e m p t s t o o b s t r u c t

the free appointment of delegates or to hamper them in the regular
performance of their functions are the same as those laid down
by the Act concerning works committees.
POWERS

Since staff delegates are appointed in establishments employing
more than 10 workers and works committees and health and
safety committees are only set up where at least 50 workers are
employed, the former constitute, as a rule, the only agency of
staff representation in establishments employing from 11 to 49
workers. For this reason the law has vested in staff delegates
in undertakings where there are no works committees or health
and safety committees all or part of the duties allotted to those
agencies. Therefore the functions of the staff delegates are more
extensive in small establishments than in those in which works
committees and health and safety committees are set up.
The specific powers of the staff delegates are of three different
kinds : two are concerned essentially with the defence of the workers' interests, while the third enables the delegates to fulfil the
duties of the works committees and health and safety committees
employer's right to obtain the assistance of a representative of his organisation,
a step which may be useful when the question concerns the application or interpretation of trade union agreements (P. BAYART, op. cit., p. 203).
11

152

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

where those agencies do not exist (establishments with 11 to
49 employees) or to take part in them where they have been
instituted (establishments employing 50 or more workers).
The first task of the staff delegates is to transmit to the employer individual or collective complaints which have not received
direct satisfaction concerning the application of wage regulations 1 ,
the labour code and other laws and regulations on the protection,
health, safety and insurance of t h e workers. This means t h a t the
delegates may transmit complaints from the staff on all questions
of social legislation. However, the workers have the right to
express in person their grievances to their employer and to defend
their point of view before him. 2 Therefore a complaint may be
presented to the employer either by the worker himself, or by
the staff delegate, or by the latter accompanied by a representative
of his union.
I n the second place the staff delegates can bring to the attention
of the labour inspectorate complaints or observations on the
application of provisions of laws or regulations which he within
its sphere of control. When the labour inspector carries out an
enquiry relative to a complaint or observation of this kind he
may be accompanied by the competent delegate. The presence
of t h e delegate is compulsory when t h e inspection is t h e result
of an observation or complaint transmitted by a delegate. 2
Thirdly, when there is a works committee in the establishment,
the staff delegates are empowered to transmit thereto suggestions
and observations from the staff on all matters in which the committee is competent to act, such as welfare services, increase of
production, etc. If, however, there is no works committee, the
functions of the staff delegates are more extensive and include
the right to transmit to the employer all suggestions which aim
at improving efficiency or touch on the organisation of the undertaking in general. In this case t h e y are also authorised to express
their opinion on t h e internal rules of t h e undertaking. 3 Moreover,
in collaboration with the head of the undertaking, they control
the operation of all the welfare institutions organised in the establishment. They are " associated in this respect in the management
with the head of the undertaking but do not perform any managerial functions independently of him ". 2

1
2
3

See p . 185.
Ministerial Circular of 7 May 1946.
See p. 184.

STAFF DELEGATES

153

Finally, if there is no health and safety committee in the
establishment, the staff delegates are also entrusted with the
task of seeing that health and safety regulations are applied
and of proposing measures to be taken in case of accident or of
serious outbreaks of occupational diseases.
EFFECT OF COLLECTIVE AGREEMENTS

An extremely important clause, which reproduces a clause
included in the Act concerning works committees, lays down that
the provisions of the Act do not controvert those relative to the
appointment and functions of staff delegates included in collective
agreements even if such agreements were concluded before the
Act was promulgated. However, the provisions of the Act relative
to eligibility and the right to vote, which the Government view
as a public function, admit of no exceptions. In the case of old
collective agreements, their application is subject to the consent

of the parties concerned.1
Furthermore, the new system of collective agreements expressly lays down that such agreements may contain provisions
concerning staff delegates.2
In this way the system of staff delegations is sufficiently
flexible to enable the delegations to adapt themselves to any
peculiar conditions existing in the undertakings in which they
are to operate.

1

Ministerial Circular of 21 May 1946.
The national collective agreement on the work of banking personnel determines the number of groups (see p. 72) and the method of election of the delegates.
2

CHAPTER II
SAFETY DELEGATES AND
HEALTH AND SAFETY COMMITTEES
Origin and Development
At the Socialist Congress of Eastern France in 1881, a miner
demanded " legal recognition of miners' delegates to accompany
the mine inspectors visiting the scene of accidents and collaborate
in the drawing up of their reports, in view of the fact that such
reports very often favour the companies as a result either of
corruption or of a lack of practical knowledge, or because they
are based on measures taken after the accident "-1
After negotiations and discussions lasting nine years the Act
concerning miners' delegates, which established the first workers'
delegation within the undertaking, was passed on 8 July 1890.
The scope of this delegation was very limited ; it merely enabled
the staff to participate in the adoption of certain measures aimed
at ensuring safety.
Delegations of a similar character were later instituted in
other industries where the danger of accidents was particularly
great, such as railways (1931), commercial aviation (1932) and
powder mills (1938). Joint organisations in which both staff
and management were represented were set up for similar purposes
in other industries. Thus, in the merchant marine, committees
entrusted with the task of watching over safety on board ship
have been in operation since 1907 ; they include representatives
of the seamen.
Moreover, private initiative had led to the establishment of
prevention committees in a number of undertakings. In 1929,
according to statistics published by the Ministry of Labour 2 ,
49 safety committees were operating in France. Of these, 22
included representatives of the workers, while 27 were composed
exclusively of representatives of the supervisory staff.
1
a

H . DuBREUHi : Employeurs et salariés en France (Paris, 1934), p. 439.
Bulletin du ministère du Travail, 1930.

SAFETY AND HEALTH

155

I n 1941 the Vichy Government set up safety committees in
certain industrial and commercial establishments ; their task was
to see to the application of laws and regulations aimed at the
workers' safety and to ensure the maintenance of protective
equipment. The necessity of introducing a more democratic
system of staff representation and the advisability of co-ordinating
the operations of the safety committees with that of the works
committees led to the suppression of the former in 1947. They
were replaced by the health and safety committees and given
new status. 1
Safety Delegates
Safety delegates are appointed in mines 2, powder mills, explosives factories, State shell and cartridge filling plants 3 , commercial aviation 4 , and the railways. 5 The status of these delegates varies with the structure and technical characteristics of
the industry concerned.
I n the mines there is one delegate and one deputy in each
underground area 6 ; in the powder mills, three delegates and
two deputies in each main plant. On the railways local delegates
are appointed : one delegate and two deputies to each establishment
where there is a special joint committee or to work with the chairman
of each collective joint committee. There are also regional technical
delegates—one delegate and two deputies for each of the 11
groups of staff—in each regional service and each joint occupational
committee of these services. I n this way a close connection is
established between t h e safety delegates and the joint staff committees. In commercial aviation there are separate delegates for
the flying and ground staffs.
The delegates are elected by the staff of the relevant establishment for a term of two or three years. Certain conditions are
attached to election and eligibility, notably seniority in the industry
or establishment.
1

Decree of 1 Aug. 1947, J.O., 2 Aug. 1947, p. 7,554.
The terms of reference of the workers' delegates for the safety of pit workers
—termed miners' delegates—were established in 1890 and amended several
times, the last occasion being the Decree of 2 May 1938 (J.O., 4 May 1938, p . 5,015 ;
L.S., 1938—Fr. 4). They form p a r t of the labour code.
3
Act of 8 Apr. 1938, J.O., 9 Apr. 1938, p . 4,235.
4
Act of 11 Dec. 1932, J.O., 15 Dec. 1932, p . 12,882.
5
The regulations governing these delegates, established in 1931, were amended
by the Act of 21 Oct. 1946 (J.O., 21-22 Oct. 1946, p . 8,955).
6
An area comprises, in principle, a system of pits, galleries and yards which
it takes six days to visit thoroughly.
2

156

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

The task of the delegates is, in general, to examine the conditions of safety and health. For this purpose they visit plants,
yards, etc., at regular intervals;e.g., mines twice a month, powder
mills once à month. They must also make additional inspections
whenever there is reason to believe that the safety and health
of the staff are endangered and, if necessary, inform the management
or the inspectorate of any imminent danger. When a serious
accident occurs they must visit the site, investigate the conditions
under which the accident took place, and report to the competent
authorities.
Delegates in mines and powder mills enter in a special ledger
their observations on their visits. This ledger is held at the disposal
of the workers and of the competent inspectorate. It is also
used for recording the observations of the management. At
regular intervals—once a quarter or once a year—the delegates
send a report to the competent inspectorate.
Miners' delegates have the further duty of reporting infringements of the regulations concerning the work of women and children, hours or work, and the weekly day of rest. In their annual
reports they may make suggestions—of a strictly professional
nature—to develop production. They have to attend courses of
instruction organised by the department of mines.
For the pit workers the miners' delegates take the place of
the staff delegates. The miners' code provides also for the appointment of safety delegates for surface workers in the same way
as for pit workers ; these delegates also act as staff delegates.
On the railways the delegates attend meetings of the joint
staff committees at which questions of safety are discussed.
In the powder mills the delegates are bound to observe absolute
secrecy in regard to information on national defence which they
obtain during their visits.
The delegates must be afforded all facilities necessary for
accomplishing their mission. These include, in the railways,
travelling facilities and expenses. The time spent in the performance of their functions is remunerated on the same scale
as time spent at work. In the mines it is paid by the Treasury
and the sums thus spent are reimbursed by the undertaking.
The delegates are enabled in this way to fulfil their duties in
absolute independence.

SAFETY AND HEALTH

157

Safety Committees in the Merchant Marine
The Act of 17 April 1907 on safety and health on board merchant, fishing and pleasure craft, amended by the Act of 16 June
1933 x whose method of implementation was established by the
Decree of 1 September 1934 2, provides t h a t all French ships must
obtain a safety certificate and a sailing licence. These documents
are delivered by the competent authorities after they have established t h a t the ship concerned satisfies all t h e regulations concerning
safety and health. This task is entrusted to a central committee set
up at the Admiralty and to visiting committees in the ports.
These committees include representatives of seamen who act in
an advisory capacity in the former and in a deliberative capacity
in the latter. An appeal against the decisions of these committees
can be lodged with the Minister for the Merchant Marine, who
makes a ruling after obtaining the opinion of a higher appeals
committee, which also comprises representatives of the seamen,
in questions of safety, living conditions or health.

Health and Safety Committees
SCOPE

The regulations concerning the health and safety committees,
established by the Decree of 1 August 1947 3 , provide t h a t these
committees must be set up (a) in industrial undertakings employing
a permanent staff of at least 50 workers ; (b) in commercial undertakings, Government and administrative offices, the professions,
public companies, workers' organisations and associations of all
kinds with a permanent staff of at least 500 persons.
The Minister of Labour can decree the setting up of such committees
in establishments having a smaller staff if this step is warranted by
the character of the undertaking. Furthermore, in undertakings which
are not covered by the above-mentioned regulations the labour inspector
can oblige the employers to set up such committees if their work involves
exceptional danger of industrial accidents or occupational diseases.
On the other hand, the heads of establishments subject to these
1

J.O., 17 J u n e 1933, p . 6,302 ; L.S., 1933—Fr. 5.
» J.O., 6 Oct. 1934, p . 10,169; L.S., 1934—Fr. 8.
3
J.O., 2 Aug. 1947, p . 7,554.

158

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

regulations may be relieved by the district labour director from the
obligation of setting up a special committee if they can prove their
affiliation to a health and safety agency approved by the Minister
of Labour and which ensures safety conditions at least equivalent to
those which would be enforced if a special committee were established-.
Affiliation to an agency of this type may be made compulsory (in lieu
of the setting up of a special committee)—independently of the staff
employed—if the heads of estabhshments belong to categories determined by decree of the Minister of Labour.
Health and safety committees may—if it is advisable, and
subject to t h e assent of the labour inspector—be divided into
sections corresponding t o the various departments of an establishment.
COMPOSITION

Health and safety committees include the head of t h e establishment or his representative, who acts as chairman, t h e head of
the safety service (or t h e officer in charge of safety or, if there
is no such officer, the head of a section or an engineer appointed
by t h e employer), who acts as secretary, t h e medical officer of
the establishment or group of establishments, the female labour
adviser, if there is one, and representatives of the staff. I n
estabhshments or departments of estabhshments corresponding
to a section of the committee and employing not more than 1,000
workers t h e committee includes three staff representatives, one
of whom represents t h e supervisory staff. I n estabhshments or
departments with over 1,000 employees there are six staff representatives, two of whom represent t h e supervisory staff.
If there is a works committee in t h e establishment, this committee, assisted by the staff delegates, chooses t h e representatives
of the staff, guided by considerations of technical knowledge or
fitness for duties connected with health and safety. Where there
is no works committee the representatives of t h e staff are elected
by t h e same procedure as that employed in electing staff representatives to works committees.
Members of health and safety committees are appointed for
one year and are re-eligible.
Once established, the committee may request the collaboration
of a n y person it considers duly qualified and also of agencies
specialising in the prevention of accidents.

SAFETY AND HEALTH

159

OPERATION

I n undertakings where works or plant committees have been
established the health and safety committee operates as a subcommittee of the works committee.
Health and safety committees must meet at least every three
months, unless relieved of this obligation by the labour inspector.
They must also hold a meeting after the occurrence of any accident
which has or might have had serious consequences. Meetings
take place in the estabhshment and as far as possible during
working hours. The time spent by staff members of the committee
in meetings and individual missions entrusted to them by the
committee is paid for as working time.
The minutes of the meetings and the reports drawn up by
the committee are entered in a register which must be held at
the disposal of the labour inspector. The same applies to statistics
of accidents and occupational diseases compiled by the committee.
A member of the committee may at any time ask to see the
book in which are entered notices from the labour inspectors
to the heads of establishments ordering the application of legal
regulations concerning the health and safety of the workers.
FUNCTIONS

The duties of health and safety committees include the investigation of any serious accident or case of occupational disease,
i.e., which results in death or is liable to cause permanent invalidity,
or which reveals the existence of grave danger even if its consequences were averted ; the inspection of the estabhshment to
see that the provisions of laws, regulations and orders on safety
are applied and that protective equipment is kept in working
order ; the organisation of instruction for fire and first-aid squads
and the enforcement of the orders concerning these services ;
the development by all adequate means of the sense of occupational
risk ; the giving of advice on all measures relating to their mission,
particularly safety regulations and orders.
If a staff representative on the committee discovers an imminent danger he must at once give notice to the head of the safety
service and make a note in the register mentioned above.
The committees must also forward to the Minister of Labour
through the intermediary of the labour inspectorate a report on
any serious accident t h a t occurs, or any accident which reveals

160

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

the existence of grave danger, even if its consequences are averted,
and an annual report on their activity, including statistics showing
the results of accidents in relation to their causes and the age
and sex of the victims.1
These functions show that health and safety committees are
entrusted with a mission of the first importance in the prevention
of accidents.
There is a close connection between these committees and
the works committees, owing to the part played by the latter
in the appointment of stafí representatives on the health and
safety committees and also to the fact that health and safety
committees operate as subcommittees of the works committees.
Although health and safety committees are entrusted with specific
functions they are to a certain extent integrated in the works
committees.2

1

Order of 11 Aug. 1947, J.O., 23 Aug. 1947, p . 8,631.
An Order of the Minister of Labour also lays down the conditions for the
establishment of liaison between health and safety committees and the technical
social security committees, both regional and national.
2

CHAPTER

III

WORKS COMMITTEES i
The works committees are on the same footing as the health
and security committees which are associated with them, t h a t is,
they are joint organisations on which both staff and management
are represented.
Other committees function alongside the works committees—
joint committees for production and management committees—
whose powers and duties come within the general framework of
those of the works committees. All these committees will here
be studied together. An account will be given of how they began,
with a brief reference to the ephemeral existence of the social committees set u p under the Vichy régime. 2

Background
SOCIAL COMMITTEES UNDER THE LABOUR CHARTER

The joint social committees which were the " cornerstone " of
the Labour Charter established by the Vichy Government 8 constituted in respect of each group of occupations a pyramid having
as its base the social committees for each undertaking and at
the peak the national social committee, with local and district
social committees at the intermediary stages.
The social committees in the undertakings were compulsory bodies
for co-ordination between employers and wage earners set up in establishments employing not less than 100 wage earners ; they included the
head of the undertaking and representatives of all categories of the
staff.4
1
The periodical Droit Social (Feb. 1948, p . 69) published a " Bibliographie
méthodique sur les comités d'entreprise " prepared by Mr. A.-H. ADRIAN.
2
Before the institution of these committees various experiments were made
in France with a view to associating staff in the working of undertakings. See on
this subject P . BAYABT, op. ciK, p . 87.
3
Report to the Head of the State accompanying t h e text of the Labour
Charter.
4
The Charter contained no indication concerning t h e method of nomination

(footnote continued overleaf)

162

^ C O - O P E R A T I O N I N THE UNDERTAKING

Their powers and duties excluded any interference in the direction
and management of the establishment ; subject to that reservation,
they were to assist the management in settling questions connected
with the work and life of the staff in the establishment, exchange information concerning the social life of the staff and their families, and
carry out work of mutual assistance. These committees were also
to be the " normal channel for all suggestions of a general character
made by the staff ". They could express their opinion at the request
of the management or on their own initiative 1 , and they inherited
the powers of the staff delegates.2 Welfare schemes were to come
progressively under their supervision without being managed by them.
The joint local, regional or national social committees consisted
in each group of occupations of an equal number of representatives
of employers, wage earners, salaried employees and other categories
of staff. Their duties were of an occupational and social character
and excluded any political or religious activities.
The local, regional and national social committees, like the
compulsory single unions established b y the Charter, were unable
by reason of the inertia or resistance of the working class to establish themselves and to work in a general and normal manner.
On the other hand the social committees for each undertaking
had a certain success which was due above all to the fact t h a t
many of them undertook to facilitate the supply of food for workers
and organise canteens. On 1 J a n u a r y 1943 t h e Office for Social
Committees estimated their number at about 4,700. After the
liberation the working class abandoned them, though most of
their welfare organisations continued to work.
J O I N T COMMITTEES FOR PRODUCTION

While these experiments in social committees and safety committees were being made under the occupation, there were two
new developments, one in France and t h e other in Algeria.
In France, the resistance movements were organised and the
underground National Council of Resistance was established,
on which t h e C.G.T. and the C.F.T.C. were represented. On 15
March 1944 this Council prepared a programme of action for
the day when France would be liberated. I t more particularly
of staff representatives. A first Ministerial Circular of 15 Dec. 1941 rejected t h e
nomination by the management as being " contrary to the spirit of the Charter " .
Later the Circular of 21 July 1942 recommended t h a t the agreement of the unions
should be secured in the composition of t h e social committees, t h a t former staff
representatives should be included in the committees and t h a t members should be
elected, with the participation of at least two thirds of those concerned.
1
Ministerial Circular of 15 Dec. 1941.
2
Ministerial Circular of 21 July 1942.

163

WOEKS COMMITTEES

provided for the re-establishment of staff delegates, the right
of access within the undertaking to posts in the management by
workers having t h e necessary qualifications and the participation
of workers in the direction of the economy.
I n Algeria, the Provisional Government established in June
1943 endeavoured to develop armament production and particularly the production of material for aircraft. The task was
difficult under the conditions of North African industry. With
limited premises, material and labour, increase of production
depended essentially on the degree of output of the factories,
which itself depended on the organisation of labour, the best use
of equipment, reduction of waste time, etc. The Commissioner for
Air, basing his action on the results obtained in Great Britain, t h e
United States and Canada by production committees, set up by
Decree of 22 May 1944 l joint committees for production in
aircraft construction establishments. These committees, which
were presided over by a director of the undertaking, and
consisted of representatives of the higher staff, foremen, technicians and workers, had as their task the study of suggestions made b y t h e staff with a view to improving the output of
the undertaking and proposing the application of the suggestions that they accepted. Their definite object was the increase
of production. They had nothing to do with social questions
or the financial management of the undertakings.
When the Provisional Government moved to France, the
Decree of 22 May 1944 was made applicable to the metropolitan
territory and the next year joint committees for production were
established in naval arsenals and establishments 2 and in war
establishments and services of an industrial and commercial
character. 3 I n 1946 all these committees were unified. 4
LIBERATION COMMITTEES AND MANAGEMENT

COMMITTEES

At the moment of the liberation of France the movement
to establish works committees took on a new character. The
owners or managers of a number of undertakings had worked
for the occupying power and they now fled from fear of reprisals
or were arrested. The staff of these undertakings, guided by the
1
J.O. (Algiers), 27 May 1944, p. 421 ; cf. I.L.R., Sept. 1944, p. 364.
'J.O., 25 Jan. 194S, p. 366.
3
J.O., 5 Aug. 1945, p. 4,869.
4
Decree of 25 Feb. 1946, J.O., 27 Feb. 1946, p. 1,704.

164

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

free union organisations which had suddenly appeared from
their underground existence, took steps to prevent the destruction
of t h e factories by the Germans, to guard them, restart them or
keep them working and, if possible, increase their production.
Sometimes these movements were directed by the local authorities,
t h e municipalities, the liberation committees or t h e Regional
Commissioners of the Republic. Thus there were established,
spontaneously on the initiative of t h e staff, liberation committees
or union organisations, or by t h e authorities or sometimes by
agreement between the staff and t h e unions on t h e one hand and
t h e management which had remained on t h e spot on t h e other
hand, committees having more or less extensive powers which
sometimes, if not legally, a t least in practice, went as far as
complete management of the undertaking by t h e staff.
In various districts, particularly in the neighbourhood of Lyons,
there were set up, on the initiative of engineers and technicians belonging to the Union of Engineers and Technicians (UNITEO), patriotic
committees for each undertaking, who, in an advisory capacity, exercised in the economic field the functions of production committees and
in the social field that of the former social committees.
In the Toulouse district, as a result of the initiative taken by the
liberation committees in aircraft construction establishments, negotiations were set on foot between the representatives of these establishments, the delegates of the liberation committees and the delegates
of the metal workers' union and the technicians' union to which the
wage earners of the establishments in question belonged. These negotiations resulted, on 12 September 1944, during a meeting held under the
chairmanship of the Regional Commissioner of the Republic, in an
agreement setting up in seven aircraft construction establishments
joint committees for production similar to those set up by the Algiers
Decree of 22 May 1944, but having more extensive powers.1 The
representatives of the management on these committees must have
had a patriotic attitude during the occupation ; of this the liberation
committee of the establishment was the only judge.
Committees of the same character were also spontaneously established in certain railway services.
In several regions, particularly in those of Lyons, Marseilles and
Toulouse, the Commissioners of the Republic requisitioned or sequestrated a certain number of undertakings which had been deprived of their
directors, and provided them with an administrator assisted by an
advisory management committee. This happened at the coal mines
of Gard, Hérault, Tarn and Aveyron, the Berliet establishments at
Lyons, the Nord steelworks at Marseilles, the Toulouse tramways,
etc. In several cases, as will be seen later, these committees, though
legally only entitled to act in an advisory capacity, took an effective
1
They were empowered to exercise supervision which would permit of " effective
control of all the technical, administrative, commercial a n d financial machinery
of their respective establishments, so t h a t t h e latter should be a t t h e service of
the undertaking and the undertaking itself a t t h e service of t h e nation " .

