Due to an agreement made by the Chirac government in 1999, workers in French energy utility EDF have been availing of a 50 day holiday quota - which the current French government now wants to end.
The agreement - which came around the time of a national 35-hour working week - offered extra holidays for EDF workers, whose average week would be slightly higher at 39.5 hours. In addition to the conventional 27 days holiday, they were offered an additional 23 days.
The Financial Times reports EDF president Jean-Bernard Lévy has offered staff a lump sum of €10,000 to forgo the deal and work 212 days instead of 196. Executives can opt for a 4-6 per cent pay rise.
“We are no longer in the same market as in 1999,” wrote Philippe Torrion, the group strategy director, in an memo to staff.
“It is also a question of credibility. We cannot be out of step with the world.”
The company’s CFDT union says EDF should pay €80,000 for the additional three weeks of work annually.
Annually, France's working hours (1,661) are the second lowest in the EU, just higher than Finland, according to Eurostat. However, the productivity of French workers is amongst the highest in the Union, ranking above Germany and the UK.
