Initiated in 2018, the Broadcasting Industry National Collective Agreement (Convention Collective Nationale de la Télédiffusion) was signed by virtually all social partners at a meeting on 5 July 2021. The agreement was a collaborative effort by all social partners, carried on through negotiations at around forty meetings held over the last two-and-a-half years, with no interruption in spite of the pandemic.
On the employers’ side, the agreement was signed by ACCeS (special-interest channels), Locales TV (local channels), and the federations representing French private-sector (Syndicat des Télévisions Privées: M6, TF1, etc) and public-service (Syndicat des Médias de Service Public: France TV, Arte, INA, France Média Monde, TV5 Monde) broadcasters.
On the trade union side, the CFDT, CFE-CGC, FO Médias and UNSA unions all ratified the agreement, which will come into force on 1 January 2022.
The text on which the employer federations and the majority of the employee representative bodies reached agreement covers the full range of employee relations within companies. The agreement, which references the French Labour Code, gives a comprehensive framework for human resource management within broadcasting companies. Areas addressed include trade union rights and employee representation; anti-discrimination and gender equality; recruitment; employment contracts; pay grades and minimum pay; working time and flexi-time; paid leave; continuing professional education; employment of interns; welfare benefits; voluntary and statutory profit-sharing schemes; employees savings plans; and retirement.
The new collective agreement also builds in many improvements to existing terms and conditions for employees.
Existing company-level agreements applied by corporate signatories to the agreement will continue to apply if they offer terms and conditions that are more favourable overall.
The scope of the agreement now encompasses all TV channels established in France, regardless of how they are transmitted (terrestrial or via other networks), the area they cover (national or locale), their content (general-interest or special-interest), how many people they employ (from fewer than 10 for some local channels, to over 1,000 for the big national channels), or how they are funded (public or private).
The agreement includes provisions (referencing the French Labour Code) relating to the Commission Paritaire Permanente de Négociation et d’Interprétation, the bipartite body monitoring how the agreement is applied.
Reactions
ACCeS: “This collective agreement is a landmark, not only because it includes all French broadcasters, but also because it represents a step change in employee relations within our industry.”
STP: “The fact that four trade unions have signed up to the collective agreement indicates that it is a genuine breakthrough in social dialogue within the French television industry.”
SMSP: “By combining all TV media within a single agreement, the employers and trade unions have shown a very mature attitude to social dialogue, which will make our industry an even more attractive place to work.”
Locales TV: “This broad consensus means that all French broadcasters regardless of size will be able to offer the same minimum guarantees to all their employees, facilitating more fluid career paths within the industry.”