WOEKS COMMITTEES

165

share in the management of the undertakings so that the administrator,
who also enjoyed the confidence of the staff of the undertaking, took
no decision without having previously come to an agreement with his
committee. Such committees were also set up in certain private undertakings, by agreement between the management which had remained
on the spot and the staff represented by its union organisations and
the liberation committee of the undertaking, which agreements were
ratified by the boards of directors of these undertakings.
When the central administration was established, other undertakings were also requisitioned or sequestrated and provided with
administrators nominated by the Administration for State Property
or by the Minister for Industrial Production, alongside whom advisory
bodies were set up.
Lastly, in many undertakings, de facto bodies—often management
committees, the formation of which was provided for by the Ministerial
Circular of 20 November 1944—took the place of the social committees
for each undertaking and made themselves responsible for providing
for the continuity and working of social activities, certain of which,
such as canteens, supply services, etc., were then of great practical
importance.
W O R K S COMMITTEES

Thus a few months after the liberation there were a number
of bodies playing a part in the working or management of undertakings in very diverse ways. Some of them had a legal basis,
others were founded by collective agreements, and others again
resulted from a simple de facto situation. Their powers, constitution and working, were not governed by any uniform rules. Most
of them, however, dealt with social activities, directed their efforts
towards increasing production and were desirous, if they were
not already doing it, of exercising a right of supervision over the
management of the undertaking.
Such a state of things could not continue, and in the autumn
of 1944 %he Government contemplated " establishing in an organic
manner ", as the President of the Provisional Government declared
on 2 October 1944 at Lille, " collaboration between those who
work and those who direct ", and thus carrying out the promises
contained in the programme of the National Resistance Council
and the appeals made from London or Algiers before the liberation.
For this purpose in December 1944 the Council of Ministers
submitted to the Provisional Consultative Assembly for its opinion
a draft Ordinance concerning the establishment of works committees. The explanatory statement showed at once how necessary and desirable this institution was :
The great popular movement which has freed France from the
enemy was not only a movement of national liberation. It was also

166

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

a movement of social liberation. In the underground resistance, as in
London on the staff of General de Gaulle, schemes for the economic
and social reconstruction of France were prepared. One of the ideas
which is present in almost all the schemes is the necessity for associating
workers in the direction of the economy and the management of undertakings. As soon as the country was liberated, committees for production or management committees were set up spontaneously in a great
number of factories. The object of these committees everywhere
was to set in motion again the industry necessary for the war effort
and increase its output. There is no doubt also, as has been shown
by the experience gained during four years in Great Britain, in the
United States and in Canada, that the participation of staff in committees of this character may, in this respect, have very fortunate
results. The time would seem to have come to legalise and generalise
the existence of these bodies.
When submitting this scheme, the Minister of Labour made
it clear that the institution which.was contemplated had a triple
purpose : (1) to associate the worker to a large extent with the
life of the undertaking in which he works ; (2) to secure an increase
of output ; (3) to help forward the evolution of an élite class of
workers. The Assembly unanimously approved the principle and
on many points proposed amendments to the preliminary Government draft.
The Ordinance of 22 February 1945 1 which established works
committees did not take account of all the suggestions of the
Assembly, and excited disappointment and discontent among
workers' trade unions.
Fifteen months later, on the proposal of t h e socialist group,
the Constituent Assembly revised the Ordinance of 22 February
1945. The Act of 16 May 1946 2 extended the scope of the institution and increased the powers of works committees, and also
provided for changes in their constitution, composition and working. I n the following year the Act of 7 July 1947 altered the
conditions for election of members of the committees 3 , replacing
majority representation by proportional representation.

1
J.O., 23 Feb. 1945, p . 954 ; L.S., 1945—Fr. 8 A ; I.L.R., J u n e 1945, p . 770.
Legislative provisions were made later for the application of this Ordinance,
particularly the Order of 23 Feb. 1945 as amended b y the Order of 11 Dec. 1945,
setting up the Higher Committee on Works Committees, and the Decree of 2 Nov.
1945 concerning the powers of works committees in respect of the management
of welfare schemes. Furthermore, several ministerial circulars have given interpretations of the legal provisions.
2
J.O., 17 May 1946, p . 4,251 ; L.S., 1946—Fr. 8 ; I.L.R.,
July-Aug. 1946,
p . 93. A Ministerial Circular of 31 J u l y 1946 commented on the provisions of the
Act of 16 May 1946 and gave directives with regard to them.
3
J.O., 8 J u l y 1947, p. 6,390 ; L.S., 1947—Fr. 4.

167

WORKS COMMITTEES

Present Status
A mere analysis of the provisions of the laws or regulations
would not be sufficient to give a picture of the works committees
and their position in the life of the undertakings and in industrial
relations. The legal texts establish between two parties, employer
and staff, new legal relations. Their application creates a certain
social atmosphere which depends on the idea that each of the
parties has rights and also duties in connection with the undertaking, which henceforth tends to become a centre of production
where capital, technical skill and labour meet for the purpose
of co-operating.
Furthermore, employers and workers of one undertaking are
bound to those of other undertakings through their occupational
organisations which give at a higher level directives from which
the members benefit. This has been done on the one hand by
the French National Employers' Council (C.N.P.F.)1, and on the
other by the workers' confederations (C.G.T.2, C.F.T.C.3 and
C.G.C.).4 I t would therefore seem necessary to show objectively
through practical examples how and in what spirit, sometimes
with reservations, the regulations fixed by the law are applied,
by the parties concerned—regulations, which in the last result
must be adapted to the special conditions of each undertaking.

1

Cf.

CONSEIL NATIONAL

D U PATRONAT FRANÇAIS : Le

Comité

d'entreprise

(Paris, 1946) and Note sur les attributions du comité d'entreprise en matière économique
et financière, 1947. Cf. also (1) the letter sent by the C.N.P.F. on 27 Apr. 1946 t o
the Prime Minister on the occasion of the change in the Ordinance of 22 Feb. 1945
concerning worlts committees ; a n d (2) t h e report adopted by t h e Chamber of
Commerce of Paris on 20 Mar. 1946 a t t h e moment when the Bill t o modify t h e
Ordinance of 22 Feb. 1945 was submitted for examination by the Labour Committee
of the Constituent National Assembly {L'Usine nouvelle, 11, 18, 25 Apr. and 2 May
1945).
2
Cf. CONFEDERATION GÉNÉRALE DU TRAVAIL : Les comités d'entreprise. Les
délégués du personnel, containing a n analysis and commentaries on the Ordinance
of 22 Feb. 1945 and t h e Acts of 16 May 1946 a n d 16 Apr. 1946 (Paris, 1946).
Reference m a y also be made to " Fonction des syndicats et des comités d'entreprise
and " L'extension des pouvoirs d u comité d'entreprise ", published b y H . JOURDAIN, secretary of t h e Federation of Workers i n t h e Metallurgical Trades
(C.G.T.), in Servir la France, Apr. and July 1946, and above all the pamphlet Les
Comités d'entreprise. Principes d'orientation et de fonctionnement, published i n 1947
b y t h e Federation of Workers in t h e Metallurgical Trades (C.G.T.).
3
Cf. Le comité d'entreprise. Principes et fonctionnement, by H . SINJON, SecretaryGeneral of t h e Paris Regional Federation C.F.T.C. (Paris, 1945) ; Notre action
dans l'entreprise, by Ch. SAVOUILLAN, Secretary-General of t h e Federation of
Metallurgical Workers (Paris, C.F.T.C, 1946).
4
Cf. Les comités d'entreprise and Journée des comités du 26 Janv. 1947 (C.G.C.).
12

168

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

ADAPTATIONS OP REGULATIONS
H I G H E R COMMITTEE FOR W O R K S COMMITTEES

Regulations for the works committees were an innovation.
They cannot immediately be perfect, and even if they were perfect
a t any moment, changes in circumstances of all kinds which
determine the life of an undertaking would make constant adaptation necessary. I n this task of constantly keeping the regulations
up to date and informing the persons responsible for supervising
their application, the competent ministerial services are assisted
by a Higher Committee for Works Committees attached to t h e
Ministry of Labour. 1
This committee, which includes 14 representatives of the
public authorities, seven representatives of the employers and
seven representatives of wage earners (three of the C.G.T., two of
the C.G.T-F.O. and two of the C.F.T.C.) is responsible for keeping
itself informed concerning the application of the regulations
concerning works committees, contributing b y its advice to a
settlement of the difficulties which might arise therefrom and
in a general way studying all measures which may appear to
it to be desirable for providing for the good working of the committees. Since its constitution it has done useful work in the form
of opinions dealing more particularly with the texts of draft
decrees and ordinances, laving down the method for applying
the Ordinance of 22 February 1945 and of the Act of 16 May 1946
which it amended, or the text of circulars sent out by the Minister
of Labour to labour inspectors in order to communicate the intentions of t h e Government and to give directives.
ELASTICITY OF THE REGULATIONS

The legislation concerning works committees contains a very
important provision which allows of all kinds of extensions and
adaptations liable to increase considerably the scope of the legal
provisions and adjust them to the very variable conditions of the
undertakings. I n fact this legislation provides t h a t it " does
not stand in the way of provisions concerning the working or
1
Order of 23 Feb. 1945, J.O., 25 Feb. 1945, p . 996 ; amended b y Order of 20 Apr.
1948, J.O., 6 May 1948, p . 4,393. Before t h e amendment of 20 Apr. 1948 t h e
committee included 10 representatives of the public authorities,, six employers'
representatives and six workers' representatives (four of t h e C.G.T. and two of
the C.F.T.C).

WORKS COMMITTEES

169

powers of works committees resulting from collective agreement
or customary practice ".
The Minister of Labour has drawn the attention of the labour
inspectors to this provision in the following terms :
" This provision is particularly intended to make possible the renewal
of agreements /concluded after the liberation, which have, in a great
many establishments set up committees with powers more extensive
than those provided for in the Decree. In principle, I am of the opinion
that these agreements constitute interesting experiments, and I ask
you to take steps to have them renewed, save, naturally, in cases where
they have led to unsatisfactory results, particularly as to productivity
of labour. 1 ... Furthermore, if in certain undertakings the employer
and the trade unions prefer other methods to the system set up by
the Decree, they are free to conclude an agreement to that effect. But
in both cases, the powers of the committee must be at least equal to
those fixed by legislation, and the representation of the staff must
not be less than that laid down by law." 2
The C.G.T. also stresses this clause. " The provisions of the text
of the Decree are only a legal minimum ", it stated, " and there is
nothing to prevent improvements being made in it in collective agreements ", and it alludes to the management committees set up at the
time of the liberation which " have powers much greater than those
recognised in the present Decree, since most of them, indeed, have
an active share in the management of the undertakings ' '. The federation
of metal workers of the C.G.T. urged the union organisations of factories
and the elected members of committees to endeavour to conclude
agreements more extensive than is provided for by legislation, both as
regards the constitution of the works committee and its operation.
The employers were more reserved. This provision, stated the
C.N.P.F., affords the legal support on which, in spite of the defects
of the law, the fair application of which in its healthy clauses would
annul the provisions which at present appear to be unfortunate, an
institution can be built whose future will depend mainly on the spirit in
which it is used. Heads of undertakings have, in this respect, the
right to claim from the workers' organisations the greatest impartiality
and the greatest objectivity and a clear recognition of the need for
avoiding any improvisation in a very delicate sphere ; progress can
only be made very gradually, particularly in the present critical economic
situation.
The provision in question was confirmed later b y the Act of
23 December 1946 concerning collective agreements, which
provided that these agreements may contain provisions concerning
works committees " and particularly t h e conditions of financing
the welfare schemes of these committees".
Sometimes collective agreements have served as a basis for
legal texts and have provided for the operation of works committees
pending the appearance of the texts. Thus, immediately prior
1
2

Ministerial Circular of 14 June 1945.
Ministerial Circular of 13 Mar. 1945.

170

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

to the institution of works committees, an agreement signed on
16 January 1945 between the Nord and Pas-de-Calais coal agencies
and the local trade unions organised works committees in the
coal mines of this area.1
A similar agreement was concluded on 19 April 1945 between
the directorate-general of the Alsace potash mines and the representatives of the various unions of the staff.1 It will be seen later
that this provision is often used to introduce special clauses concerning the working or powers of the committees.

SCOPE

The legal regulations concerning works committees apply to
the, metropolitan territory, Algeria2 and the departments of
Guadeloupe, Guiana, Martinique and Réunion. They may be
extended to the overseas territories by a Decree of the Minister of
France beyond the Seas, after an opinion has been given by the
constituted bodies and trade unions of these territories.
Within these areas, the scope of the regulations depends on
t h e n a t u r e of t h e u n d e r t a k i n g s a n d t h e i r i m p o r t a n c e e s t i m a t e d

according to the number of staff they employ. Works committees
must be set up in all industrial and commercial undertakings,
public and ministerial offices, the liberal professions, civil companies,
trade unions and associations habitually employing not less than
50 wage earners.3
1
The essential provisions of these agreements have been taken up again
in the Decrees of 4 May 1945 and 3 May 1947 which established works committees
in the two categories of mines.
2
A Decree of 15 Apr. 1946 had already extended to Algeria the application
of the Ordinance of 22 Feb. 1945. I n its meeting of 19 May 1946, the Chamber
of Commerce of Algiers protested against the application to Algeria of the Act
of 16 May 1946, which, in its opinion, takes no account of the economic, social
and technical conditions in Algeria.
3
The Ordinance of 22 Feb. 1945 laid down t h a t decrees should determine the
public services of an industrial or commercial character, including services operated
under Government control, in which it will be compulsory to set up works committees, a n d also, i n case of need, the particular methods for their composition and
their working. I n order t o carry out this provision, which no longer appears in the
Act of 16 May 1946, such decrees had been issued for the Nord and Pas-de-Calais
coal agencies, the Government-controlled administration of the Renault works
(since then a Decree of 26 Mar. 1947, J.O., 27 Mar. 1947, p. 2,855, has made the
works committee of this Government-controlled body subject to the general provisions of ordinary law), the National Industrial Office for Nitrogen, the Alsace potash
mines and war establishments and services of an industrial and commercial character. I n these latter establishments the committees, whose powers were limited
to questions of production, in practice constituted joint committees for production.
On the railways there are two joint bodies which in composition and powers
are similar to the works committees. On the one hand there are the joint committees,

WORKS COMMITTEES

171

The Act of 16 May 1946 decreased the number of wage earners
required for the compulsory establishment of works committees from
100 to 50. The number of 50 had been proposed by the Consultative
Assembly, but was not maintained by the Government in the Ordinance
of 22 February 1945, which led to energetic protests from the workers'
organisations. The Act of 16 May 1946 met their wishes, but led to
complaints from the employers' organisations. In a letter to the President of the Government, after the adoption of this Act the President
of the C.N.P.F. expressed the following apprehensions :
" It would seem that the consequences of the extension to small
and medium-sized undertakings have not been sufficiently considered.
The additional financial burden is proportionately much heavier in the
case of these forms of activity ; but above all their very possibilities
of production are considerably affected. A large proportion of workers,
who are often very highly skilled, are taken off the timetable of the
establishment. This loss of time, added to that of the staff delegates,
whose number has increased, is incompatible with the maintenance
of output." 1
The Ordinance of 22 February 1945, applicable to undertakings
employing more than 100 wage earners, affected 7,500 establishments and 2,500,000 wage earners out of the 1,800,000 undertakings
and 12,500,000 wage earners in France. The extension to undertakings of 50 to 100 wage earners affected about 8,500 further
undertakings employing 700,000 wage earners.
I n undertakings employing less than 50 wage earners, the
creation of a works committee may be made compulsory by
ministerial decree. I t should be remembered t h a t in undertakings
which have less than 50 wage earners the staff delegates are allowed
to exercise certain of the functions of the works committees.
I n fixing the number of wage earners in the undertaking,
home workers are regarded as part of the staff of the undertaking.
Should one of these workers receive work from several emploj^ers,
he must be attached to the undertaking from which he derives his
main resources, and must only exercise his right of voting in t h a t
which are an adaptation of the works committees to the administrative and technical structure of the S.N.C.F. (decision of 18 June 1946 by t h e Minister for Public
Works and Transport), and on the other hand the labour committees, which have
been long set up with a view to facilitating t h a application of the regulations for
the work of employees of the S.N.C.F.
The Act of 28 Feb. 1948 on the organisation of the merchant marine provides
t h a t the legislation concerning works committees shall apply to shipping companies
under conditions to be fixed before the end of J u n e 1948.
At the beginning of 1948 the Government prepared a Bill extending to the
dockers the legislation on works committees and providing special arrangements.
On 25 May 1948 the Economic Council expressed an opinion favourable to this
scheme while proposing certain amendments (Bulletin du Conseil économique,
26 May 1948, p. 638).
1
This theory had been developed a t length in the report of the Paris Chamber
of Commerce already quoted.

172

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

undertaking. I n t h e same way employees working outside who
collaborate with various undertakings, e.g., commercial travellers
and representatives, must be regarded as belonging t o t h e staff
of t h e undertaking to which they devote their essential activities
and from which they habitually receive the greatest part of their
remuneration. Apprentices, caretakers employed by housing
estates and t h e managers of firms with a number of branches
must be included in the staff.
I n respect of t h e employment of seasonal workers, the normal
number of employees of t h e undertaking should not include temporary labour called in exceptionally in view of an unexpected
increase of work. However, a worker who returns regularly at
the same periods a n d who can prove a normal period of work in
the undertaking of an average of six months a year should be
regarded as attached t o t h e undertaking.

COMPOSITION

The works committee is a joint institution which includes
the head of the undertaking or his representative and a delegation
of the staff composed of regular delegates and an equal number
of substitute delegates ; the latter attend t h e meetings in an
advisory capacity and are thus conversant with t h e activities of
the committee if they have to replace a regular delegate.
The numerical composition of t h e staff delegation depends
on t h e number of wage earners employed in t h e undertaking.
The delegation consists of two regular members and two substitute
members for every 50 wage earners and may rise to a maximum
of eight regular members and eight substitute members if t h e
numbers exceed 2,000 wage earners. These are minimum figures
fixed by the law ; t h e management and t h e wage earners m a y
agree to increase t h e number of representatives of the staff.
REPRESENTATION OF T R A D E U N I O N S

I n order to be informed as t o t h e manner in which t h e committee works, every representative trade union recognised b y .
the undertaking may nominate a representative to attend t h e
meetings of t h e committee in an advisory capacity. 1 For this
1
During the discussion of the Act of 16 May 1946 in the Constituent Assembly,
the reporter of the Labour Committee justified this provision as follows : " I t

WORKS COMMITTEES

173

purpose, " the organisations which have been recognised as such
at the time of the elections and therefore allowed to submit candidates " should be regarded as representative.1
In principle, the representative of the union must belong
to the undertaking unless there is a friendly agreement with
the head of the undertaking.2
ELECTION OF MEMBERS AND CONDITIONS or

APPOINTMENT

The staff representatives on the works committee are appointed
by election, the essential rules of which concern the setting up
of electoral bodies, the drawing up of lists of candidates, the
conditions for voting, eligibility and the counting of votes.
Electoral Bodies
T h e legislation p r o v i d e s t h a t i n o r d e r t o r e p r e s e n t t h e v a r i o u s

categories of the staff in the works committee, two separate electoral bodies shall be set up, one for wage earners and salaried
employees and the other for technical and managerial staff (engineers, heads of services, foremen, etc.).3 In undertakings which
employ more than 500 wage earners, engineers and heads of services must have at least one permanent delegate. However, this
category of staff must not constitute a separate electoral body
and, as is laid down in the Circular of 31 July 1946, " t h e nomi-

is normal t h a t in an advisory capacity a trade union delegate who works in the
undertaking should represent his union in order to prevent disputes which might
arise between the members of a works committee and the members of the union
sitting on the committee ". On this subject the C.G.T. fears t h a t " under the pretext of avoiding hypothetical disputes the door of the committee may be opened
to representatives of unions who have not obtained a seat during the elections ".
On its side the C.N.P.F. recommends its members to " see to it t h a t none of the
organisations either of workers or of technical and managerial staff should be
excluded by the others and t h a t any organisation which is definitely represented
in the undertaking should be able to exercise this right ".
1
Ministerial Circular of 31 July 1946. The Circular of 4 Dec. 1947 lays down
t h a t it is also desirable to allow the representation of organisations which, although
not allowed to submit candidates for the first vote, have nevertheless obtained seats
on the second vote. Organisations created after the elections may be represented
if it appears from the number of union members belonging to them t h a t they may
be regarded as representing one or more categories of wage earners.
2
Ministerial Circular of 31 July 1946.
3
This provision would not seem to be compulsory, and it may be decided
by agreement t h a t there should be only one electoral body. Furthermore, in
certain special activities there m a y be more t h a n two bodies. This is particularly
the case in the stevedore undertakings of the port of Marseilles, where according
to the number of wage earners occupied in each undertaking the staff is divided
into two, three of four electoral bodies.

174

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

nation of the representative or representatives of the technical
and managerial staff must be made by the joint electoral body
of engineers and foremen "- 1
List of Candidates
Elections are carried out on the basis of lists drawn up by
the most representative trade union for each category of staff.
These trade unions therefore draw up two lists 2, one for t h e electoral
body of wage earners and salaried employees, the other for t h e
electoral body of technical and managerial staff, and t h e latter
list must, in undertakings employing more than 500 wage earners,
include at least one engineer or chief of service.
Should there be no trade unions in the undertaking, there are
two possibilities. Either the most representative trade unions for the
occupation and district in question submit lists of non-union candidates
belonging to the undertaking, or they do not submit any names. In
the first ease, if there is not a quorum on the first vote, when the second
vote is taken all the electors may vote for lists other than those submitted by the trade unions. In the second case the labour inspector
notes that there are no unions and authorises a vote for the non-union
lists. 3
The allocation of seats between the various categories and t h e
division of t h e staff between the electoral bodies are settled by
agreement between the head of the undertaking and the trade
unions concerned. Should such an agreement not be arrived
at, the divisional inspector of labour takes t h e decision.
Electorate and

Eligibility

For t h e election of staff representatives to the works committee,
the electors are wage earners of both sexes of French nationality,
over 18 years of age, who have worked in t h e undertaking for
six months, and have not been sentenced to any of the penalties
which legally involve exclusion from registration on lists of electors.
Wage earners of both sexes of any nationality who have worked
1
This interpretation is also t h a t adopted by the Court of Cassation (7 Mar.
1947). Nevertheless, in many undertakings a vote has been taken in three electoral
bodies ; in the Creusot establishments, for example, there is an electoral body for
engineers and supervisory staff, one for technicians, draughtsmen and foremen and
one for wage earners and salaried employees. The Act establishing the autonomous
Paris Transport Administration provides t h a t for the election of the works committee of the undertaking, the electors and the candidates shall be classified in three
electoral bodies : administrative staff ; technical and managerial stafí, foremen
and office staff ; and workers.
2
Unless as a result of a n agreement there are more t h a n two electoral bodies.
3
Ministerial Circular of 14 June 1946.

WORKS COMMITTEES

175

in France for not less t h a n five years and comply with t h e abovementioned conditions are also eligible to vote. Wage earners who
have been sentenced for unpatriotic behaviour (indignité nationale) are deprived of their electoral rights for the period for
which they have been sentenced.
Electors of French nationality or French subjects or protected
persons who are 21 years of age, who can read and write and who
have worked in any undertaking for at least one year, may be
placed on the list of candidates and be elected. This, however,
does not apply to the parents and grandparents or descendants,
brothers, sisters or relations by marriage of the head of the
undertaking.
The labour inspector m a y authorise exceptions to the conditions of seniority in the undertaking provided for above, particularly when their application results in reducing by a quarter
or more the number of wage earners qualified.
Election and Counting of Votes
The methods of election were changed by the Act of 7 July
1947, which set up a system of proportional representation.
Election is by secret ballot and the voting papers are put
in envelopes. There are separate votes for permanent members
and substitute members in each of the occupational categories
which constitute different electoral bodies.
The vote is taken on a list, and there are two votes, with proportional representation. On the first vote, each list is drawn
up by the most representative trade unions. Should the number
of voters be less than half of the electors on the register, within
15 days there is a second vote at which electors may vote for
lists other than those submitted by the trade unions.
The number of seats allotted to each list corresponds to the
number of votes recorded divided by the electoral quotient, which
is equal to the total number of valid votes cast by the electors
of the electoral body divided by the number of seats to be filled.1
1
Should no seat have been filled or should there still be seats to be filled, the
remaining seats are allotted on the basis of the highest average. For this purpose
the number of votes obtained by each list is divided by the number of seats
already allotted t o t h e list plus one. The various lists are t h e n classified
according to the averages thus obtained. The first seat not filled is allotted to the
list having the highest average, and the same operation is carried out for each
seat not allotted up to the last. Should two lists have the same average and there
be only one seat to be filled, the seat is allotted to the list which has the greatest
number of votes. Should two lists obtain the same number of votes, the seat is
allotted to the elder of the two candidates.

176

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

Disputes concerning electoral rights and the legality of electoral
procedure are dealt with by the magistrate, who gives an immediate
decision ; the decision m a y be referred to the Court of Cassation,
where the appeal is taken before the social chamber, which gives
a final decision. 1
Vote by correspondence is permissible on condition t h a t free
and secret voting is ensured. 2 This provision is intended „for
undertakings which have isolated works separated both from
each other and from the central headquarters, e.g., the Petroleum
Administration, which has boring installations scattered over an
area of more than 50 kilometres, and large public works undertakings scattered over the whole country.
Term of Office
The members of a works committee are appointed for one year ;
t h e y can be reappointed.
Their powers cease on death, resignation, cancellation of the
contract of employment or as a result of a legal sentence involving
t h e loss of the right to be elected.
Any member of a works committee may have his powers withdrawn during his term of office on the proposal of the trade union
which proposed him ; such proposals must be approved in a secret
ballot by a majority of the electoral body to which the person
concerned belongs. 3
Exercise of Duties
The head of the undertaking is obliged to allow the permanent
members of the committee the time necessary to carry out their
duties : this may not, save in exceptional circumstances, exceed
20 hours a month. 4 The time is paid as working time. The
same applies to time spent by permanent members in the meetings
1
I n order to reduce to the minimum disputes concerning elections, the C.G.T.
advises trade unions to sign with the head of the undertaking an agreement providing in as much detail as possible the methods for elections, and if necessary, the
organisation of voting by correspondence with all the desirable guarantees.
a
Ministerial Circular of 14 June 1945.
3
This provision, says the C.G.T., is " essentially a democratic measure in accordance with trade union discipline ". I t makes the members of the works committees
responsible to those who appoint them a n d to their trade union and makes the
committee " faithful to its origin, t h a t is t o say, to the trade union " (H. JOURDAIN,
op. cit.). The Paris Chamber of Commerce fears t h a t this provision might menace
the stability of the committee " by exposing delegates to a continual and regrettable
pressure ".
4
The C.G.T. points out t h a t the members of the central works committees
must have 20 hours for the carrying out of their duties in addition to the 20 hours
which are allowed them as members of the establishment committee.

177

WOBKS COMMITTEES

of the committee, which is not deducted from the above-mentioned
20 hours. Union delegates are also paid for the time spent in
the meetings of the committee. Substitutes are entitled to
payment when they replace permanent members. Although the
law does not make it clear, the Minister of Labour is of opinion
that when they attend meetings in an advisory capacity, under
a legal clause, they should be paid in the same way as permanent
members. 1
When circumstances oblige delegates to devote to their duties
hours in excess of normal working hours, these hours are paid
at normal rates and not at overtime rates.
The Minister of Labour calls the attention of labour inspectors
to small and medium-sized undertakings, where the holding of meetings
of the committee during working hours is liable to interfere with production. Indeed, in undertakings of 50 to 100 wage earners, the committee may include a relatively large part of the staff. Furthermore,
the absence of certain specialists or foremen may paralyse the work
of a firm or group of workers. It is therefore desirable that the committee should meet outside working hours, the time spent in the committee being paid for under the same conditions as if it had been held
during working hours.
The C.N.P.P., in the directives which it gives to its members, notes
that " it is for the head of the undertaking to see to it that the committee is conscious of its duties and itself limits the expense and loss of
working time resulting from its functioning ; works committees are
intended to increase output, and should not begin by seriously interfering with the working of the undertaking ".
Safeguard of Members'

Bights

When the legislation concerning works committees was drafted,
it was reahsed t h a t the exercise of the duties of a member of a
works committee might result in friction between the person
concerned and the employer, as a result of which the employer
might dismiss the member of the committee. I n order to safeguard t h e exercise of these duties, any dismissal of a permanent
or substitute member of a works committee contemplated by the
employer must be submitted to the committee for approval.
Should there be disagreement, dismissal can only take place on
a decision approved by the labour inspector. I n the case of serious
misconduct 2 , however, the head of the undertaking is entitled
1

Ministerial Circular of 31 July 1945.
Commenting on the Ordinance of 22 Feb. 1945 and the Act of 16 May 1946,
the C.G.T. stated t h a t under present legislation the following are " serious offences "
which, if clearly proved, would entitle an employer t o break a contract of employ2

(footnote continued overleaf)

178

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

to order the immediate suspension of the person concerned pending
the final decision.
FUNCTIONING OF WORKS COMMITTEES

Chairmanship
The head of the undertaking or his representative is automatically chairman of the committee.
Secretariat
The duties of secretary are entrusted to a permanent member
nominated by the committee.
Material Resources
The head of the undertaking must put at the disposal of the
committee suitable premises to meet in, material and, if required,
the personnel necessary for its meetings and its secretarial work.
Committees
The works committee may set up committees for the consideration of special problems.1 It may attach to them in an advisory
capacity experts and technicians belonging to the undertaking
and chosen outside the committee. The reports of the committees
are submitted to the works committee for discussion.
The problems that may call for the formation of committees
are more particularly the following : problems of a technical
character (examination of suggestions ; if there is a joint committee for production, this field of action is reserved for it) ; problems of an occupational character (improvement of conditions
of work, apprenticeship and vocational training, reclassification
ment without notice : refusal to carry out the work ordered when it is within
the sphere of the worker's normal employment ; b a d work ; wilful ^damage t o
material or tools ; serious negligence in the carrying out of work ; theft ; breach
of trust or drunkenness, etc. On the other hand, delay (unless habitual and considerable) or justified absence do not constitute a " serious offence ". The C.G.T.
recommended trade unions, staff delegates and works committees to oppose the
system of making the head of the undertaking the sole judge of the seriousness
of the offence.
1
This provision of a general character, which was added by the Act of 16
May 1946, had already been laid down by the Decree of 2 Nov. 1945 concerning
the management of welfare schemes, b u t by agreement the works committees had
already set up committees dealing with all kinds of questions. The committees
under the works committee are completely separate and independent of the
committees set up in large establishments by the union section of the establishment (women's committee, committee for young persons, legal committee, etc.),
which are working bodies under the union.

WORKS COMMITTEES

179

of workers, etc.) ; problems of a strictly social character (provident
funds, mutual assistance, housing, workers' gardens, co-operatives,
purchase groups, canteens, various charitable works in favour
of mothers, children, elderly workers, etc.) ; problems of an educational character or connected with the organisation of leisure
(study groups, libraries, choral or musical societies, athletic associations, holiday camps, etc.). Furthermore, the committee for
health and security acts as a committee under the works committee.
The number of committees and their purposes vary as between
the different undertakings. They are generally permanent, but
some may be set up on a temporary basis, for instance, for
organising a fête.
Meetings
The committee meets at least once a month when convened
by the head of the undertaking or his representative. I t may
h o l d a s e c o n d m e e t i n g s h o u l d t h e m a j o r i t y of i t s m e m b e r s so

request. Should the director of the establishment not be available,
a t the request of at least one half of the members the committee
may be convened by the labour inspector and meet with him
in the chair. He cannot commit the undertaking over and above
t h e obligations provided for by the law.
The agenda of the meetings is prepared by the head of the
undertaking and the secretary, and communicated to the members
of the committee at least three days before t h e meeting. When
the committee meets at the request of a majority of its members,
t h e questions attached to the request that it should be convened
must be placed on the agenda of the meeting.
Resolutions are taken by a majority vote. The Decree of
2 November 1945 lays down t h a t they must be taken by a majority
of those present. Failing any other definition it would seem
t h a t the chairman (the head of the undertaking or his representative) does not have a casting vote.
Reports of Meetings
The discussions are put on record in the minutes drawn up
by the secretary and communicated to the head of the undertaking and members of the committee. In practice the minutes,
or at least the essential part of them, are brought to the notice of
the staff by being posted up on notice boards, by the distribution
of tracts or circulars, or by insertion in a works bulletin or journal
managed by the works committee or by the union section of the

180

CO-OPEKATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

undertaking. I n some establishments the members of the committee give an account of their activities at general assemblies
of the staff.
The works committee may decide t h a t t h e records of certain
of its discussions shall be forwarded to the departmental director
of labour and manpower. The labour inspectors and manpower
controllers may also, at their request and at any time, be informed
of the discussions of the works committee.
Action on Committee

Proposals

The head of the undertaking must state at the meeting of
the committee following the communication of the minutes his
decision based on the proposals which have been submitted to
him. His statements are put on record in the minutes of the
meeting. When proposals of the committee concerning a question
coming within the powers of the bodies which have been substituted
for the " organisation committees " are rejected by the head of
the undertaking, the committee may appeal to the departmental
delegate for industrial production, who informs the competent
body, the advisory joint council of which must be consulted.
Standing

Orders

Each committee draws up its standing orders regulating
practical questions connected with its organisation and working.
These must not be confused with the internal regulations for the
undertaking, commonly known as " workshop regulations ". The
standing orders of the works committee may deal with questions
such as the organisation and working of the secretariat and the
treasury, the frequency of meetings, the publication of discussions,
the organisation of committees, the financing of social work, the
presentation of suggestions and methods of dealing with them, etc. 1
The provisions of standing orders are, in principle, adopted
by the committee by a majority vote. However, provisions
which would impose on the head of the undertaking obligations
not provided for by law must be exphcitly agreed to by the head of
the undertaking. This particularly applies to those which might
impose on the undertaking extra financial burdens or affect t h e
standing orders of the meetings of the board of directors or the
general assembly of the shareholders.
1
The Federation of Metal Workers (C.G.T.), t h e C.G.C, a n d the C.N.P.F.
have established model drafts of standing orders.

WORKS COMMITTEES

Professional

181

Secrecy

Members of works committees and union delegates and experts
and technicians called on to serve on the committees under the
works committee must observe professional secrecy in all questions
connected with " methods of manufacture ".
This form of words has replaced that contained in the Ordinance
of 22 February 1945, which provided for professional secrecy in the
case of "all information of a confidential character which the members
might learn by reason of their duties ". The C.Ñ.P.F. is of opinion
that this restriction involved a risk of making public all information
that the directorate might be called on to give to the committee in respect
of research work, studies, or markets, or other questions the making
public of which would have serious consequences for the undertaking.
The Paris Chamber of Commerce adds that this provision might particularly prejudice small and medium-sized undertakings: "Since their
existence is dependent on the confidence of the public, any indiscretion
concerning even temporary difficulties that one of them may have would
involve a risk of ruining that undertaking immediately and irrevocably ".
In its directives to its members the C.N.P.F. states : " Much depends
on the head of the undertaking appealing to the conscience of the members of the committee or union delegates so as to create and maintain
an atmosphere such that any breach of the secrecy required by the
higher interests of the undertaking would automatically expose the
offender to the censure of his colleagues which is perhaps more effective
in this matter, where the offence is difficult to define, than the threat
of legal proceedings ". 1 On the other hand, the national conference of
delegates of works committees convened by the C.G.T. in April 1948
requested " the abolition of professional secrecy, the right publicly
to announce exactions, excessive profits, speculative rises in prices,
and other abusive measures found in auditing accounts ".
Penalties
Any interference " intentionally " either with the free nomination of the members of a works committee or the regular work
of a legally constituted works committee is punishable by a fine
of 500 to 5,000 francs or imprisonment from six days to one year
or both. Repetition of the offence within one year is always
punished by imprisonment.
Offences may be certified both by the labour inspector and
by certain police officers.2

1
I n fact, the Act of 16 May 1946 makes no reference to the provisions of the
penal code concerning penalties for divulging professional secrets which were contained in the Ordinance of 22 Feb. 1945.
2
T h a t is, police commissioners and officials, the senior in rank of the local
gendarmerie and persons having a general or special warrant from the public
prosecutor of the Republic or an examining magistrate.

182

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

CENTRAL AND BRANCH W O R K S COMMITTEES

Many large undertakings have several centres of activity
more or less distant from one another. For instance, t h e large
banks and insurance companies have branches, agencies or offices
scattered throughout the territory, often with several in the same
department.
Industries for chemical products, metallurgical
companies, mining companies, large department stores, etc., have
several factories or establishments either in one industrial zone
or district or in different districts.
Each of these agencies, branches, factories, etc., has its own
life, its buildings, installations, machinery and staff, but economically and financially it is only part of a single unit ; it is
closely linked with the other parts, which are all dependent on
t h e same general administration, the headquarters, which is
generally a distinct establishment. The separate life of each
part therefore comes from a common source and shares in the life
of the others. The establishment of a works committee in an
undertaking of such a character raises a special problem, more
as a result of the powers of the committee t h a n of the scattering
of the establishments. So long as it is only a matter of questions
limited to the strict framework of an agency or factory it is conceivable t h a t a committee working within t h a t agency or factory
m a y deal satisfactorily with them. I n the case, however, of
questions outside t h a t framework and concerning t h e whole of
t h e undertaking, it will be understood t h a t the only body t h a t can
deal with t h e m is an organisation having a complete view of t h e whole
question at the level of the general directorate, in respect both of
questions coming from the outer circle to the centre and of those
coming from the centre to the outer circle. This is why the law has
provided in the case of each of the establishments of these undertakings, a " b r a n c h works committee" located at the branch establishment, and for the whole undertaking a " central works committee " located in principle a t the headquarters and constituted
by the delegations of the various branch works committees.
The branch works committees set u p in each of the separate
establishments of the undertaking x are composed and work in
t h e same way as ordinary works committees.
1
Establishments employing less t h a n 50 wage earners m a y be either attached
to the nearest establishment of the same undertaking, or grouped b y locality
or district with a view to the setting up of a joint committee.

WOBKS COMMITTEES

183

The central works committee is composed of delegates elected
by the branch works committees—one or two permanent delegates and an equal number of substitute delegates for each branch
—but t h e number of permanent delegates may not exceed 12.
The allocation of seats between the various branches and the
various categories is regulated by an agreement between the
head of the undertaking and the trade unions concerned. Failing
such agreement, t h e divisional labour inspector decides on the
allocation.
In practice a large number of undertakings have more than 12
separate establishments. In order that all the branch works committees
may be represented on the central works committee, agreements have
generally been concluded to fix the number of members of the central
committee accordingly.
What are the respective powers and duties of the branch
works committees and the central works committee ? The former
have the same powers and duties as the ordinary works committees,
but only for questions concerning the branch establishment.
Although the legislation does not clearly define the powers
and duties of the central works committee, in practice it has
all those conferred on an ordinary works committee so far as
they concern the undertaking as a whole. From the social point
of view it deals with welfare work which is common to all t h e
establishments, and divides between them t h a t part of the budget
which is devoted to the particular welfare work which each of
them is responsible for. From the technical point of view it may
deal with general questions concerning, for instance, the use of
this or t h a t factory for this or t h a t kind of manufacture, the
concentration of certain types of manufacture, the allocation of
equipment or raw materials between factories, etc. Lastly, it
alone has powers of a financial character ; it audits accounts,
and nominates the representatives on the board of directors of
the company. The members keep the branch works committees
and the staff as a whole informed as to the general activities of
the undertaking.

DUTIES

The duties of the works committees are numerous, and
correspond to the various aspects of the life of the undertaking,
social, technical, economic and financial.
X3

184

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

Duties of a Social Character
According to the provisions, the welfare duties are of two
kinds : (1) the committee co-operates with the management
in improving collective conditions of work and living conditions
of the staff and the regulations concerning them ; (2) it manages
or supervises the management of all the welfare work carried
on in the undertaking for the benefit of wage earners and their
families or shares in the management of it, whatever the method
by which it is financed.1
Improvement

of Conditions of the Staff.

I n this sphere the works committee has no power of decision. I t s action can only consist in proposing this or t h a t improvement
which may seem to it desirable in respect of questions connected,
for instance, with the arrangement of hours of work, overtime,
paid holidays, equipment of workshops, organisation of transport
for the staff, sanitary conditions (particularly general hygiene :
lighting, heating, ventilation, cleanliness), safety, and wages.
These last two questions merit special examination.
Furthermore, the committee is called on to make itself acquainted with the internal regulations of the undertaking. I n fact the
Act of 2 November 1945 2, which amended the provisions of the
Labour Code concerning these regulations (generally known as
" workshop regulations ") and made them compulsory in undertakings habitually employing more than 20 wage earners, laid
down t h a t they should be submitted for preliminary consultation to the works committee or the staff delegates. 3
Safety. Three institutions may intervene in this field : staff
delegates, the health and safety committees and the works committees.
1
The Act of 30 Oct. 1946 respecting the prevention of, and compensation
for, industrial accidents and occupational diseases authorises, under certain conditions, the works committees to administer certain of the benefits provided,
thus making the works committee an ' auxiliary social security organisation.
2
J.O., 3 Nov. 1945, p . 7,198. The internal regulations of t h e undertaking
laid down general rules for internal discipline : hours for coming to work and
leaving it, rest breaks, practical measures of hygiene and security, etc.
3
The Federation of Metal Workers (C.G.T.) is of opinion t h a t since the regulations of the undertaking should not include any provision contrary to the Labour
Code or to the clauses of collective agreements, the works committees need not
participate in the drawing up of these regulations, and t h a t t h e directorate of t h e
undertaking is exclusively responsible. The works committees are not called
on to approve them. If necessary they make their observations, which are forwarded to the labour inspector with the regulations which should be submitted
for his approval. Otherwise they should merely indicate t h a t they have no comments to make.

WORKS COMMITTEES

185

The special powers and duties of the staff delegates and t h e
health and safety committees have already been mentioned. The
works committees have on their side the d u t y of co-operating
with the management for the improvement of collective conditions
of work, in which safety is included.
The undertaking, according to its importance calculated b y
the number of wage earners employed, has at its disposal one,
two or three of these institutions. In undertakings employing
from 10 to 50 persons, there are generally only staff delegates,
who outside their own duties act as a health and safety committee.
Undertakings employing 50 persons and over have at least staff
delegates and works committees, and some have health and safety
committees, the establishment of which is compulsory as from
50 or 500 wage earners according to the character of the undertaking.
If an undertaking has both staff delegates and a works committee, duties in respect of safety are allocated between the two
institutions, the staff delegates carrying out both their own duties
and those of the health and safety committee (supervision of t h e
application of legislation, action in respect of claims, negotiations
with t h e labour inspectorate, investigations after accidents and
reports, etc.) while the works committee co-operates with the
management in the improvement of safety conditions.
Should the fhree institutions exist simultaneously, each of them
keeps to its own duties. There is, however, liaison between them
within the works committee, where the health and safety committee,
whose members have been appointed by the works committee and the
staff delegates, works as one of its committees.
Wages. The Ordinance of 22 February 1945 expressly excluded questions of wages from those with which the works committees can deal. This exclusion was cancelled by the Act of
16 May 1946, and from t h a t time works committees can take up
these questions. Nevertheless it should be noted (1) t h a t rates
of wages are fixed, in a period of directed economy—as is t h e
case at present—by the Government, after consultation in various
ways with t h e organisations of employers and workers, and in a
period of free economy by collective agreements, to which the
workers' and employers' organisations are parties; and (2) t h a t it
is for the staff delegates to submit to the employers individual
or collective complaints concerning the application of wage rates
or the classification of workers.

186

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

I n view of the interest taken in the question of wages by the
trade unions and the staff delegates, what role can the works
committees play in this field ?
To this question the Minister of Labour replied as follows :
" The staff delegates must confine themselves to reporting to the
management individual cases or a number of individual cases which
give rise to complaints in this matter. The works committee, on the
other hand, looks at the matter from the point of view of the undertaking, and examines wage problems from the economic point of view,
taking account of the economic and financial possibilities of the undertaking and also of the technical conditions under which it works.
" This examination will obviously be carried out under the legislative
provisions or regulations concerning wages. In practice, therefore, it
will be a question of adapting to the undertaking the regulations enacted
by legal texts or collective agreements. Sometimes, even, it will be a
question of adapting not legal or contractual regulations but directives
given by the Minister or his representatives, particularly in respect
of remuneration for piece work. The generalisation of this method
of work has been laid down in principle by the National Wages Board
which met on 17 April 1946. The determination of the methods applicable to the various branches of industry has been referred to technical
committees. The works committees should study methods of adapting
to the particular case of the undertaking the regulations adopted by
the committees.
" Staff delegates will intervene in their t u r n later to deal with the

difficulties arising out of the application of the said formula.
"Such would seem to be in this fundamental matter of wages the
respective duties of staff delegates and works committees.
" I t should not, however, be concluded from the principles set forth
above that there are watertight compartments between the duties
thus defined. There must, on the contrary, be a constant liaison between
the representatives of the two institutions. Thus, when the members
of the works committees are called on to examine the problem of
wages as regards the undertaking as a whole, they will be informed
by the staff delegates of the special aspects of the problem as regards
the workshop. Likewise, the claims made by staff delegates may be
brought before works committees by reason of connection between
the claims and the economic and financial situation of the undertaking,
the policy for paying off capital and renewing equipment, etc." 1
On this matter the C.N.P.F., in its letter of 27 April 1946 to the
Prime Minister, expressed the following opinion :
" The immediate effect of bringing wage questions within the
scope of the works committee will be to introduce causes of friction,
and the possibilities of useful work in the new institution will thus
be limited. The workers, however, would not derive any real advantage
from it. Is not the fixing of real wages within the categories of wage
earners the task of the management ? Are not the unions responsible
for fixing the scales within the framework of Government decisions,
and are individual complaints not the responsibility of the shop stewards,
who require no assistance from any other body 1 "
1

Ministerial Circular of 31 July 1946.

WORKS COMMITTEES

187

After having taken up this argument in the directives given to
its members, the C.N.P.F. added : " The works committee should be
consulted in respect of the rules of application of special methods of
remuneration in the undertaking ".
The C.G.T.'s opinion was as follows :
" The staff delegates, when they submit claims regarding wages,
whether individual or collective, will be strictly limited in their action
by the regulations in force. The works committee will tackle the problem
from another angle altogether—the effect of wages on production
costs in the undertaking, for instance. In short, the staff delegates
will deal with wages on a strictly legal basis and the committee from
an economic point of view. Is it not therefore possible to contemplate
instead of a dispute as to competence, a fine possibility of co-operation,
the committee first informing the staff delegates as to the economic
possibilities of their claims and then supporting them if necessary
when the head of the undertaking informs them of the way in which
he has been approached ?"
The secretary of the Federation of Metal Workers (C.G.T.) went
further in analysing the respective role of trade unions, staff delegates
and works committees in the matter of wages. He considered that
the general fixing of basic wages and salaries is a matter for the trade
union.
" The final objective that trade unionism proposes for the workers ",
he wrote, " is the disappearance of wage earners and employers. As
conditions become more favourable, the unions will consider the improvement of the conditions of workers from the angle of general improvement of wages and salaries, and also with the object of arriving at
a fundamental transformation of the position of workers in respect
of wages and salaries. This process can only be developed and the
objective can only be achieved by organisations of the working classes
which are completely independent of the employers. Our union
movement is independent ; works committees can never be completely independent."
As regards occupational categories, which must be clearly defined,
in his opinion only the union organisation is competent, since such
definition should be established at the inter-works, local and even
national level.
" A works committee is only qualified to take decisions which
apply exclusively to the undertaking directly concerned. By the
very nature of its duties, the works committee cannot take the place
of the trade union."
Such, according to him, should be the respective roles of the trade
unions and the works committees.
So far as staff delegates are concerned, he considers that their
duty is to see that in the place where work is carried out the rules laid
down concerning the application of the wage rates and occupational
classification are observed.
To sum up, the works committees, so far as wages are concerned,
should be responsible for giving information. " Taking account of
its powers and duties in the economic and financial sphere, it is through
the works committee that the union will be best informed of the economic
and financial situation of the undertaking." The union would then
be able to base its claims on this information.
The secretary of the Federation of Metal Workers (C.G.T.) gave

188

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

his opinion that works committees may play a part in the application
of piece workers' wages, since it is obviously suitable for adapting the
general formulae to the special conditions of each undertaking. Indeed,
it is in possession of information which enables it to fix most effectively
the methods of applying individual or collective bonuses or the improvement of work and increase of production.1 On this subj ect, the secretarygeneral of the Federation of Metallurgical Workers (C.F.T.C.) notes
that the works committees should never neglect the human aspect in
work and in spite of the urgent necessities of production, man should
not be brutally chained to a "rhythm which would kill h i m " . 2
Management

of Welfare Schemes.

The duties of the works committees in respect of the management of welfare schemes 3 are of great importance in the sphere
of social relations within the undertaking, for they put an end
to the de facto régime known as " paternalism ", under which
welfare institutions set up for the staff of the undertaking were
dependent on the employer, who planned, financed and managed
them. That is actually a very general statement—in fact, employers had often let the staff share in the working of such schemes
or had encouraged the formation of mutual benefit societies
and subsidised them.
Between the wars welfare schemes developed rapidly, particularly during the last 10 years, and most undertakings of any
size had all kinds of welfare institution organised first for the
wage earners themselves and then for their families. 4 During
the second world war, in order to remedy the difficulties and the
inadequacy of food supply, not only in the factories but also in
commercial establishments and administrations, there was a very
1
Cf. H . JoTJBDAEsr : " Extension des pouvoirs des comités d'entreprise ",
in Servir la France, J u l y 1946 ; and Les comités d'entreprise (Fédération des travailleurs de la métallurgie, C.G.T.).
2
Cf. Notre action dans l'entreprise, b y C. SAVOTJILLAN (Fédération de la métallurgie de la C.F.T.C.—report presented a t t h e Confederal Congress of J u n e 1946).
3
The management of social welfare institutions by the works committees
was dealt with b y the Decree of 2 Nov. 1945 (J.O., 6 Nov. 1945, p . 7,327 ; L.S.,
1945—Fr. 8 B ; I.L.B., May-June 1946, p . 397). See on this subject, " La gestion
des œuvres sociales p a r les comités d'entreprise ", by Miss Renée P E T I T , in Droit
social, May and June 1946.
4
Many examples of social welfare due to the initiatives of the employers will
be found in the work of H . DUBBEUII, : Employeurs et salariés en France (Paris,
1943). Already in 1929 an enquiry carried out by the Federation of Metallurgical
and Mining Industries which dealt with 335 establishments, each of which employed more t h a n 500 workers, showed t h a t there were 385 institutions for workers'
leisure : libraries, clubs, theatrical performances, cinemas, lectures, musical
societies, sports and games, and workers' gardens. Out of 307 of these establishments
150 were administered exclusively by the employers or their representatives,
81 were in the hands of the staff and 76 had a type of mixed management. I n
1928, according to a n investigation made by the Minister of Labour, the number
of workers' gardens cultivated exceeded 380,000.

WORKS COMMITTEES

189

considerable development of canteens, co-operative societies or
groups for collective purchase.
" A complete account of the social institutions "—wrote
H . Dubreuil in 1934 1 —" might show by comparison with conditions
existing only 20 or 30 years ago t h a t a great evolution is taking
place in this sphere, and it will certainly produce results of all
kinds, the effect and extent of which it is as yet difficult to judge."
The completion of this evolution is the task given to the works
committees in the management of welfare schemes. These institutions are henceforth in the hands of the works committees,
and the management's influence can only be exercised through
the committee, of which it is a member and whose chairman it
provides.
Powers of committees. For the purpose of exercising their
powers in respect of the direct management of welfare schemes,
but for that purpose only, the works committees are bodies corporate. This status is given them automatically, and they can
be legally represented by one of their members delegated for t h a t
purpose.
This status enables the works committees to appear in court,
and to undertake obligations and acquire either on payment or
free of charge any movable or real property without special
authorisation, but only so far as is necessary for their working
and their purposes. However, acceptance of gifts and bequests
from private persons is subject to t h e authorisation of the prefect ;
should the gifts or bequests give rise to complaints from the families, authorisation must be given by the Council of State.
Welfare schemes in the management of which the committee has
a share. The welfare schemes with which the works committee
will have to deal are " those established in the undertaking for
the benefit of wage earners or former wage earners of the undertaking and their families". The Decree of 2 November 1945
enumerates them as follows :
(1) social provident and mutual aid schemes, such as pension
schemes and mutual benefit societies ;
(2) welfare schemes to improve living conditions, such as
canteens, consumers' co-operative societies, housing, allotments 2 ,
crèches, holiday homes ;
1

Op. cit.
Cf. " Workers' Allotment Gardens in France ", in I.L.R.,
p . 98.
2

July-Aug. 1946,

190

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

(3) welfare schemes providing for the use of spare t i m e 1
and the organisation of sport ;
(4) schemes of a vocational or educational character attached
to the undertaking or dependent on it, such as centres for apprenticeship and vocational training, libraries, study circles, courses
in general culture and domestic science ;
(5)

the welfare services responsible for—

(a) looking after the well-being of workers in the undertaking,
facilitating their adaptation to their work, and collaborating
with the medical service of the undertaking ;
(b) co-ordinating and promoting the carrying out of welfare
plans decided on by the works committee and the head of
the undertaking ;
(6)

the medical service established in the undertaking.

This enumeration is not limitative, and shows a very broad
conception of welfare work. Nevertheless, this work must not
be confused with institutions such as social insurance, family allowances, and compensation for occupational accidents, which result
from legal obligations of t h e employer, although in the enumeration
are included social and medical services of which the financing
in certain cases at least falls on the employer ; these, however, in
view of their special character, are dealt with by special provisions.
There are two other characteristics of welfare work : the
supplementary advantages received by the worker do not result
from a provision of the contract of employment, and the welfare
work assumes participation by the undertaking under some
form : grant in kind, supply of premises, etc. 2
To give an idea of the variety of welfare work, the 1947 budget
for the welfare schemes of the Renault Factory Administration is
reproduced below. It should be noted that this is a very large undertaking, employing about 30,000 persons, which, as has been seen above,
has a special status in the French economy.

1
The works committees may, in respect of leisure, get in touch with the assosiation " Tourisme et Travail ", which organises trips, holidays, etc., for manual
and intellectual workers and their families. The C.G.T., the C.F.T.C. and t h e
C.Gr.A. are represented on the governing body of this association. (Cf. I.L.B., Jan.Feb. 1946, p . 113, and J u n e 1947, p. 584.)
2

R.

P E T I T , op.

cit.

WORKS COMMITTEES

191

WORKS COMMITTEE OF THE RENAULT FACTORY ADMINISTRATION

Budget for Welfare Work for the Financial Year 1947x
Social

Assistance

Francs

General secretariat
Social workers
Children
Cloakroom for children
Needlework centre
Vaucresson Children's Home
Day nursery
Holiday homes
Snacks for mothers
Three-quarter-hour wages for the mothers' snacks . . . .
Accommodation for children
Immediate assistance, relief, gifts and loans
Orphans' pensions for victims of bombardments
Orphans' pensions for victims of occupational accidents. .
Christmas tree
Teaching of domestic science
Centre for mending
Children's Thursday
Family assistance
Bonus to nursing mothers
Relief to elderly workers
Half-pay of female workers during period of pregnancy. .
Sports and Spare-Time

Activities

Grant to Billancourt Olympic Club
Spare time activities
Sport and leisure, apprenticeship
Provident

4,000,000
4,040,000
1,160,000
100,000
250,000
2,500,000
4,000,000
17,000,000
400,000
1,096,000
50,000
6,100,000
237,000
375,000
2,300,000
50,000
100,000
300,000
1,000,000
1,800,000
1,400,000
720,000

4,904,000
1,678,000
162,000
Fund

Association for mutual assistance
Doubling of monthly contributions, section 1, up to 30 March
1947 ; doubling of annual contribution, section 2 . . .
Nemours Rest Home
Recompense for long service
Thirty-year bonus
Meals for apprentices
Meals for elderly workers
Total

896,400
166,000
1,008,000
35,000,000
480,000
2,475,000
540,000
95,337,400

Canteens
Grant of 20 francs per meal (estimate)
Grand total

150,000,000
245,337,400

1
Syndicalisme, 14 May 1947. The following schemes do not appear in this table, since
they have a separate budget : distribution centre where foodstuffs and household goods,
clothing and tyres are sold ; co-operative independent of the works committee ; loans to
newly married couples ; legal advice ; housing service ; transport for delivery or removals,
etc.

192

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

Duties of the committees in the management of welfare schemes.
The intervention of the works committees in the management of
welfare schemes is of three kinds : direct management, participation
in management and supervision of management. Furthermore,
the works committees intervene under special rules in the working
and management of social and medical services.
Direct management.
The works committee provides directly
for the management of all welfare schemes with the exception of
(a) those institutions which are bodies corporate and (b) all
centres of apprenticeship and vocational training (even in the
case of apprenticeship schools directly managed by the undertaking) \ housing schemes and workers' gardens.
As regards the schemes for which it is completely responsible,
the committee itself provides the management or hands it over
to a special committee or persons nominated by it or sets up
special bodies and delegates its powers to them. These committees,
persons or bodies act within t h e limit of the powers given them,
and are responsible to t h e works committee. The works committee can thus delegate duties which would be hable to take
u p too great a- part of its activity. This system has been adopted
in most undertakings for schemes concerned with canteens, collective purchase, spare-time activities, holiday homes, day nurseries
or kindergartens, etc.
Participation in management.
The works committee shares
in the management of welfare schemes which are bodies corporate,
with t h e exception of those coming under the categories mentioned
later, with regard to which they are allowed to exercise supervision only. " I n practice the schemes in t h e management of
which the committee will be called on to share are those concerned
with sport and mutual assistance set up under the Act of 1901
concerning consumers' co-operative societies and associations." 2
At least half of t h e members of the governing bodies of these
institutions or their boards of directors and likewise of t h e inspecting or supervising committees must be members representing the
works committee (not necessarily members of the committee)
selected preferably from among the members or persons deriving
benefits from t h e schemes in question. The representatives of a
works committee on the governing bodies of the consumers'
1

Ministerial Circular of 28 Dec. 1945.

2

R.

P E T I T , op.

cit.

WORKS COMMITTEES

193

co-operative societies must be chosen from among members of
these societies.
Lastly, in order that the works committee may participate
permanently in the management at the level of the directorate,
t h e bureaux appointed by the governing bodies of the welfare
institutions referred to must include at least one member nominated
by the committee.
Supervision of management. The works committee supervises
the management of the three following categories of welfare
scheme: mutual aid societies and social insurance funds established
in the undertaking; staff housing and allotment garden schemes;
centres of apprenticeship and vocational training, including
schools for apprentices.
As regards mutual aid societies which will be known henceforth
under the name of " mutualist societies ", the provisions of the Decree
of 2 November 1945 should be compared with those of the Ordinance
of 19 November 1945 1 , which changed the mutual insurance regulations.
As its explanatory statement shows, the Ordinance of 19 October
1945 extended the field of action of the mutual aid institutions, the
main object of which had hitherto been sickness and old-age insurance,
to include " anything which closely or distantly affects mutual aid,
whether against sickness or social evils, or for the physical, intellectual or moral development of the members of the group or their
families". This is why the name " mutual aid society" (société de
secours mutuels) has been replaced by the more general name of
mutualist society (société mutualiste). The statement goes on to say
that the mutualist society should henceforth provide the normal framework of all schemes of mutual assistance. More particularly, the mutualist
society should be used by the works committees for the management
of all welfare schemes set up within the undertakings or groups of
undertakings, which call on the workers for contributions. " Thus
there will be a tendency for societies of a new kind to develop under
the supervision of the works committees, which will tend to expand
considerably both by the activities they undertake and by the education
of the workers in the matters of provident funds and mutual aid."
Furthermore, the Ordinance of 19 October 1945 lays down that
within two years institutions for preventing social risks and remedying
their consequences must adopt the mutualist form. The Minister of
Labour adds that the adoption of this form by other welfare schemes
to which those concerned are asked to contribute " is optional but
should be recommended ", and he insists on the various advantages it
offers, particularly State grants and other financial encouragements.
In a general way the works committee responsible for directing the
carrying out of welfare schemes should regard the mutualist society as
•a means of carrying out its initiatives.2
1
2

See p . 87.
Ministerial Circular of 10 May 1946.

194

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

This is why the works committees intervene in the life of mutualist
societies. They are, in fact, represented on the governing bodies of the
mutualist societies, on the supervisory committees of these institutions,
and on the governing bodies of workers' housing and allotment garden
schemes by two delegates chosen preferably from among the members
of the institutions concerned who are not included in the statutory
numbers. These delegates attend the councils and committees in an
advisory capacity and one of them attends the meetings of the bureau.
The committee may participate even more closely in the work of these
bodies if the candidates which it is allowed to put forward are elected.
The works committee must be consulted prior to any discussion
concerning amendments of the regulations of the scheme, the creation of
new welfare schemes and the transformation or abolition of existing
schemes. It will be informed by its representatives of the decisions
taken by the above-mentioned councils or bureaux and of the general
working of the. scheme. When these decisions are subject to the supervision or approval of the administration, the opinion of the committee
must be annexed thereto. In all other cases the committee may oppose
their being carried out, subject to appeal to the Minister of Labour.
The relations between the works committee and the mutualist
society must therefore be dealt with in the regulations of the latter by
compulsory provisions defining the role of the committee in administration and management. 1
The legal provisions concerning the control of welfare schemes
by the works committees are only suitable for institutions which
have a governing body. I n the case of those which are managed
directly by t h e management of t h e undertaking—schools for
apprentices and workers' housing schemes—the Higher Committee
for Works Committees has provided for agreements between the
parties, establishing regulations similar to those enacted by the
law for institutions having a governing body.
Bole of the committee in respect of social and medical services.
The social and medical services organised in the undertakings
where they are compulsory are paid for by the employer. The
works committees intervene in their working under rules which
are not the same as those applying to other welfare schemes (direct
management, participation in the management, supervision of
management).
Social services. Compulsory social services were established
by the Vichy Government in 1942 2 in establishments which
1
These compulsory provisions appear in t h e model regulations for mutualist
societies for one undertaking or several approved by the Decree of 13 J a n . 1947
(J.O., 16 J a n . 1947, p. 568).
2
Act of 28 July 1942, J.O.E.F., 29 July 1942, p . 2,607. Before the publication of this Act a considerable number of undertakings had social and medical
services organised without charge by t h e heads of these undertakings.

WORKS COMMITTEES

195

habitually employ not less than 250 wage earners. Their duties
were laid down in 1946 x and connections have been established
between these services and the works committee.
In the undertakings or groups of undertakings coming under the
legislation concerning works committees, industrial social services are
provided by a staff holding diplomas issued by the Minister of
Labour.8 The men or women employment officers take action at the
place at which work is carried out, in order to promote the welfare of the
worker in the undertaking and facilitate his adaptation to his work, to
study more particularly the problems raised by the use of female and
juvenile labour and the labour of handicapped persons, to co-ordinate
and promote social work decided on by the chief of the undertaking and
the works committee, to carry out alongside the latter the duties of
technical adviser for social questions, and lastly to collaborate in any
action of an educational character undertaken by the works committee.
For this purpose they collaborate with the medical service of the undertaking ; they work, in agreement with the head of the undertaking and
the works committee or inter-works committee, for the improvement
of conditions of employment, the welfare of the workers, and the functioning of social welfare activities.
They also keep constantly in touch with welfare, assistance
and placement organisations and the various institutions and services
for social security and public health, in order to assist workers in
exercising their rights under social legislation and, if necessary, to
direct them to the competent organisations.
Furthermore, they may be entrusted by the works committee
with the organisation and direction of the social institutions of the
undertaking. Every three months they render a report on their activities
to the committee and to the head of the undertaking.
Employment officers responsible for the social work decided on by
the works committee and the head of the undertaking exercise the
duties of chief employment officers. Their appointment and tenure of
office are agreed on by the committee and the head of the undertaking. Failing such an agreement the decision is taken by the labour
inspector.
Medical services.3 All establishments employing wage earners,
whatever their number, must organise industrial medical services
1

Decree of 9 Nov. 1946, J.O., 25-26 Nov. 1946, p . 9,983.
There is the diploma for employment officers (men and women) and the
social administration certificate for heads of social services responsible for the
administrative and social management and co-ordination of important social
services in a n undertaking or a group of undertakings. A Decree of 17 Mar. 1942
had already established a certificate for employment officers. There has been
set up a t the Ministry of Labour a " study and training centre of the industrial
social service ", which is, among other things, responsible for training the staff
of the industrial social service, which collaborates with the works committees.
3
The provisions of the Act of 28 July 1942 respecting the medical services
have been replaced by those of the Act of 11 Oct. 1946 (J.O., 12 Oct. 1946,
p . 8,638 ; L.S., 1946—Fr. 11), the methods of application of which were fixed
by the Decree of 26 Nov. 1946 (J.O., 30 Nov. 1946, p. 10,192).
2

196

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

manned by one or more "industrial medical officers" 1 , whose
task, which is exclusively preventive, consists in avoiding any
impairment of the health of workers by reason of their work, particularly by supervising industrial hygiene conditions, the risks of
contagion, and the workers' state of health. 2
According to the size of the undertakings, the industrial medical
service may be confined to one single undertaking or may serve several.
When in one place the total staff of the undertakings concerned reaches
the figure of 500 for the undertakings which have not a separate medical
service, these undertakings must join together with a view to the
constitution of one or more inter-works committees.3 The medical
service is under the direction of the head of the undertaking or of the
president of the inter-works committee. The methods of management
may be settled by agreement between the heads of the undertakings or
the president of the inter-works committee on the one hand and the
works or inter-works committees on the other hand.
The medical officers attached to the undertaking or to the organisation for several undertakings can only be appointed or dismissed by
an agreement concluded as the case may require between the head of
the undertaking and the works committee of the establishment or
between the heads of undertakings and the inter-works committee.
In organisations for several undertakings the expense of the medical
service is to be allocated by the inter-works committee according to
the time that the medical officer has devoted to the workers in the
various undertakings.
The head of the undertaking or the president of the inter-works
committee must draw up yearly a report on the organisation, working
and financial management of the medical service, having as an annex
1
As from a date to be fixed by decree, no medical practitioner may exercise
the functions of an industrial medical officer unless he is in possession of a certificate of competence in industrial hygiene.
2
The heads of undertakings must arrange for one or more industrial medical
officers to attend for the following times a t least : commercial and similar undertakings, one hour per m o n t h per 20 wage earners ; industrial undertakings,
one hour per m o n t h per 15 wage earners ; undertakings which have workshops or where there is work done which requires special supervision, one hour per
month for every 10 wage earners exposed to danger. I n commercial or similar
undertakings employing more than 500 wage earners and in industrial undertakings employing more t h a n 200 wage earners, the head of the undertaking
must also provide for male or female nurses. I n undertakings employing fewer
staff, a male or female nurse m a y be attached to the medical service a t the request
of the medical officer and of the works committee. Should there be disagreement
with the employers the labour inspector shall decide.
The industrial medical officers must carry out a medical examination when
staff are taken on or resume work after an absence for reasons of health and are
also to examine workers periodically ; they may give certain medical treatment
under given conditions ; they are responsible for supervising the hygiene of t h e
undertakings and must be consulted in respect of the preparation of any new
technique for production and be kept informed of the composition of the products
used in the undertaking. The head of the undertaking must take account of the
opinions submitted to him b y the industrial medical officer and he must p u t the
necessary premises and material a t the disposal of the medical service.
3
Medical services for several undertakings were working in various industrial
districts near Mantes and Courbevoie in the surburbs of Paris, near Villefranche8ur-Saône, etc., even before t h e Act made them compulsory.

WOKKS COMMITTEES

197

a report prepared by the medical officer. These two reports are forwarded to the works committee or the inter-works committee, which
communicates them to the competent labour inspector and medical
labour inspector. Furthermore, the industrial medical officer acts as an
adviser to the works committee for questions connected with occupational medicine, industrial hygiene or security.
Exercise of the powers of the works committees in respect of welfare
schemes. The tasks of the works committees in respect of welfare
schemes are very numerous and frequently they would not be
able to perform them if they were not able to set up specialised
committees which, with a member of the committee as chairman,
may include wage earners in the undertaking who are not members
of the committee. I n this way members of the committee are
saved burdensome work, and a greater number of persons participate in the activities of the committee and in the collective life
of the organisation of the undertaking. These committees thus
afford excellent training for future members of the works committee.
The number of committees varies according to the number and
importance of the welfare schemes, which depend on the size of the
undertaking. For example, the following committees have been set
up by the works committee of the Berliet establishment (automobile
construction) at Lyons, which employs about 8,000 persons : committees
for food supply (co-operatives and collective gardens), canteens, clubs,
athletics, spare-time activities, allotments, vocational training, mutual
assistance, for managing a farm and a workers' housing scheme, and a
supervision, management and finance committee. For undertakings
employing a few hundred workers, which is more often the case, the
number of committees is naturally less.
Inter-works committees.
I t frequently happens t h a t several
undertakings set up welfare schemes in common for all their
wage earners. I n order to bring the staff into such schemes,
the law requires that inter-works committees should be established
which will have in such schemes duties similar to those which
the works committees exercise in schemes in their own undertaking, " in so far as is necessary for the organisation and working
of these institutions in common ".
However, the initiative for setting up welfare schemes in
common lies with the directors of the undertakings, who are quite
free in the matter, except in respect of industrial medical services,
for which inter-works services are compulsory under the conditions
set forth above.

198

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

The inter-works committee includes on the one hand as chairman
a representative of the heads of undertakings nominated by them,
assisted by one or two substitutes, and on the other hand representatives
of wage earners from each committee chosen in such a way as to provide
for the representation of the various categories of staff on the basis
of two delegates per committee ; their total number may not, however,
exceed 12 except by agreement with the trade unions concerned or,
failing such agreement, the authorisation of the labour inspector.
Should the number of undertakings grouped together not make
it possible to provide separate representation for the staff of each of
them, a single delegate may represent the wage earners of one or more
of them. Should an undertaking have no committee, its staff delegates
may nominate a representative to the inter-works committee, but
the total number of representatives thus nominated may not exceed
one quarter of the representatives nominated by the committees. One
staff delegate may also represent the wage earners of several undertakings
which have no committee. The trade unions concerned always take
part in the allocation of seats.
In the case of an inter-works medical service, the representation
of the wage earners of the establishments which have a works committee
and of those which have not must be arranged in proportion to the
number of wage earners of the two categories of undertakings. The
representatives of the undertakings which have no works committee
are appointed from the staff delegates, by agreement between the
whole body of staff delegates and the trade unions concerned. Should
none of the undertakings have a works committee, the members of
the inter-works committee should' all be chosen from among staff
delegates. 1
In all the cases mentioned above, should an agreement be impossible,
the labour inspector decides on the allocation of seats between the
representatives of the wage earners of the undertakings in question.
The members of the inter-works committee are nominated for the
duration of their term of office on their works committee.
The inter-works committees may be established on a geographical
basis or on an occupational basis, or on the two combined. Examples
are inter-works committees which manage the medical services of the
chemical industries of the districts of Villefranche-sur-Saône and
Ivry-sur-Seine, the medical and social services of the districts of Mantes
and Corbeil in the Paris area, the canteens of the undertakings in the
Courbevoie district, those of the public works undertakings at Orly
(equipment of the airport), etc.
A remarkable example is afforded by the inter-works committee
of the Paris insurance companies, set up on 27 May 1946 by an agreement between the representatives of the heads of undertakings and
the wage earners (C.G.T. and C.F.T.C.) of the insurance companies
having offices in Paris. 2 This committee includes four representatives
of the heads of undertakings and 15 representatives of wage earners
appointed by the works committees from their members in such a
manner as to provide for representation of the various categories of
staff. The chairman is chosen from among the representatives of
heads of undertakings and the secretary from among those of wage
1

Act of 14 J u n e 1947, J.O., 18 J u n e 1947, p . 5,664.
Information supplied by the labour inspection service of the Department
of the Seine.
2

WORKS COMMITTEES

199

earners. A member for the most representative organisation of heads
of undertakings and four members of the most representative trade
unions of wage earners attend the meetings in an advisory capacity.
The decisions of the inter-works committee are taken by agreement
between the representatives of the employers and those of the wage
earners. Should there be persistent disagreement, recourse is had to
an agreed arbitral procedure. Each welfare scheme taken over by the
committee is managed by a separate subcommittee which has its own
budget, keeps separate accounts, and every year submits to the committee a report on activities and a financial report. A committee
may nominate in respect of each subcommittee a supervisory committee
for auditing its accounts.
Another inter-works committee of somewhat original character is
the committee for the Paul Cézanne undertakings. This committee,
which was established in October 1949, groups together the staff (about
2,000 employees, most of them women) of the central services of 12
important commercial and industrial companies which have their
headquarters in the Rue Paul Cézanne in Paris. This committee has
a canteen which serves a thousand meals a day, a library of 4,000
volumes, a sports club, courses in domestic science, holiday homes
and a co-operative.1
The inter-works committees function in accordance with the
regulations laid down for the works committees. They exercise
their duties in premises and with the material and personnel of
one or more of the works committees represented on them. They
are bodies corporate and exercise the same powers as the works
committees but only in so far as is necessary for the organisation
and working of the joint schemes for which they are responsible.
Their action is limited to the social field. The expense necessary
for their working is borne by the undertakings in proportion to
the number of wage earners employed. 2
Finance of welfare schemes. The resources at the disposal of
the works committee for financing welfare schemes are numerous
and various, but its budget is mainly supplied by the employers'
contribution and sometimes b y the optional contributions of
wage earners.
1
Le Peuple, 9 J a n . 1947. The two inter-works committees quoted above deal
with several welfare schemes, whereas generally most of the other committees only
manage one joint scheme ; this is particularly the case with medical services.
2
Although this allocation is equitable in principle, it may give rise to criticism
when the benefits derived from t h e scheme by the staff of each undertaking are not
in proportion to the number of wage earners employed b y each of them, for
instance, in the use of a holiday home. I n this case it would appear logical, and
it would seem t h a t it is the practice, for each undertaking to participate in the
expenses according t o t h e number of days t h a t the children of its staff have spent
in the colony (R. P E T I T , op. cit.). I t would therefore be necessary, as the C.G.T.
points out, t o make a distinction between the working expenses of t h e committee
strictly speaking and the working expenses of the welfare schemes.

14

200

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

Other sources are : property which had been assigned to the body
known as the works social committee under the Labour Charter
(such property at the time of the liberation came under the control
of de facto organisations such as the management committees and
was transferred automatically to the works committees a month after
they were established*) ; the sums previously paid by the employer
into the equalisation funds for family allowances and similar institutions for the schemes financed by these funds operating within the
undertaking 2 ; the repayment by the employer of insurance premiums
payable by the committee to cover its civil liabilities arising out of the
management of welfare schemes (insurance against accidents to
children entrusted to the holiday homes, insurance for the staff employed
by the committee, automobile insurance for any vehicles used by the
committee, etc.) ; grants by public bodies or trade unions, gifts and
bequests, subject to the necessary permission, receipts rising from
fêtes, balls, raffles, etc., organised by the committee, and the revenues
from movable or real property which they possess or which is available
for them. 3
The contributions of the staff are always optional. Generally they
are intended for schemes which without them would have difficulty
in continuing or which are only of interest to a certain section of the
wage earners. However, they do not necessarily correspond to a given
object, and in certain cases they come into the general funds of the
committee. The works committee decides whether they are desirable
and lays down the " conditions of levying them and the results ".
The standing orders of the committee may contain provisions on this
subject. Failing an individual agreement with each wage earner, a
contribution provided for by the committee cannot be levied by the
employer by previous deduction from wages.
The institutions thus subsidised by payments from wage earners
may, as has already been stated, take the form of mutualist societies
which have special advantages and which are merely supervised by
the works committee. In such cases membership of the society is
optional, but the contribution then becomes compulsory.
The employer's contribution in most cases constitutes the essential
resources of the works committee. The committee receives " the sums
paid by the employer for the operation of the welfare schemes of the
undertaking for which he is not legally liable, other than sums set aside
for pensions ". Among the institutions for which the employer is legally
liable, special mention may be made of social insurance, particularly
accident insurance and family allowances, which are managed by ad hoc
organisations of the social and medical services which the committee
uses but does not manage.
The employer's contribution is fixed as a lump sum on the basis of the
1
The works committees may also benefit from property previously belonging
to regional or national social committees (in practice, only the latter had property) when they are legally wound u p .
2
This does not refer to sums paid for the family allowances scheme established
b y law, but to sums charitably subscribed by the undertakings to support certain
supplementary schemes organised by the compensation funds, such as the distribution of bonuses at childbirth or for nursing mothers, pre-natal or post-natal
consultations and examinations, consultations for babies or young children, the
visiting nurse service, dispensaries, holiday homes, etc. (R. P E T I T , op. cit.).
3
The committees of certain large undertakings own farms, the products of
which they use or sell ; others own buildings which are used as holiday homes and
which they let when they are not in use.

WOKKS COMMITTEES

201

budget of the undertaking for social purposes a t a given time. I t m a y
in no case be less t h a n the highest total of the sums allotted t o social
expenses of the undertaking during one of the last three years \ excluding temporary expenditure when t h e corresponding requirements n o
longer exist (e.g., the despatch of parcels to prisoners of war). Should
material advantages have been granted to social institutions (premises,
supply of gas, water, electricity and coal), these advantages also must
be continued.
If the sums placed a t the disposal of the committee in this way
are not sufficient t o provide for the normal working of the welfare
schemes, a Decree m a y determine the conditions under which they m a y
be financed.2 This provision m a y be necessary t o meet cases where
undertakings have in the recent past done very little for staff welfare
schemes. I t m a y also be necessary t o adapt the resources of the committees to the general increase in prices.
I n m a n y undertakings agreements have been concluded with a
view t o fixing t h e sums necessary t o ensure the continuance of t h e
welfare schemes of the undertaking, and the employer's contribution
has been fixed with these requirements in view. Expressed as a percentage of wages, the employer's contribution t o t h e budget of t h e
committees would appear in general to be about 2 or 3 per cent.
These percentages are inclusive of temporary schemes such as canteens
a n d the institutions over which the committee has only supervisory
powers (housing, grants to mutual insurance funds, etc.). I n some
cases t h e percentage is less t h a n 1 per cent., in others u p t o 10 per cent.
a n d more. These exceptional differences are explained not only by the
expansion of welfare schemes generally or of some schemes only in each
u n d e r t a k i n g 3 , b u t also by the fact t h a t in each undertaking the
a m o u n t of wages varies in accordance with the relative importance of
labour as a factor of production. I n the national airways companies t h e
employer's contribution is equivalent to 5 per cent, of wages. 4 The
resources of the works committees of the social security bodies are
constituted by a levy on the management expenses account, t h e rate of
which is fixed by the governing body of the fund, on which the staff is
represented. This levy must not be less t h a n 3 per cent, or more t h a n

1
This wording has given rise to controversy. The administration recommends,
in view of the difficulties of calculation if the civil year is taken into consideration, taking the last three financial years ending before the appearance of the
Decree of 2 Nov. 1945, but it strongly recommends the conclusion of agreements
adapted to individual cases ; it is desirable t h a t an agreement of the parties taking
account of the rise in prices should come about in a form which enables the works
committee to ensure under normal conditions the management of the welfare
schemes for which it is responsible.
2
On 1 May 1948 this Decree had not yet been enacted.
3
Considerable differences may arise as a result of the location of the undertakings. I n towns where food supplies are difficult, and the workers frequently live
a long way away from t h e undertaking, canteens which may absorb from 1.5 t o 2
per cent, of the expenditure on manpower are indispensable. I n the country,
particularly if the undertaking is large, it must see to the housing of the staff,
which involves expenditure which may be very unequally divided in time (expenditure on construction and expenditure on maintenance).
4
I n the national company for the study and construction of aircraft engines
the central works committee divides as follows the S per cent, of the wage bill
which constitutes its resources : canteens 3 per cent., institutions under the central
committee 1.25 per cent., branch works committees 0.75 per cent.

202

CO-OPERATION IST THE UKDEBTAKTNG

5 per cent, of the total wages of the staff.1 The staff welfare budget
in the nationalised electricity and gas undertakings is subsidised by
a levy of not less than 1 per cent, on the receipts from the electricity
and gas services.2
The national federation of the unions of engineers and higher staff
(C.G.C.) has carried out an enquiry into the financing of the welfare
schemes of 150 works committees, representing a total of 175,000
workers. The results, set forth in table VI, show for each class of
welfare the percentages of the subsidising committees and the amount
of the subsidies expressed as a percentage of the manpower expenses
of the undertaking.
TABLE

Number
of undertakings
financing
(percentage)

35
20
15
6
6
5
5
3
2
2
1

VI

Welfare schemes

Christmas trees
Holiday homes

Spare-time activities, fêtes, etc.

Average percentage
of financing in relation
to expenditure
on labour

0.68
0.80
0.32
0.43
0.10
0.27
0.08
0.25
0.04
0.04
0.01

According to this enquiry the average financing of social work by
the works committees was 2.25 per cent, of the expenditure on labour.
The budgets for 1947 must on the average have been 30 per cent.
higher than those for 1946.3
Lastly, as will be seen later, the works committee may make suggestions concerning the allocation of the profits made by the undertaking,
about which it must be informed. I t is therefore possible for it to
propose that part of these profits should be used for the financing of
welfare schemes and that these sums should be added to those normally
allocated to the social budget, which already appear in the general
expenditure of the undertaking. I t has already been pointed out that
the regulations of the various nationalised undertakings or companies
of mixed economy provided for the allocation of part of the profits for
social work.
Management of the committee. The committee allocates t h e
resources at its disposal between t h e welfare schemes with which
it deals, each of which has its own accounts and its own budget.
I n t h e case of institutions t h a t are bodies corporate and manage
1

Ministerial Circular of 29 Jan. 1948.
I n 1947 t h e sums devoted t o welfare schemes b y t h e whole of the electricity
and gas services amounted to 145 million francs, t h a t is to say, 0.2 per cent, of
wages (" Le fonctionnement financier de l'Electricité de France ", i n La documentation française—Notes documentaires et études, No. 848, 11 Mar. 1948).
3
Le Greuset—La voix des cadres, 1 Feb. 1947.
8

WORKS COMMITTEES

203

their budget themselves, the works committee gives them grants
which are added to their own resources (e.g., members' contributions). The central works committee deducts from the sums
appearing on t h e general budget for social work the amount
necessary for the joint schemes for which it is responsible, and
divides the balance between the various works committees, who
in their turn divide their share between their own schemes.
At the end of each financial year the works committee prepares
a detailed account of its financial management, which is brought
to the notice of the staff. This statement of accounts must indicate
particularly on the one hand the amount and the origin of the
resources which have been available, and on the other hand the
amount of the expenditure undertaken by it either for its own
working or for institutions for which it was responsible or for
which the inter-works committees in which it is represented were
responsible. The balance sheet established by the committee
must eventually be approved by the chartered accountant placed
at its disposal. The members of the committee who retire must
give an account of their stewardship to the new committee and
hand over to the new committee all documents concerning the
administration and the activities of the committee.
Winding up and handing over of property of works committees.
Should the undertaking finally cease its activities, the winding
up of the property of the committee is carried out through the
committee itself under the supervision of the departmental director
of labour and manpower. The credit balance must be made over
either to another works or inter-works committee (especially
where a majority of the staff will be transferred to the undertakings
in question) or to welfare schemes of a general character, selected
as far as possible in accordance with the wishes expressed by
the staff concerned. I n no case may the property be divided among
the staff or the members of the committee.
Duties of an Economic Character
The duties of the works committee in the economic field are
exclusively advisory. On questions within its province it may
express wishes, make suggestions or submit proposals, but power
to decide remains with the employer. Nevertheless, the latter is
obliged to take note of t h e opinion of t h e committee on a
number of questions concerning the working of the undertaking.

204

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

The committee's economic duties are concerned mainly with
the increase of production and higher output 1 and with problems
connected with the actual management of the undertaking and
more particularly the financial management.
Increase of Production and Improvement of Output.
Action to increase production and output is taken either by
the works committees (directly or through one of their specialised
committees) or by joint committees for production, the origin of
which has already been indicated.2 These are a special feature
of the establishments under the former Ministry of Munitions,
a certain number of which have been converted for civil production.
Furthermore, the national regulations for the staff of the electricity
1
The participation of the staff in the improvement of output a n d production,
which is now on a legal basis, is not new. The regulations of the Société du Familistère de Guise (Aisne), established b y Godin in 1880, laid down t h a t " the
members of the association, with a view to serving the common work a n d facilitating the exercise of their own faculties, m a y set up working parties in order to
examine the progress and possible improvements in respect of the questions with
which they deal " . The proposals of these working parties and those individually
submitted b y a n y member of the association are noted on a special register.
" New ideas a n d improvements thus proposed " are judged b y the appropriate
organisations of the association, and if the proposal is adopted it entitles its author
to a reward. For this purpose the managing council has a t its disposal, for distribution during the year to workers who have rendered exceptional services, a sum
corresponding to 2 per cent, of the net profits.
The work already quoted, Employeurs et salariés en France, written in 1934 b y
H . DuBBETJiL, quotes several examples of undertakings which have called for
suggestions from their staff. One of t h e m received 13,565 suggestions in two
years, 4,040 of which were adopted a n d rewarded with bonuses varying from 30
to 2,000 francs a t the rate of t h a t time.
2
The structure of the joint committees for production is based on t h a t of the
establishment, each section of which has a joint subcommittee consisting of the
head of the service, a delegate who is a technician or one of the supervisory staff,
and a delegate of the workers, each of them having a substitute. There is a special
section which includes all the administrative services. The joint committee
consists of all the subcommittees, to which is added a delegate of the technical
and managerial staff a n d his substitute. The management is represented b y the
director or his assistant, who is chairman, and b y the director of production or the
technical director. The delegates of the various categories of staff are elected on
lists submitted b y the trade unions. They m a y be removed from office b y a
petition signed b y a t least half of their electoral body. The committee a n d the
subcommittees are only qualified to consider suggestions, propose their application and grant rewards. Each technical directorate of munitions services has
a higher advisory council of the joint committees for production, presided over
by the director of the service, which includes representatives of the workers, of
the technicians or foremen a n d of the technical and managerial staff nominated b y the most representative union organisations, a n d of representatives
of the directorates and a direct representative of the Minister concerned. The
higher council studies the programme of work and its distribution in the various
establishments, and directs and co-ordinates the activities of the joint committees. I t proposes the communication to all establishments under its
authority of suggestions of general interest which have been accepted b y the
committees a n d supervises the rewards granted.

WOK.KS COMMITTEES

205

and gas industries provide for t h e establishment of similar committees in each service and department of these industries. I n
the latter part of t h e statement, no distinction is made between
works committees exercising their duties concerning production
and output and the joint committees for production. The task
of the works committees is to consider all suggestions for increasing
production and improving t h e output of t h e undertaking, whether
the suggestions come from t h e staff or from t h e management 1 ,
and to propose t h e application of those which they accept. They
may also make suggestions concerning the general organisation
of t h e undertaking.
I n order to encourage t h e staff to take an active interest in
problems of production and output, t h e committees are entitled
to propose any reward which may seem to them to be deserved
by workers whose initiative and suggestions have been particularly
useful to the undertaking. These rewards, of which the committee
is t h e judge, consist of bonuses paid in cash, or sometimes in kind
(bicycles, wireless sets, etc.), additional holidays, courses at the
expense of t h e undertaking at a training centre, etc., and also,
as is laid down in the regulations of the joint committees for
production, promotion or upgrading. Sometimes t h e rewards
take the form of mention on the works notice-board or in t h e
works magazine. 2
The provisions concerning the improvement of production and output laid down in the legal regulations of the works committees and
the joint committees for production have generally, through the influence
of the trade unions, been widely used. Many committees have shown
continuous activity, the tangible expression of the idea of production
developed by the trade unions immediately after the liberation among
1
I n its directives to its members, the C.N.PJF. interprets this clause as follows :
" There is no reason to think t h a t this clause means t h a t the initiatives of
the directorate should henceforth be submitted to the committee before action
is taken on them. On the contrary, it should be concluded t h a t the questions considered by the committee are not p u t on its agenda merely a t the suggestion of the
representatives of the staff, but t h a t the directorate can (and it is in its own
interest to do it as often as possible) invite the committee to study any question
to the solving of which it may contribute." This point of view was shared b y
the Secretary-General of the Federation of Metal Workers (C.G.T.) : " The
works committee ", he says, " will not only study, with a view to taking
action on it or rejecting it, any suggestion made b y a member of the staff who
claims to have found a time-saving method but it must also study the suggestions
or directives towards the same end coming from the management. If, with a view
to improving output, the management proposes to speed u p a chain of
operations or a change of equipment, the committee must oonsider these proposals,
taking acount, for instance, of the factors of fatigue and safety of the staff. "
2
The workers' organisations draw the attention of t h e committees to the
necessity which m a y arise of protecting rights of inventors.

206

CO-OPERATION I N THE UNDERTAKING

factory workers. " Above everything else ", said the Secretary-General
of the Federation of Metal Workers (C.G.T.), " this is the immediate
and most important interest of the workers. The responsible union
officials and the members of the works committee must be profoundly
convinced that on the development of the activities of the committees
on a technical basis depends the increase of production in the factories.
By bringing about a reduction in cost prices, increased production
first involves stabilisation and then a reduction in the cost of living,
that is, a revalorisation of wages by the increase of the purchasing
power of the working class. Lastly, increase of production and reduction of cost prices arising therefrom promote the development of our
foreign trade and guarantee the economic independence of our country."
Encouraging results have been obtained in many cases. Several
examples may be quoted of actual progress made either collectively
(mass action to increase total production or to reduce the rates in
force in order to make economies) or individually, through suggestions.
The works committees of coal mines have contributed to the increase
in the production of coal by their campaign against absenteeism and
by their efforts to improve equipment and methods of work, and by the
competition that they have organised between working groups or
between mines.1 In certain establishments daily, weekly or monthly
production is posted up, along with the target aimed at ; services failing
to reach their quota are censured, and services that exceed what is
expected of them are honoured. These purely moral and psychological
collective rewards have proved a powerful incentive. Furthermore,
on the initiative of the works committees, particularly in nationalised
establishments, shock workers have been established to carry out in
record time work indispensable for the general carrying on of the factory
or to deliver urgent orders or set up a more speedy rate of work.
The speeeding up of the production process has sometimes made
possible considerable improvements. In 20 aircraft establishments
where the economies carried out have been calculated, these improvements represented 110,000 hours of work during the first six months
of the year 1945.
Individual suggestions may concern improvement of the technical
methods of work and equipment, conservation of material, utilisation
of waste, the way in which the machines are set out, the creation of
new tools, appliances, material and procedures, and the best use of raw
materials. They are relatively more numerous in the establishments
which have a complicated equipment, particularly machine tools, than
in establishments having large equipment (chemical industry, iron
industry, etc.).
The suggestions are sent in by those concerned direct to the works
committee or to its specialised committee : they are sometimes collected
in " suggestion boxes ", a system which has been used for a long time
in various undertakings. In order to facilitate suggestions, large establishments have appointed representatives or engineers for suggestions,
to whom those concerned go to submit their ideas, for certain workers
1
The programme of production fixes weekly for each mine a certain tonnage
which is calculated after consultation with the works committee of a group of
mines, taking account of all mining conditions. This tonnage is the " target ".
I t is posted up a t the mine head, where daily production is also noted. A flag is
hoisted in honour of the pit with the best production. The pit with the smallest
production is marked by a red light.

WORKS COMMITTEES

207

find it difficult to put their suggestion in writing or to show it by a
drawing.
The works committee or its specialised committee studies the suggestion and when necessary, in the case of a large establishment, forwards it to the study bureau, which returns it with its opinion ; the
works committee can then decide whether it should be retained. If
the decision is in the affirmative, it proposes that it should be applied,
and the management decides. The committee once more considers
the suggestion with a view to proposing the reward.
*
*
*
The general organisation of the undertaking in respect of
which the committee can also make suggestions concerns, as the
context indicates, material organisation (lay-out of workshops,
allocation of equipment, etc.) but not financial organisation,
which will be dealt with later.
*
*
*
The problem of production is closely bound up with t h a t of
vocational training and apprenticeship, by which the establishment
may obtain labour whose technical knowledge makes it possible
to use equipment under the best conditions of output. I t has
already been seen t h a t the works committees are called on to
supervise the management of vocational training and apprenticeship centres within the undertaking. I n general the committees
take a great interest in this question.
*
*
*
Organisation, Management and General Working of the Undertaking.
The works committee must be consulted on questions concerning the organisation, management and operation of the undertaking. The Ordinance of 22 February 1945 only laid down t h a t
the committee should be informed as to these questions. The
Act of 16 March 1946 went much farther. The management, in
respect of the questions mentioned above, may only put its decisions into force after having informed the committee and requested
and received its opinion, favourable or not, which it may take
into account or disregard.
Obviously it is not a question here of decisions which the
management is called on to take at any time to provide for the
daily life of the undertaking. Since the committee only meets
once or twice a month (in rare cases once a week) it is evident

208

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

t h a t it can only be consulted on the most important questions of
a general character, those liable to influence the preparation
of programmes for manufacture, the improvement and renewal
of equipment, reduction of cost prices, etc. 1 This is even more
evident in the case of a central works committee, which may
meet only once every six months.
The C.N.P.F. has protested against this provision which, it says,
" might seriously prejudice the authority of the head of the undertaking,
whereas the 1945 legislation expressly declared that it was the intention
to respect such authority. Hitherto it has been the duty of the parties
to keep each other informed, and the responsibility has fallen on the
works committee, but responsibility for consultation is now to lie
with management. Thus, in the daily decisions of industrial and
commercial life, there may be a delay which would always be prejudicial
and sometimes fatal. As against the responsibility of the employers,
the unity of command and the exclusive decision would in this case
be compromised, and then necessity is nevertheless universally recognised
in the workers' co-operative and the State workshops and in private
establishments. ' '
In the directives given to its members, the C.N.P.F. makes clear
firstly that in any case, with or without previous consultation of the
committee, the power of decision of the head of the undertaking remains
complete. It continues :
The principle of his authority is not questioned ; a too servile
interpretation of a text which has been deliberately left vague
might lead, through over-timidity, to interference with the good
working of the undertaking, if certain heads thought that they were
obliged to submit all the acts of their management to the committee.
This would introduce into the undertaking a dual command incompatible with the employer's responsibility. It is therefore
recommended that the head of the undertaking should get in touch
with the committee on the subject of the main decisions which he
is called on to take, setting forth the reasons and the results expected;
it is essentially in respect of the technical and general economic
policy of the undertaking that he must previously, before an important change in policy, obtain the opinion of the committee,
though he alone retains the power of decision.
Because such action promotes a good atmosphere, the agreement
of the committee for solutions which are reasonable and in accordance
with the general and permanent interest of the undertaking should
always be sought, but the employer should still show his authority
and enforce the provisions that he thinks necessary at the proper
time.
From the workers' point of view, the C.G.T. points out that the works
committee, which formerly had a more or less passive role in this sphere,
will in future have a very much more active one. The SecretaryGeneral of the Federation of Metal Workers (C.G.T.) envisages the case
where " the works committee expresses an unfavourable opinion on
the suggestions of the management and makes counter-proposals which
1

Ministerial Circular of 31 July 1946.

WORKS COMMITTEES

209

the management rejects ", and shows how the committee might
influence the employer's decision by calling in according to the
regulations the intervention of the services of industrial production or national economy or of the labour inspectorate, or by having
its own position strengthened by public opinion. Even where there
is agreement, the works committee may further develop the employer's
suggestions for increasing output and improving organisation, management and the working of the undertaking.
Right of Supervision

of Financial

Management.

The right of supervising the financial management of t h e
establishment is carried out in several ways, and is exercised
in respect of the profits, t h e general activities of the undertaking
and prices. I n limited liability companies it extends to an audit
of accounts, and examination of the discussions of the board
of directors of the undertaking.
General activities of the undertaking and profits. The committee
must be informed of the profits made by t h e undertaking and
may make suggestions as to the manner in which they should
be used. 1 In practice this notification will take place at the time
of the yearly meeting at which the head of the establishment is
obliged to submit a general report on the activities of the undertaking and on what is proposed for the following financial year.
Prices. " The works committees are authorised to give an
opinion on increases in prices. They may be consulted by t h e
officials responsible for fixing and controlling prices." This is
a possibility and not an obligation.
The committee may be consulted by t h e employer when he
applies for an increase in prices. I t m a y also be consulted b y
the organisations (National Committee for Prices and advisory
committees), which may conduct enquiries concerning requests
from employers for increases of prices or from the officials
responsible for fixing prices in the case of new manufacture or
changes in manufacturing processes. 2
1
The C.G.T. is not in favour of profits being shared directly and partly in the
form of a percentage for the whole staff. I t is in favour of profits being used as
follows : (1) institution of bonuses for the whole staff, calculated on the general
output and production of the undertaking ; (2) financing of welfare schemes ; (3)
modernisation of machines, equipment and installations ; (4) reduction of selling
prices. (Les comités d'entreprise, op. cit.)
2
The Minister of Labour recommends t h a t the labour inspectors should see
t h a t the committees, when consulted by the heads of undertakings, have available
sufficient documentation to enable them to base their opinion on a full knowledge
of the facts. (Ministerial Circular of 21 May 1946.)

210

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

The C.N.P.F. regards this clause as " unfortunate ". They say,
" One can equally well imagine a case of a committee refusing on the
ground of conditions which have nothing to do with the lawful character
of the application, and a case of complicity between the head of an
undertaking and his committee to bring about the success of an unlawful
application, the granting of which would suit their joint interests,
though it was contrary to the general interest ". Thus, the C.N.P.F.
has decided to urge the Government that " this clause, which the law
only makes optional, should not normally be applied in the future,
in view of the fact that it is only at the level of the occupation, by consultation with a preparatory committee composed of different undertakings, that the intervention of delegates of the wage earners is justifiable and may be really effective in respect of the examination of demands
for approval of prices ".
The workers' organisations regret that the committees are not
qualified to express their opinion on reductions in prices ; under an
instruction from the Secretary of State for National Economy, consultation of the works committees is not required in the case of a lowering
of prices.1
Special provisions for limited liability companies. I n undertakings which have the form of a limited liability company the
works committee has other means of keeping in touch with
the economic and financial situation of the undertaking. I n fact,
the management of these undertakings is in the hands of the
general assembly of shareholders and the board of directors, to
whom the director-general of t h e undertaking is responsible. I t
is thus at the level of these organisations and not at the management level, strictly speaking, t h a t the right of supervision of the
works committee should be exercised.
Firstly, the management is obliged to communicate to the
committee, before submission to the general assembly of shareholders, the profit and loss account, the yearly balance, the
report of the auditors and any other documents which are to be
submitted to the general assembly of shareholders. This communication should be made within a reasonable period—one month—
before the meeting of the general assembly, in order to enable t h e
committee to study the documents properly. 2
With a view to the examination of these documents, the works
committee may summon the auditors, receive their explanations
1
Bulletin officiel des services des prix, 8 Mar. 1946. Nevertheless, the works
committees had been asked b y the Government and by the trade unions to participate in the campaign for reduction of prices set on foot b y the Government a t
the beginning of 1947 (see p . 61).
2
The C.N.P.F. recommends to its members t h a t the accounts should be
presented " in a form t h a t can be understood b y committee members, t h e
official communications being accompanied by any commentary t h a t m a y be
necessary ".

WORKS COMMITTEES

211

on different items and on the financial situation of the establishment, and make any observations they think fit, and these observations must be communicated to the general assembly of
shareholders a t t h e same time as the report of t h e board of directors. 1 During the meeting devoted to this examination, the
works committee may have the assistance of a chartered accountant 2, paid by the undertaking, who may take cognisance of the
books which must be kept in accordance with the law (day book,
inventory book and letter book).
In the second place, the works committee may be represented
on the board of directors of the undertaking by two of its members,
one of them belonging to the category of technical and managerial
staff and foremen, the other to t h a t of the salaried employees and
wage earners ; they attend all meetings of the board of directors in
an advisory capacity. In undertakings which have a number of
establishments, the delegates are nominated by the central works
committee. The committee has therefore the most complete
information and is directly informed as to the management of
the undertaking.
The Act of 16 May 1946, which thus introduced in an advisory
capacity the delegates of the works committees into the boards of
directors of private undertakings, was, stated the Minister of Labour,
" the first step towards associating the staff with the management
of the undertaking ". 3 In fact, in the opinion of the C.G.T., this
Act constitutes a moral victory for the working class. The C.G.T.
stated, " Although the delegates only attend the boards of directors
in an advisory and not in a deliberative capacity, this is the beginning
1
The regulations of the French Insurance Company for Foreign Trade (see
p. 115) lays down t h a t the assembly of shareholders " h e a r s . . . if necessary, the
comments of the works committee." See in Droit social, Nov. 1947, p . 369, "Observations du Comité central d'entreprise des établissements... sur les documents
relatifs à l'exercice 1945, soumis à l'assemblée générale des actionnaires ".
2
Since a controversy has arisen as to the field of application of this provision
and, more particularly, on the question as to whether in all undertakings, whatever
their legal character, the works committee may be assisted by a chartered account a n t paid by the undertaking, the Council of State, which had been consulted
by the Minister of Labour, decided in the affirmative. The Government adopted
this point of view (Ministerial Circular of 16 Sept. 1947). Nevertheless, as the
opinion of the Council of State has not the force of a law, this assistance has been
refused t o works committees of undertakings which are not incorporated as a
limited liability company. These committees have appealed to the courts, and
it is for the courts to decide. Certain of these committees have lost their cases
before the courts of summary jurisdiction b u t the courts of appeal and the Court
of Cassation have still to give their opinion.
The law determines the procedure for drawing up lists of chartered accountants out of which the committees m a y choose their expert. The experts are bound
to professional secrecy and may only communicate t o the works committee information coming under their express d u t y of auditing the accounts provided by the
documents submitted to the general assembly.
3
Ministerial Circular of 31 July 1946.

212

CO-OPERATION I N THE UNDERTAKING

of a considerable revolution in the relations between employers and
wage earners, and from now on the presence of the delegates of the
committee at the meetings of the board of directors will certainly be
of great service to the board."
On this subject, the C.N.P.F. advises the heads of undertakings
" firmly to maintain their position in face of the board of directors,
to which they are responsible for the management, and the works committee, in dealing with which they represent both the ownership
and the management of the undertaking. In this matter it is impossible
for them to allow either that the representatives of the committee on
the board of directors should appeal straight to the directors on questions
concerning which they had not previously been consulted or that the
directors should be indirectly assisted by representatives of the works
committee to exercise a control on their behaviour." Furthermore, it
recommends them " to require that the representatives of the works committee on the board of directors should give an account of their stewardship
during the meetings of the works committee in order that it may rectify
or control information given by them as to the activity and decisions
of the board of directors". The Paris Chamber of Commerce thinks
that contact between the board of directors and the works committee
should be normal ; but it would have preferred, rather than the solution
adopted, a yearly meeting of the board of directors and the works
committee, after the preparation of the balance sheet, and in presence
of the auditors, during which all explanations as to the financial situation
of the undertaking would be supplied, as shown by the profit and loss
account, the balance sheet and the financial programme for the future.
However, in the case of certain nationalised undertakings the
Government went farther. The members of the works committee
or the members proposed by the works committee sit and
vote as representatives of the staff on the boards of directors
of the Alsace potash mines, the National Industrial Office for
Nitrogen and the Petroleum Administration.
Management

Committees.

Certain committees on which there are sometimes only representatives of the staff have, in the economic field, powers which in
practice are more extensive than those of the works committees.
These are the so-called " management " committees, the establishment of which has already been mentioned. These committees are,
strictly speaking, advisory committees for management ; they
have no direct power of management, for they have no power
to take decisions or separate responsibility. They are merely
organisations responsible for assisting the responsible director or
administrator, generally nominated by the public authorities, who
alone can decide. In practice, the responsible directors or administrators work in close collaboration with the committees, and
the decisions are taken jointly, and thus the committees parti-

WORKS COMMITTEES

213

cipate in the management much more effectively t h a n t h e works
committees.
I t has been seen t h a t these committees are of very varied
origin. 1 They have developed in different and somewhat divergent
directions. Some, for instance, have become works committees,
and have only the powers which are recognised as belonging to
the latter. Others have maintained their original powers, and
have added to them those of works committees ; in such cases
the result is a works committee with extended powers, a situation
which is legal if it results from an agreement with the management. Several have remained separate from the works committees;
leaving to the latter their own duties, they deal only with the
management of the undertaking.
I n practice there is no legal status for management committees ;
each of them has its own status, which sometimes merely represents
a de facto situation. We will, therefore,. merely quote several
characteristic examples.
Berliet Automobile Company. The best known case is that of the
Berliet Automobile Company at Lyons.2 At the liberation the Commissioner for the Republic of the Rhône-Alps region put the company
under sequestration 3, and provided it with an administrator who was
to be assisted by an advisory committee of not less than three members,
two of whom must belong to the staff of the company ; the composition
of this committee had to be ratified by the Prefect of the Rhône department.4 This advisory committee, which was given the name of management committee, was set up after an agreement with the trade unions
and the engineers, and consisted of a representative of the technicians
and two representatives of the workers. " The participation in the
management of the board of directors should, from the beginning ",
stated the Commissioner of the Republic who initiated this measure,
" make it possible to ensure the participation of the staff in the life
of the undertaking and to interest them in its activities and development ; close contact between management and staff was established
from the first in an atmosphere of mutual confidence."5
" In a meeting of the council ", said the administrator of sequestrated
property himself, " questions connected with the management of the
factory are argued, discussed and decided jointly (programme for
manufacture, purchase of material, engagement of workers, wages,
etc.). There has never been any conflict on the board of directors,
1

See p. 163.
See " L'expérience Berliet ", by Y. FABGBS, in Revue française du travail,
May 1946 ; " L'expérience Berliet est-elle une réussite ? ", b y P. DOLLIAN and M.
F A B B B , in Economie et Humanisme, Sept.-Oct. 1946 ; and " L'expérience Berliet ", in Droit social, Nov. 1946.
3
Since 1 Aug. 1946, by a ministerial decision, the system of administration
under sequestration has been replaced b y a system of provisional administration.
4
Order of 5 Sept. 1944, Journal officiel du Commissariat de la République de
la Région Rhône-Alpes, 6 Sept. 1944.
2

5

Y.

F A B G E S : op.

cit.

214

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

whatever the subject discussed, mainly because we think and judge
alike. The participation of the worker members of the board of directors, the full support of the union delegates and the effective moral
and material assistance of the responsible members of the metal
workers' union have been governing factors in this new system of management." 1
A patriotic committee set up in the first days of the new management
contributed largely to the resumption of normal activities. Since
then this committee has been replaced by building committees and
a central works committee, under the legislation concerning works
committees.
" The administrator and his management committee, with the support of these bodies, decides in full sovereignty the programmes for reconstruction, manufacture and administration. Through their representatives on the central works committee, the delegates of each building
committee and through them the staff as a whole are kept in touch
with the management and the general situation of the firm. Thus
management and staff have been able jointly and in a spirit of confident
and active collaboration to place their efforts at the service of an undertaking in which they feel that they are all united." 2
The index of production of the factory (1943 = 100) averaged 63
from January 1944 to the end of August 1944 3 (the factory was
bombed on 2 May 1944) it averaged 108.5 from September 1944 to
February 1945 and was 168.25 in July 1946. On this latter date the
production already amounted to 95 to 97 per cent, of pre-war production. The numbers of the staff rose from 3,800 in September 1944 to
7,800 in the first six months of 1947.
The financial year 1945 showed a net profit of 34 million francs
after 40 million had been shared out among the staff and large reserves had been established for renewal of equipment and stocks. The
workers' individual shares in the profits varied between 2,000 and
20,000 francs per head ; this large difference arose from the importance given to the factor " skill and responsibility " in fixing the
size of each worker's share.4
The Nord Steel Works at MarseiÜes-Capelette. Another example of
management by the workers may be found in the present operation
of the Nord locomotive repair shops at Marseilles-Capelette.5 This
1
" Rapport de l'administrateur-séquestre des établissements Berliet à la
deuxième assemblée générale du personnel " (15 Sept. 1945), in Contact (staff
journal of the Berliet Establishments), 8 Oct. 1945.
s

3

Y.

F A B G E S , op.

cit.

The index of production is a relation between the total weight of production
(weight of vehicles plus weight of spare parts) and the figures for the staff combined
with the number of hours per week.
4
Four factors are taken into account : application to work (effort made,
initiative and good will shown) ; devotion to work (constancy of eñort a n d steady
attention t o work, which alone favourably influence the working of the undertaking ; skill and responsibility, which have a great influence on output and t h e
margin of profits of the undertaking ; seniority, which shows faithfulness t o the
undertaking and attachment to economic and social experience in the undertaking
(the regulations lay down in detail how a n d by whom each factor is to be weighted
a n d its figure). The four factors give the proportional share of each worker.
(Economie et Humanisme, Sept.-Oct. 1946, p . 510.)
5
Droit social, Dec. 1946, p. 425.

WORKS COMMITTEES

215

factory is one of the nine establishments of the Nord steel works, a
limited company specialising in repairs, particularly for the railways.
At the time of the liberation the directors and some of the higher staff
were arrested, and the factory was taken over by a group of workers belonging to the patriotic militia, who were able to prevent the systematic
destruction contemplated by the Germans. Immediately after the departure of the occupying forces the staff on its own initiative organised a
purge among the technical and managerial staff of the factory, established a new provisional hierarchy, repaired the damage and came
to an agreement with the railways. Work was resumed, but under
very precarious conditions from the financial point of view, for no liaison had yet been established with the headquarters in Paris, and the
staff had no resources. In order to make the life of the factory legally
possible, the Commissioner of the Republic for the Marseilles district,
on the proposal of the liberation committee for Bouches-du-Rhône,
on 12 September 1944 enacted a decree requisitioning the factory
and nominating a provisional manager assisted by an advisory committee consisting of one engineer member, one technician, one worker and
three representatives of the board of directors of the company to be
appointed later. 1 The manager and the members of the committee
were chosen by the Commissioner of the Republic out of a list drawn
up by the staff. At the same time the funds standing in the factory's
name in the post office and in banks were unblocked and put at the
disposal of the provisional manager.
Later, the situation between the Marseilles-Capelette factory and
the headquarters was not regularised. The board of directors of the
company and then the provisional administrator who replaced it never
appointed their representatives on the managing committee of the
Marseilles factory ; the factory retained its autonomy and continued
to work under the requisition régime, managed by the provisional
manager and the advisory committee consisting of three members of
the staff, who took as their motto "Service rather than profit". Later,
a works committee was set up, which collaborates with the management
committee and provides liaison between the management and the
staff. Here again, as in the Berliet establishments, there is complete
management by the workers.
Statistics show that production has not dropped under the new
management. The report drawn up in September 1945 after one year
of worker management stated that, through economies in staff and
general expenditure and a carefully studied organisation of labour,
the general output of the factory had increased about 11 per cent.2

1
Similar measures of requisition were taken in respect of 14 other establishments in Marseilles employing 15,000 workers (including Marseilles-Capelette).
Among t h e undertakings requisitioned were four large lighterage undertakings of
the port of Marseilles. A special service has been set u p for the co-ordination and
supervision of the management of these undertakings (Order of 29 May 1946,
J.O., J u n e 1946, p . 4,855). The head of this service a n d the technical committee
assisting him include the four managers of the undertakings concerned and the
chairman of the union of the port undertakings, who have alongside them a n
advisory committee in which there are a n equal number of representatives of the
State, of consumers, of the shareholders of the undertakings in question and of
the staff.
8
Un an de gestion ouvrière aux Aciéries du Nord de Marseille-Capelette par le
comité de gestion (1945).

15

216

CO-OPERATION EST THE UNDERTAKING

Fouga establishments.1 In the two examples quoted above there
was a break between the old system of management and the new. Since
the former board of directors no longer existed or no longer had any
right to supervision, management was provided by new bodies in
which only the staff was represented. A third example may be quoted
in which the former administration continued, but agreed to the staff
sharing through its representatives in the management of the undertaking in a much greater measure than is provided for by the legislation
concerning works committees—the Fouga establishments at Béziers
(Hérault), which specialise in the repair of railway material. Shortly
after the liberation, on 30 September 1944, under the auspices of the
municipality, an agreement was concluded between the directorate
of the undertaking and the representatives of the union of metal workers
(C.G.T.) and the Hberation committee of the undertaking. This agreement was renewed on 24 April 1945 in order to adapt certain of its
provisions to the legislation concerning works committees. The agreement provides : (1) that the board of directors should delegate all its
powers without restriction to the chairman of the board who, in his
turn, should delegate them to the director-general of the establishments
approved by the liberation committee ; (2) that a council of management should exercise a general right of supervision allowing effective
control of all the technical, administrative, commercial and financial
organisation of the establishment, so that the establishment would be
completely at the service of the undertaking and the undertaking at
the service of the nation.2 The director is responsible to the managing
committee for the carrying out of measures decided by mutual agreement.
The management committee is entitled to recommend to the director
the adoption of any technical or administrative suggestions concerning
the general organisation of the establishments and to recommend in
urgent cases to the director and if necessary to the qualified representative of the Government " immediate measures to be taken to safeguard an institution which has to take note of national requirements
as well as the interests of production and the staff ".
These powers have been completed by reference to the legislation
concerning works committees, under which the management committee
must have all the prerogatives not defined in detail in the agreement
which are granted by this legislation to works committees ; the agreement is thus considered as an improvement on the legislation in question.
The committee, which retains the name of management committee,
consists of the director of the establishment, a representative of the
higher staff or an engineer, four technicians or foremen, five wage
earners and three employees.
The committee meets once a week, except in case of urgency, and
a subcommittee of two members deals with current business and ensures
permanent contact with the management. The agreement lays down
the conditions for the establishment of the committee (eligibility for
voting and membership, voting procedure, etc.), which is somewhat
different from the conditions provided for under the legislation concerning works committees, and it entrusts to the union organisations
the task of preparing lists of candidates and gives them the right to
1
" Le comité de gestion des établissements Fouga à Béziers ", b y J . FATJBE,
in Droit social, J a n . 1947, p . 34.
8
This formula is t h e same as t h a t which is found in the so-called Toulouse
agreements (see p . 164).

WORKS COMMITTEES

217

cancel during their term of service the mandate of the members of the
committee that they have proposed.
This agreement is remarkable in that the chairman of the board of
directors and the manager are approved by the staff, that they keep
their prerogatives and that the management committee, although its
powers are more extensive than those recommended by the law in
respect of works committees, participates in the management in an
advisory capacity only. In fact, in view of the permanent liaison
established by contract between the management and the committee,
the latter is continually in touch with the activities of the management
and is even in a position at any moment to exercise an influence on
the decisions on which the life of the undertaking depends. In practice
the management has adopted the following rule : it regularly submits
its intentions and the decisions which it intends to take to the management committee. The latter submits its objections. The management
examines them conscientiously and meets them, if it can. If it cannot,
it gives its reasons. Acting in such a way, it has always been possible
for the management to take necessary decisions without any friction ;
each party has confidence that the other is working for the prosperity
of the undertaking and the improvement of the social conditions of
the staff, and this has led to a social atmosphere favourable to satisfactory
collaboration. Production and output have increased, and the staff,
apart from the advantages it derives from the welfare work of the
undertaking, shares in the profits.
Other cases of collaboration in the management of the undertaking
beyond that provided for by the legislation concerning works committees
may be found in the establishments placed under State sequestration.
In many of them the works committees collaborate very closely in
management with the administrators nominated by the civil administration. The latter generally find among the members of the works committees advisers whose opinions on technical questions (conclusion
of agreements, use of equipment or manpower, carrying out of work,
etc.) assist them in their duties.
Future status of undertakings that have been confiscated or
sequestered. A question not yet settled is t h e future status of
undertakings whose owners have been ejected by confiscation,
requisition or sequestration, and which are entirely or t o a large
extent managed by t h e staff. A solution has already been found
for some of the undertakings in the nationalisation measures
analysed in the previous chapter, and others have been returned
to their owners, but some are still under a provisional regime
which t h e staff would like to see ended. 1 Where, under the provisional regime of management, the enterprises have developed,
the staff concerned have pointed out t h a t they should not be
1
A national conference of representatives of the staff of the undertakings in
question met in Paris on 26 J a n . 1947 under the auspices of the Federation of
Metal Workers (C.G.T.) with a view to giving the staff information which would
enable it to determine its position as to the final status of these undertakings.

218

CO-OPERATION EST THE UNDERTAKING

deprived of the increase in value which they regard as t h e result
of their work.
The Act of 3 September 1947 1 concerning t h e regularising of
the position of these undertakings takes account of this argument ;
it provides t h a t as and when the requisitions expire, the situation
of each undertaking should be settled, in so far as agreements
have not been concluded between the parties concerned, b y the
liquidating body, an arbitration committee which is to include
delegates of former managements and provisional managements,
t h e representatives of t h e ministers concerned and representatives
of the workers and t h e technical and managerial staff of the undertaking. These committees have among other things t h e task of
facilitating t h e negotiation of all agreements to be concluded
between the State, the representatives of t h e staff, the managements which are giving up office, and t h e owners of t h e
undertakings, and they are if necessary to arbitrate in cases of
disagreement. The committees for provisional management must
give to the State an account of their management, since t h e
provisional management of the undertakings in question must
be regarded as carried out in t h e name of and for t h e profit of
the State.
The National Assembly has before it several schemes concerning
the final status to be given to the Berliet establishments—nationalisation, t h e creation of a company managed by t h e staff or t h e
constitution of a company of mixed economy. 2
The committee for industrial production of the National Assembly
drew up in June 1948 a new scheme which is to some extent a synthesis
of the texts submitted to the Assembly. This scheme provides for the
constitution of a company with tripartite capital and management,
grouping together the staff, the depositors and the State.
The capital of the company would be constituted as follows : (1) a
sum representing the difference between the effective value on 5 September 1924 and the date of the promulgation of the Act, a sum allocated
to the staff as a whole ; (2) the share of the State corresponding to the
conversion of debentures, derived from confiscations made by the
courts of justice in respect of property of the shareholders who have
been sentenced ; (3) the part of outside shareholders or members of
the staff who desire to invest in a private capacity.
The general meeting of shareholders would be composed of all the
members of the company, staff, shareholders and the State, the staff
1

J.O., 4 Sept. 1947, p . 8,770.
A t the time of its general assembly of 12 July 1946 the staff of these establishments requested t h a t the undertaking should be given a definite legal status taking
the form of a national Government undertaking, and stated t h a t in view of the
efforts and sacrifices freely made and t h e excellent results obtained it could not
agree to these establishments being returned to private ownership.
2

WORKS COMMITTEES

219

electing its representatives by vote in three electoral bodies. The
governing body would include six representatives of the staff, three
representatives of the Ministers and three representatives of the individual shareholders.
Any sum levied on the profits in order to establish a reserve would
be regarded as due to the staff and credited to the account of each
wage earner of the undertaking ; expressed in hours of work, this part
of the savings would be credited by name ; the undertaking might
agree to grant advances under conditions fixed by the regulations.
Automatic repayment would only take place when the person entitled
to repayment left the service. The profit balance of the company would be allotted half to labour and half to capital. 1
CO-ORDINATION OF W O R K S COMMITTEES

Under present conditions works committees are autonomous
organisations having no organic connection with each other.
The inter-works committees themselves are only committees
acting as such for the management of certain work and have
connections only with the committees which set them up—
and even then, only if the undertakings grouped together have
works committees.
The law has not provided for any body to co-ordinate works
committees on either a regional or an occupational basis. The
only institution common to them is the Higher Committee for
Works Committees. This, however, is an advisory body set
up at the Government level which does not participate directly
in the life of the committees and on which the latter are not
directly represented. 2
Failing official action, co-ordination has been attempted in the
metallurgical industry by the meeting in 1946 and 1947 of a national
conference of representatives of workers affiliated to the C.G.T. and
serving on the works committees of this industry. 3 This conference,
however, brought together not the works committees themselves but
only the representatives on the committees of workers with a certain
trade union tendency. The same applied to the general national conference organised by the Ç.G.T. which met in Paris at the beginning
of April 1948, and as a result of which the C.G.T. set up a National
Committee for Works Committees which included members of the
C.G.T. secretariat, representatives of the federations and delegates
of the works committees ; the federations and departmental unions
will constitute federal and departmental committees on the same
basis. 4
» L'Aube, 26 J u n e 1948.
1
The co-ordination of the joint committees for production in munitions
factories is provided for a t the level of the technical directorates b y higher
advisory councils.
3
See p . 167.
*Le Peuple, 8-15 Apr. 1948.

220

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

However, the question might arise of t h e necessity of coordinating the activities of the committees and for that purpose
of setting up new organisations.
A divisional inspector for labour stated : " Works committees
at present operate in a confused manner. They often meet the same
difficulties, and often have to solve the same problems. The efforts
of one committee benefit only that particular committee. Experiments
tried in one undertaking are not known to other undertakings. On
the other hand, co-ordination of the committees on a national or regional
basis would enable the results of experiments to be known and would
avoid repetition of the same mistakes, and encourage the activities of
the committees. Such co-ordination might be organised through joint
bodies, both vertically by occupation and horizontally by grouping
occupations on a national and departmental basis."
As against this theory it has been pointed out t h a t the works
committees are organisations which must work within each establishment, taking account of the special conditions in t h a t establishment, and t h a t the very object of the legislation which set
them up is research and collaboration in the undertaking and
not outside. Should any activities outside the undertaking be
organised it should be rather contemplated on the basis of the
trade union.
Such is the problem ; no doubt criteria for an appropriate
solution will emerge as the committees themselves develop.

Attitude of Employers, Technical and Managerial Staff and
Workers towards Works Committees
The previous pages have shown t h e attitude of employers
and workers on various controversial points of the regulations
concerning works committees. Some general opinions of employers
and workers on the institution as a whole are given below.
After the promulgation of the Ordinance of 22 February 1945
setting up the works committees, the C.N.P.F. expressed a desire to
apply these regulations " i n a spirit favourable to an even closer association of workers in the economic life of the country ". But it thought,
" after the experience of the first measures, that this institution could
only develop gradually, and that any hasty extension would endanger
its success and would also prejudice the productive effort that it was
intended to promote ".
The amendments introduced by the Act of 16 May 1946 also aroused
apprehensions among employers, who felt "that far from improving
on the initial legislation they might give rise to unfortunate ambiguity
which might prejudice the good work of the committees". They "regretted measures-that changed the nature of an institution which they had

WORKS COMMITTEES

221

fully supported", and they emphasised that the works committee could
only carry out its constructive task in an atmosphere of mutual
confidence ; " since the undertaking can only function effectually in
order and discipline, the application of the law must set aside anything
that might lead to friction in the life of the committee or tend to interfere with the authority of the responsible head of the undertaking ".
However, through the provision for the possible resort to collective
agreements to determine the functions or powers of the works committees, the C.N.P.F. hoped that it would be possible to bring about
an institution whose future would depend essentially on the spirit
in which it was used, and pointed out that it would be the duty of
heads of undertakings to make every effort to guide it towards ends
which are in accordance with the interests of their undertaking and
their staff, and the higher interest of the country.
The French Confederation of Professions 1 considered that the
works committee must regularise the social relations within the
undertaking, getting technical opinions from the " men in the job "
while explaining to them the various difficulties affecting production,
financial, fiscal, legal, political and international, and frankly explaining the results, the complete miscalculation of which often gives rise
to disputes.2
The Young Employers' Centre appears to be favourable to the
institution ; it stated : " Employers and -workers formerly met only
rarely, on the occasion of a dispute and in an atmosphere of antagonism.
The works committee will provide permanent contacts which will promote relations of frankness and mutual confidence ". s
A similar point of view is expressed by the C.G.C. : " The technical
and managerial staff welcome the establishment of works committees,
and expect them to change the social atmosphere in undertakings. They
have always endeavoured to be the connecting link between the
management of the undertaking and the workers, and know how often
misunderstandings have been remedied by frequent contacts between
the various sections of the producing staff. Management is responsible for managing the business and can therefore claim freedom of
decision, but workers are not guaranteed against the risks of bad
management. They are therefore entitled to demand that control
be exercised.
" I t is within the works committee that the management and the
wage earners of the undertaking can and should collaborate with a
view to collective welfare. The technical and managerial staff will
endeavour to put all their technical competence at the disposal of all
in the search for just and effective solutions.
" They hope that both management and workers will understand the
difficulties with which they are faced, and will facilitate their task by
giving them their full trust."
While the employers' organisations expressed their apprehensions
at the new provisions of the Act of 16 May 1946, the workers' organisations on their side had been disappointed not to see these provisions
already incorporated in the Ordinance of 22 February 1945, as the
Consultative Assembly had proposed, and had protested strongly.
The Act of 16 May 1946 gave them considerable satisfaction.
1

An organisation grouping 15,000 heads of undertakings.

2

P . B A Y A E T : op. cit.,

» Ibid., p . 245.

p.

248.

222

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

" This Act ", declared the Secretary of the Federation of Metal
Workers (C.G.T.), " marks a new step forward for workers and the
French trade union movement... ; it gives new possibilities for the
development of democratic principles in the workplace itself. " One of
the secretaries of the C.G.T., Mr. René Bothereau, now Secretary-General
of the C.G.T.-F.O., stated in 1946 : " The trade union movement regards
the establishment of works committees as a very important reform ;
in a field hitherto closed to it, the movement can now exercise collective activity for economic purposes". 1
A report of the C.G.T. expresses the same opinion in other words :
" For the first time ", it says, "—and this is important, if not decisive
—there is compulsory collective representation of wage earners in
respect of economic questions at the place where the undertaking is
situated, three factors which, taken together, express the whole meaning
of the reform ". And this report adds : " The operation of the works
committees is calculated to facilitate trade union action by enabling
the representatives of the staff to acquire more accurate knowledge
of the situation of the undertakings and the possibilities arising therefrom for the defence of the interests of the workers ". a
The C.F.T.C. considered that the Act of 6 May 1946 was a definite
improvement on the legislation of 1945 : " The workers now have
not merely supervision, but real collaboration, and an actual right
of consultation, which was very restricted in the Ordinance of 1945.
These new provisions indicate a definite progress in the liberation of
the working class, which is now admitted to gradual participation
in general management." It considers, however, " that these are only
partial results, which are still very inadequate ", and it demands " a
complete recasting of the general economy of all industrial organisation,
in which the ' man-worker ' shall no longer be regarded as a minor, but
a real personality on the same footing as the ' man-money ' , and possessing in the same way, by principle and no longer accidentally, an
actual and complete right to participate in the management, administration, ownership and profits of the undertaking ". 3
Thus, whatever their tendencies, the workers' organisations desire
to see wage earners take an effective part in the management of the
undertaking, with everything that that involves in respect of duties,
rights and responsibilities.
Working of t h e Committees
ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMITTEES

The Ordinance of 22 February 1945, which applies to undertakings employing more than 100 wage earners, affected 7,500
establishments and 2,500,000 wage earners out of the 1,800,000
establishments and 12,500,000 wage earners in France at t h a t
time. The Act of 16 May 1946 extended its application to
undertakings employing from 50 to 100 wage earners, and
1
a
3

La Revue économique et sociale, Aug.-Sept. 1946, p . 10.
La Voix du Peuple, J a n . 1946, p p . 39 and 163.
Communication from the C.F.T.C.

WOBKS COMMITTEES

223

therefore affected 8,500 additional establishments, employing about
700,000 wage earners.
Statistics supplied by the Minister of Labour show t h a t on
1 March 1946—before t h e extension of legislation t o t h e small
undertakings—of the 6,215 committees contemplated, 4,467 had
been estabUshed, that is, 72 per cent, of t h e programme had
been carried out. The Paris district led with 1,555 committees
estabUshed out of the 1,830 contemplated. The branches of
industry in which committees were most numerous at t h a t time
were metallurgy, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs and building.
At the beginning of 1948 the committees registered by the
Minister of Labour numbered about 8,600 (1,600 in the metallurgical industry and 935 in the textile industry).
T H E COMMITTEE WITHIN THE UNDERTAKING

EstabUshed within the undertaking, t h e committee must
operate as efficiently as possible if it is to carry out its tasks, and a
number of conditions must be compUed with before an atmosphere
favourable to co-operative work can be estabUshed.
Goodwill of the Parties
Experience has shown t h a t the committees have been successful wherever the heads of the undertaking and the staff have
shown good will, wherever wage earners have come forward to
improve the working of the undertaking and their criticisms have
led to constructive action and wherever the head of the undertaking, by his frankness, has gained the confidence of his staff.
"At all costs", declared the C.G.C., " we must avoid regarding the
works committee as a ground for struggle or sterile criticism, where
opposing classes face each other. It must above all be an organ for
work, for the discussion in good faith of the problems to be solved." 1
The Young Employers' Centre, in a note dated 14 March 1945,
expresses the opinion that " the works committee may become a useful
instrument of co-operation on condition that it does not contribute
de jure or de facto to estabUshing a division between the workers and
their chief, much less an opposition'between them ". " This depends ",
it adds, " on the manner in which the chief carries out his duties, and
the representatives of the staff understand theirs." Anyhow, " the
estabüshment between employers and workers of permanent contacts
conducive to frank relations and mutual confidence " has always
appeared to this group to be essential for " the solidarity which must
unite those who collaborate in production ". 2

16

1

P . B A Y A B T : op. cit.,

2

Ibid., pp. 245-248.

p.

241.

224

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

A French employer stated : " If the state of mind created in the
mass of wage earners is really a spirit of co-operation, and if, on their
side, managements are frank and loyal, the establishment of works
committees may be the decisive factor in the recovery of France." *
The basis for the co-operation between employers and workers
will be strengthened by the joint declaration of the C.G.T. and
the C.N.P.F. concerning respect for each other's rights published
in July 1947 : " Within the framework of t h e existing laws t h e
C.G.T. does not dispute the authority of the head of the undertaking, nor does the C.N.P.F. dispute the exercise of the rights
of trade unions ".
Those concerned thus agree to recognise t h a t the action of the
works committee should be reconciled with respect for the necessary
authority of the head of the undertaking and, in general, of the
authority of the technical and managerial staff mainly responsible for the undertaking.
Speaking at the national conference for munitions production
(February 1946) on the role that the joint committees for production
should play, the Minister for Munitions said " i t is not a question of
the joint committees for production directing the undertakings ; they
must assist in revitalising them by increased production. There are
employers and contractors responsible for production. It is for them
to choose their managerial staff at all levels of the production process.
Without this spirit of responsibility there is no mòre authority." 2
The same may be said of the works committees. Mr. René Bothereau writes : " The undertaking needs a unified management. Under
our capitalist régime, such management automatically falls to those
who own the undertaking or manage its capital. There should be
no confusion between the management and the works committee.
The works committees, on which the staff and the management are
both represented, have no claim to direct the undertaking."
Moreover, the C.N.P.F., after having pointed out that the provisions
of the Act of 16 May 1946 " tend to increase the interference of the
works committee in the economic management of the undertaking, for
which the head of the undertaking remains solely responsible ", adds
that " the law cannot create authority and cannot destroy it " and
gives to the head of the undertaking the following advice : " Today,
as yesterday, it is for the head of the undertaking, whose policy in this
field, as in any other, should he continuous, to see that the committee
is an instrument of constructive collaboration between the management
and the staff. The influence of the employer can create a favourable
atmosphere. It is his frank and spontaneous explanations, and not
legal quibbles, which will do away with suspicions, if there are any,
and prevent attempts by the committee to interfere in the sphere
belonging to management. By his energetic and comprehensive
attitude he can eliminate systematic opposition and arouse good will."
1

Le Figaro, 5 May 1945.
Les usines d'armement au service de l'économie française,
and 75.
2

op. cit., p p . 38

WORKS COMMITTEES

Bole of Trade

225

Unions

Reference has already been made to the role t h a t trade unions
have been called on to play in respect of the works committees,
of which they " follow all the activities ", and of which they are
guardians and advisers. 1 The committee draws its strength from the
trade union organisation, and the Secretary of the Metal Workers'
Federation (C.G.T.) goes as far as to say t h a t it is " an instrument
of trade union organisation ". I n any case, the trade union
organisation and, more particularly, if it exists, the union organisation of the undertaking, often inspires it. 2 I t is the duty of the
trade union to keep the committee in the path of co-operation,
and to see t h a t it does not discuss questions that should be dealt
with by the union or by the staff delegates and which might
unfavourably influence the atmosphere of the committee's meetings.
This is a direct task t h a t the trade unions can carry out at
all stages by showing the workers all the advantages to be derived
from the committees for the improvement of their social conditions
and by helping in the training of committee members.
Participation

of the Staff

The co-operation on which the committee is based must have
fundamental support from the staff of the undertaking. The
members of the committee must be supported by those who
have elected them. Each wage earner must make his contribution
by his suggestions and what he actually carries out. There should
be a continually renewed drive from the staff, which must a t
the same time be kept in touch with the activities of the committee.
Also, close liaison must be established between the committee
and the staff by meetings, notices, bulletins and newspapers, etc.
I t was in this spirit t h a t the works committee of the Petroleum
Administration submitted its first monthly bulletin :
You have elected a works committee . . . and have now probably
forgotten all about it. Perhaps, like the character from André Maurois,
you think that, once elected, your representatives can get on with
their job and leave you in peace to go fishing or to watch your favourite
football team, with the satisfaction of a man who has done his duty.
Your representatives do not regard the matter in that light. They
have looked for ways of associating you actively in their work and
of keeping close contact with you so that they can carry out the job
assigned to them.
1
2

J . MOTTIN : Comités d'entreprise (Editions Spid, 1947).
For the opinion of the C.N.P.F., see note 1, p. 229.

226

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

That job is as follows : effective participation in the progress of
your undertaking, not only by daily work but also by a continually
active spirit of criticism. It is the spirit of criticism that brings about
reforms and improvements, not just complaining without proposing a
remedy. 1
One can see t h e part t h a t trade unions can take in this liaison
work, by putting at the disposal of the committees their means
of communicating information. A number of factory newspapers
work both for the works committee and the trade union section. 2
Training

of Members

Another essential condition for the success of works committees
is t h a t the members representing the staff should be capable of
carrying out their duties properly. " I t was easy ", said the
C.G.T., " to see at the beginning what would be the essential
difficulty with which members of works committees would be
faced. They were called on to discuss with employers and technicians problems whose importance they fully realised, but which
might take them by surprise by their new and complex details.
They were thus liable to develop an inferiority complex in the
presence of persons questioning them in a language with which
they were not familiar." 3
" We have been able to ascertain, during the last financial
year ", says the first yearly report of the works committee of
the Petroleum Administration, " t h a t the members of a works
committee have a difficult job to learn. Participation in the life
of the undertaking, accurate knowledge of its management,
acquaintance with its programme and its results involve conditions
of adaptation and evaluation which the members of a committee
can only acquire if they have certain practical experience of the
matters on which they are required to pass judgment."
The necessity for the technical training of the members of
the works committees, particularly in respect of economic and
financial questions, has thus been recognised by those concerned
and by the trade union organisations and the public authorities.
On the initiative of the competent authorities and under the auspices
of the Institute of Labour, a series of lectures on the legislation concerning works committees was given at the beginning of the year 1947
1

Bulletin de la Régie autonome des pétroles, J a n . 1946.
The C.G.T. insists t h a t reports of committees should be published in newspapers or bulletins brought out by the union and not jointly b y workers and
employers (Le Peuple, 8-15 Apr. 1948).
3
La Voix du Peuple, J a n . 1946, p . 163.
2

WOKKS COMMITTEES

227

at the Arts and Crafts Conservatory to an audience of employers and
workers. 1 In a number of industrial centres the labour inspectors,
following directives from the Ministry of Labour, or on their own initiative and in collaboration with the trade union. organisations, have
organised courses or lectures for the members of the works committees.
The main trade union centres have used for the training of members
of works committees the organisations for workers' education already
existing such as the Confederal Centre for Workers' Education of the
C.G.T. and the Workers' College of the C.F.T.C., both founded in 1932,
or have set up others for this definite object, such as the Permanent
National Committee on Training for Leadership of the C.G.T. and the
training committees of the C.F.T.C.
The essential object of the C.G.T. National Committee on Training
for Leadership, set up in 1945, is to prepare organised workers for
membership of certain bodies. With this aim in view it organised
a training programme in three stages. The first, intended particularly
for members of works committees, is provided through the C.G.T.
district associations ; the curriculum is covered by 25 to 30 lectures, the
text of which has been sent to the district associations by the National
Committee ; on 31 December 1945, 42 district associations had already
established their own training committees for this purpose, and had
organised 15 courses in 133 different places. The second stage—
training for duty as union officials—is given in Paris ; the courses
are attended by men and women who have passed through the first
stage of training and have been sent forward by the district associations.
The third stage—training for service as representatives of the trade
federations on national advisory agencies or on the boards of nationalised
undertakings and industries—is given, also in Paris, to candidates
specially selected by the federations.
To meet the expenses involved, the C.G.T. may draw on a Ministry
of Labour grant as well as on its own resources and those of its federations
and district associations. This grant is taken from the unutilised
balance of a credit of one thousand million francs which was originally
provided for the social committees set up under the Labour Charter.
The C.G.T.'s National Committee thus had nearly 1,500,000 francs at
its disposal in 1945, and has actually spent nearly 800,000.
The C.G.T.-F.O. has likewise set up a workers' education centre,
which supplies documentation to study centres, workers' colleges,
etc., which have been established under the Confederation's central
bureau.
The C.F.T.C. has prepared a comprehensive scheme for training
of a similar character. This includes : basic training, mainly for collective or trade union action inside the undertaking ; a second stage,
comprising local study groups and one-day district courses ; higher
training for national officials, given by 12 special workers' colleges and
consisting of four series of short courses every year ; specialised training
for permanent secretaries, workers' delegates and members of boards
of social security funds ; and lastly, training of members of works
committees, in which the respective trade federations take part. For
this last purpose, classes, study circles and all-day courses are organised
at each level—in undertakings and by the local and district associations
of the Confederation ; programmes relate mainly to the structure and
management of the undertaking. Apart from the classes and courses
1

Syndicalisme,

23-29 J a n . 1947.

228

GO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

properly so-called, the most usual form of training is the study in
common of practical cases with which delegates have had to deal.
The whole training scheme is under a special confederal committee,
assisted by regional, district and local committees, with a monthly
circular from the confederal committee to act as a link. It is financed
by an allowance out of the Confederation's funds, plus a Ministry of
Labour grant.
The big labour organisations have published a number of pamphlets,
etc., which not only explain and comment on the relevant laws and
regulations, but also give information regarding the administrative
and financial organisation of undertakings—a subject of which workers
know little but which is most important to informed study and the
comprehension of balance sheets, fa 1948 the C.G.T. started a monthly
review devoted to works committees. The congresses of these organisations also pay regular attention to the question of works committees.
Further, early in 1946 the Federation of Metal Workers of the
C.G.T. held a national conference of those of its members who represent
the various groups of employees on works committees in the metalindustries ; about 1,000 delegates reported on their work in the two
fields of production and welfare, with criticism and suggestions ; and
the Secretary of the Federation read a paper on the duties of the works
committees. In April 1947 a second conference took place, with 2,500
delegates present ; discussion there centred on the part which the
committees can play in the campaign for lower prices by investigating
costs of production and stocks. Lastly the C.G.T. itself and the national
conference of over 8,000 members of works committees which it held
from 2 to 4 April 1948 have brought out a programme of guidance for
works committees. The resolution passed by this conference states
that the committees " can and must play a big part in rescuing the
country from disorder and chaos, blocking the rise in prices, increasing
production, saving French economy from the threat of ruin and of
foreign domination, banishing the spectre of unemployment and considerably improving the conditions of" life of the French people... This
requires sustained action for increased efficiency on the part of works
committees and for stronger control by them over economic affairs,
production and prices." Such action, the resolution continues, must
be conducted by the workers' delegates, with the support of the whole
staff of each undertaking and of the unions.1 In conclusion, it urges
that " the workers' representatives on works committees shall consider
it their duty to support with all their authority any action by the C.G.T.
to bring about changes which will enable them successfully to accomplish their proper task of contributing to French recovery in freedom,
sovereignty and national independence ". a
The publications of the General Confederation of Technical and
Managerial Staff (C.G.C.) also inform affiliates of the operation of works
committees and give them general instructions regarding the part
1
At the close of this conference the C.N.]?.P. sent to its member organisations
a note which contained the following statement : " The co-operation necessary
within the undertaking between management and employees cannot be secured
without the loyal and constant efforts of all members of the committee within the
economic and social unit formed by the u n d e r t a k i n g . . . All outside interference in
the work of the committee and particularly all trade union interference can only
impede the efficient working of the committee and the realisation of its aims."
{L'Usine nouvelle, 17 June 1948, p . 15, and La vie de l'entreprise, J u n e 1948, p . 14.)
a
Le Peuple, 8-15 Apr. 1948.

WORKS COMMITTEES

229

they should play. On 26 January 1947 the two interoccupational
organisations of engineers and supervisory staff which form the backbone of this Confederation arranged a " works committees day ",
attended by representatives of technical and managerial workers
on the works committees of about 50 undertakings employing over
500,000 persons ; a series of reports and studies on the work of these
committees was examined.
The C.N.P.F., which has a special subcommittee on the question
of works committees, has sent a number of circulars to its members
for their information.
But the best training school for members of works committees
is experience.
" It is found, in general, " says a labour inspector, " that observations
by members of works committees are more frequent and more judicious
than was the case when the committees began to operate, and they
now constitute an important factor in the debates. The establishment
of welfare committees has enabled them to take their personal share
in responsibility and to try out their administrative capacity."
Functions

of Labour

Inspectors

Apart from securing conformity with the provisions of laws
and regulations regarding works committees, the labour inspectors
are required to intervene directly in the operation of the committees.
For instance, in certain cases of disagreement between the management and the unions, they decide regarding the division of staff
into electoral colleges, the distribution of seats and the dismissal
of members of committees, and they convene and preside over
a committee in case of failure to do so b y the management, take
official note of infringements, etc. They may also have the decisions of committees notified to them.
But apart from these official functions, the labour inspectors
are enabled, by their contacts with managements, staff representatives or responsible trade union officials, to act as advisers or—
if necessary—as unofficial mediators. I n fact, they are no longer
restricted to taking official note of infringements and giving
reminders of the regulations ; they are no longer there simply
to correct abuse, but also to help and encourage the creation in
undertakings of an atmosphere conducive to the co-operation
which is the object of the relevant legislative schemes.
ACHIEVEMENTS

Some of the works committees' achievements have been mentioned in the preceding paragraphs ; but available data do

230

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

not yet enable precise information to be given regarding their performance as a whole.1
The part played by the committees in welfare administration is
certainly the most spectacular of all their activities. There they
found a field of action prepared far in advance, and many committees had only to continue and improve work which had already
reached a high degree of development ; many others, however, have
been able to score striking successes on their own initiative.
Welfare schemes, particularly in the present circumstances,
have an important effect on the conditions of life of workers.
They improve standards of living and, in fact, constitute a very
appreciable supplement to real wages and general social security
arrangements. The schemes which have expanded most since
the war are certainly those relating to supplies—co-operatives,
collective purchasing arrangements and particularly canteens.
These enable the workers to take a solid meal on the spot for a
low price, as a rule representing half its value. Indeed, the largest
item in the expenditure of works committees is canteens, the
subsidies which these receive frequently amounting to half,
if not three fifths, of the committee's income. However, it is
not certain that this type of activity will be so extensive when
supplies are easier to obtain individually and when a fair relation
has been established between prices and wages. Although legally
the sums paid by employers for temporary expenses cease
to be due when the corresponding needs have disappeared, there
is good reason to believe that many committees will subsequently
have larger sums at their disposal for the expansion of welfare
schemes of permanent value and of a less purely material character.
However, welfare should only constitute part of the activities
of a works committee (besides which, many schemes can quite
well operate on a mutual insurance basis, leaving the committee
less scope). Economic duties also require their attention, the
more so since they can by the performance of these duties exert
an influence on the fife of the undertaking. An active member
of the C.G.T. recently wrote : " The works committees have rendered and are continuing to render undeniable service in many
fields. Most of them successfully operate, on a joint basis, welfare
schemes which only a short time ago were being administered
1
Various Circulars from the Ministry of Labour, the most recent dated 23 Feb.
1948, ask labour inspectors to provide information on the operation, activity and
achievements of the works committees ; no results have yet been published.

WORKS COMMITTEES

231

paternalistically. They have in many cases played an important
part in improving output. They have helped to settle questions
regarding the rights and claims of the workers. However, some
have made mistakes ; they have become too absorbed in their
welfare duties, restricting themselves to these and neglecting
their economic functions." x
There is no doubt that the performance of the latter gives rise
to much more difficulty than the welfare duties ; and neither the
staff representatives on the committees nor the managements
were prepared at the outset for this completely new task, arising
out of a fresh conception of the relations between management
and labour. However, the works committees are henceforward
to be the channel for co-operation between workers and management inside the undertaking—co-operation which is aimed at
the undertaking's prosperity, consequently at the common interests
of the parties and, more widely, at those of the whole community,
since the carrying out of the plan for reconstructing and modernising
French economy depends, in the long run, on the output of each
undertaking. The budding institution of works committees will
therefore have a vital part to play in the reconstruction of France.

1

Le Peuple, 5 Feb. 1948.

CONCLUSIONS
An attempt has been made in the present study to review
the working, in France, of machinery for co-operation between
the public authorities, the occupational organisations of management and labour and other groups at the various levels of economic
and social Ufe.
Through their representatives on the Economic Council, the
occupational organisations are associated in the determination
of general economic policy ; by their participation in the planning
agencies, and particularly in the modernisation committees, they
co-operate in the drive for the reconstruction and modernisation
of French economy ; and at the level of central and district administrative services they are associated in the search for solutions
of production, distribution, raw materials, rationing and price problems. In this last field public intervention, and consequently the
importance of the advisory bodies, tend to diminish as improvement in general conditions permits a return to greater economic
freedom.
I n the field of social affairs, a tripartite consultative body,
the National Labour Council, will—when it starts to operate—
advise Parliament and the Government on their general social
policy ; while the representatives of employers and workers sitting
as members of specialised committees aid the authorities in widely
different fields—manpower, social security (already administered
to a large extent by the occupational organisations), mutual
insurance, industrial safety and health, and wages. Although
wages are still within the competence of the public authorities—
a fact which restricts the parties themselves to an advisory function
—this question is to be governed in the near future, with other
conditions of work, by collective agreements, and the State will
only retain general supervision through its representatives on the
Higher Committee for Collective Agreements.
I n the nationalised or mixed sectors of the economy—established
by the State in order to exclude private interests wholly or partly
from certain means of production and t o place these a t the exclusive service of the community—representatives of the workers'

CONCLUSIONS

233

unions or of the staff sit on the advisory councils which are placed
at the head of certain large key industries, and on the boards
of the different undertakings; here they enjoy the same rights
as the other members, who represent either the general interests of
the community, or more particularly the interests of consumers,
or sometimes private interests where these continue to exist.
Within the undertaking itself, a network of institutions—
staff delegates, safety delegates, health and safety committees,
works committees—brings the staff into close association with
the Ufe of the establishment by regulating its relations with
the management regarding claims and grievances, by enabling
the staff to determine its own safety conditions, by permitting
it to administer or a t least supervise its welfare schemes, b y giving
it the chance to contribute to increased production by making
proposals for improvements in manufacturing processes or equipment or methods of work, and by giving it the right to a say in
the general organisation and conduct of the establishment. The
undertaking thus ceases to be merely the employee's place of
work and becomes a community of which he may feel himself
an active member.
The participation of occupational organisations in economic and
social life, ranging from the Economic Council to the works committees, is highly organised, although no general plan was framed
to guide its introduction. The agencies embodying this co-operation were established piecemeal to meet circumstances of the war
and post-war periods, some of which had a definite temporary
character. But a systematising process is now going on, as witness
the creation of an Economic Council (which will gradually absorb
the powers of a number of advisory agencies) and—at a different
level—the co-ordination of the health and safety committees
with the works committees.
I n any case, the machinery exists, and its effective operation
depends mainly on the ability and will to co-operate of the different
elements of which it is made up.
What is said above of the works committees, with regard
to the training of staff representatives, applies in general to similar
co-operation at every level. The labour organisations fully realise
this, and are making every effort to train a reserve of responsible
men and women, able to take an active part, on all the agencies,
in the treatment of both general and highly specialised problems.
Nevertheless, technical ability would be useless without the
will to co-operate, for co-operation will bear fruit only if all

234

CO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

the parties concerned put their whole heart into the common
task, if an atmosphere of mutual understanding surrounds the
discussions, and if representatives of the various group interests
are prepared to make the mutual concessions required for the
satisfaction of the interests of the community. Yet in order
t h a t this will to co-operate may be shared b y all parties, there
must in the first place exist such a political and social atmosphere
as will enable each to take part, without reservation or restriction,
in a desire to achieve positive results.
I n any case, French recovery has gone forward so far under
the banner of co-operation ; and a comparison of her position
now with t h a t in which she was placed immediately after the
liberation demonstrates t h a t t h e task jointly undertaken is of
no mean stature. The following figures speak for themselves. 1
By 31 December 1947, although the reconstruction of totally
destroyed buildings had hardly started, repair work had been
carried out on 80 per cent, of damaged buildings capable of repair
(dwellings, agricultural, industrial and commercial premises and
public buildings), and 33 per cent, had been permanently rehabilitated. Of the 700,000 families without shelter a t the liberation,
450,000 were decently rehoused by 31 May 1947.
By the beginning of 1948, mine disposal and clearance were
practically complete ; by 30 September 1947 the total number
of mines removed was above 13,000,000 ; and the volume of soil
moved in J u n e 1947 was five times as great as the excavations
for the Suez Canal.
Aggregate industrial production has passed its pre-war level.
If 1938 output is taken as 100, t h e index was 105 in October
1947, after having been up to 106 in April and May ; it fell to
84 in November-December owing to labour disputes, but rose
again to 105 in J a n u a r y 1948. At this last date the items which
showed the biggest increases were mineral fuels (index 108), electricity (145), gas (160), glass (158), building (118), chemical industries (123), rubber (152) and metals (104). On 24 February
1948 the Minister of Industry stated t h a t nearly all the production
index figures had exceeded those of 1938, despite the shortage

1
Cf. Bulletin de la Statistique générale de la France, Apr. 1948 ; publications of
t h e Office of the Commissioner-General for the Plan, particularly the first two
half-yearly reports on the accomplishment of the plan ; " Le bilan de la reconstruction est encourageant ", Informations militaires, 10 Feb. 1948 ; and " Economie
and Social Policy in France ", by C. BETTELHEIM, I.L.R., Vol. LIV, Nos. 3-4,
Sept.-Oct. 1946, p p . 139-159.

CONCLUSIONS

235

of raw materials, the depreciation of equipment and the destruction due to the war. 1
The monthly average output of coal, which had been 3,963,500
tons in 1938 and had fallen to 2,921,000 in 1945, rose to 4,108,000
tons in 1946. There was a fall to 3,944,000 tons in 1947 as a result
of the strikes in June and in November-December, but the figure
reached 4,178,000 for the first half of t h a t year and 4,650,000 in
October ; in January 1948 it was as high as 4,745,000 tons. Average
output per man-shift, although still below the figure for 1938
(1,229 kg.), increased from 895 kg. in 1945 to 928 in 1946, 952
in 1947 and 981 kg. in February 1948. Despite the strikes, which
involved a loss of output of about 3,500 tons, total production
for 1947 was 47,300,000 tons, as against 49,300,000 in 1946 and
47,600,000 in 1938.2 The rate of output during the first months
of 1948 corresponds to a total appreciably above the target of
51,000,000 tons set for the year. 3
Monthly production of electricity, which averaged 1,547.5
million kWh in 1938 and 1,464 million in 1945, reached 1,849
million in 1946, 2,110.3 million during the first half of 1947 and
over 2,300 million kWh in the first quarter of 1948. Since the
nationalisation of electricity and gas, output and distribution
have increased from 18,500 to 26,900 million kWh of electricity
and from 2,225 to 2,891 million cubic metres of gas, although
the total number of employees has decreased (the reduction
amounted to 3,500 persons on 31 December 1947 and was to
reach 7,000 by 31 March 1948). Whereas in 1945 3.7 employees
were required to produce 1 million kWh, in 1947 2.2 employees
were sufficient for this task—a reduction of 40 per cent. ; in the
same years, the numbers required to produce 1 million cubic
metres of gas were 15.6 and 12 employees respectively—a reduction of 24 per cent. 4
The number of blast furnaces in operation (86 in 1938 and
26 in 1945) had been increased to 71 by the beginning of 1948.
The production of steel was 628,000 tons in March 1948, as against
518,000 in March 1938.5
1

Cahiers français d'information, 1 Mar. 1948.
L'Economiste européen, Feb. 1948, p. 77.
Rapport sur les efforts de relèvement accomplis par la France depuis la réunion
du comité de coopération économique européenne en juillet-septembre 1947 (Paris,
Mar. 1948).
4
" Fonctionnement financier de l'électricité de France ", in La Documentation
française. Notes documentaires et études, No. 848, 11 Mar. 1948.
6
Le Monde, 8 Apr. 1948.
2

3

236

GO-OPERATION IN THE UNDERTAKING

Even before the end of 1946, almost the whole of the road,
rail and inland navigation systems were once more fit for use.
By 31 December 1947 over 2,300 road bridges had been permanently
reconstructed, over 4,000 provisionally re-erected ; and almost
all the rail bridges were rebuilt or repaired. Although the number
of locomotives and the quantity of rolling stock had not entirely
reached their pre-war level, a more rational use of this stock
enabled the French railways to carry a load of passenger and
goods traffic greater than before the war, with a smaller staff
(484,000 employees, as against 515,000 in 1938). The average
number of goods wagons loaded daily, which had been 41,000
in 1938 and only 16,700 in 1945 (3,700 at the liberation), reached
nearly 35,000 in 1947, although t h e total number of wagons was
100,000 below the 1938 level and only 50,000 above t h a t of 1945.
The average monthly number of ton-kilometres hauled was 3,466
million in 1947 as against 2,455 million in 1938.1
As regards road transport, France was using 117 per cent.
more heavy lorries and 47 per cent, more light lorries at the beginning of 1948 than in 1938.2
The load carried on the inland waterways, which had been
slightly over 8,000 million ton-kilometres in 1938, fell to 2,600
million in 1945, but had risen to nearly 5,000 million ton-kilometres in 1947.
The total tonnage of the merchant fleet had risen to 2,250,000
gross registered tons by 31 December 1947. Half the harbour
works are once more in order. I n July 1945 the total tonnage
(civilian traffic) unloaded in French ports was 895,000 tops ;
in J u l y 1947 it was 2,673,000 tons (more than before the war).
Productive equipment has been improved. The total value
of capital goods acquired in 1947 is estimated at 29,000 million
of 1938 francs, as against 19,000 million in 1946 and only 8,000
million in 1938.
Nevertheless, despite these efforts, France has not yet recovered
her pre-war level of prosperity. The value of all goods available
for the home market (i.e., gross national output plus imports
minus exports) in 1947 was estimated at 416,000 million of 1938
francs, as against 433,000 million in 1938 and 401,000 million
in 1946. Of these totals, the value of consumer goods was estimated

1
The average load per wagon was 9 tons in 1938 and 11.5 tons in 1947 {L'Economiste européen, 8 Feb. 1948, p . 80).
2
i e Monde, 8 Apr. 1948.

CONCLUSIONS

237

at 296,000 million in 1947, as against 340,000 million in 1938
and 287,000 million in 1946 ; the total value of capital goods,
on the other hand, has risen from 68,000 million in 1938 to 72,000
million in 1946 and 82,000 million in 1947.
Still, France is well on the road to recovery, though the difficulties to be overcome are still great. These, as the CommissionerGeneral for the Plan points out, consist essentially in (1) the need
for additional resources from abroad, particularly coal and credits
—which explains the acute character of the problems of the
Ruhr and of United States aid to Europe ; and (2) the persistent
inflation, a cause of general uneasiness, which " raises the barrier
of monetary instability, with all its economic and social consequences, between present difficulties and the future of new life
and growth t h a t is within our reach ". I t had not been possible
to master this inflation by the end of 1947 ; but early in 1948
the Government took energetic action against it, the effects of
which cannot yet be judged.
I n short, despite all these difficulties, France may be described
today, in the words of the Commissioner-General, as a country
which is " working, producing, rebuilding its strength and substance, a country which wishes to modernise its equipment in
order to be able to make the most of its resources, not only in
its own interest but with a view to contributing to world prosperity ".
The efficacy of the daily work of reconstruction and economic
development depends on the participation of all elements of
production in the joint effort. There can therefore be no doubt
of the importance of the co-operation whose structure and working at each level of industrial life have been examined in the
present study.