France Telecom relatives and unions satisfied with guilty sentence over workers' suicides
Record ID:
1449630
France Telecom relatives and unions satisfied with guilty sentence over workers' suicides
- Title: France Telecom relatives and unions satisfied with guilty sentence over workers' suicides
- Date: 20th December 2019
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (DECEMBER 20, 2019) (REUTERS) FRANCE TELECOM FORMER CHIEF EXECUTIVE, DIDIER LOMBARD, ARRIVING IN COURT FOR SENTENCING POLICE OUTSIDE COURTROOM PEOPLE ENTERING COURTROOM SIGN OUTSIDE COURTROOM TWO MEMBERS HELPING VICTIMS ENTERING COURTROOM FRANCE TELECOM, NOW ORANGE, WORKERS OUTSIDE COURTROOM ORANGE LOGO ORANGE STORE ENTRANCE VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF COURTROOM WITH POLICE PEOPLE OUTSIDE COURTROOM AFTER SENTENCING (SOUNDBITE) (French) HEAD OF ORANGE WORKERS' UNION CFE-CGC, SEBASTIEN CROZIER, SAYING: "It's been ten years since we started this fight in court to come to the sentencing for institutional moral harassment of all of the executives of the time, of their accomplices and the company. We are therefore extremely satisfied with the sentencing. (MARKING PAUSE) It's the emotion. It's... The sentencing won't bring our colleagues back." VARIOUS OF SON OF FRANCE TELECOM EMPLOYEE WHO COMMITTED SUICIDE, RAPHAEL LOUVRADOUX, SPEAKING TO MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (French) SON OF FRANCE TELECOM EMPLOYEE WHO COMMITTED SUICIDE, RAPHAEL LOUVRADOUX, SAYING: "I, my mother, my brothers and sister are satisfied and relieved. We're satisfied because of what the president of the court said. She said that the procedures used by the management was forbidden. and that brings an answer to what this trial is about: Can anyone be allowed to do that kind thing, can anyone do that in order to save cash, to push people to commit suicide or into depression? At least the court has said, 'No, it's not possible and if you do that you'll be convicted.'" (SOUNDBITE) (French) SON OF FRANCE TELECOM EMPLOYEE WHO COMMITTED SUICIDE, RAPHAEL LOUVRADOUX, SAYING: "We have said from the start that the proportionate response to what happened at France Telecom, serious stuff, clearly is a prison sentence. And beyond what happened and how the law punishes that, there's a simple question. Things like that should not happen. No one should be pushed to commit suicide in order to sack people and make money. But the reason why Didier Lombard and the other defendants allowed themselves to do that is because they felt they couldn't be prosecuted. And in order end this impunity, there is no other way than to take away their freedom. If you don't put them in jail, they'll continue what they've been doing. Didier Lombard clearly said it during the proceedings, he didn't feel any remorse. If those people don't feel remorse for what they do, they'll do it again." LAWYER FOR VICTIMS, JEAN-PAUL TEISSONNIERE (SOUNDBITE) (French) LAWYER FOR VICTIMS, JEAN-PAUL TEISSONNIERE, SAYING: "In this case, we had management methods that didn't comply with regulations and the law, and with this decision, we now understand how employees should be treated and it's a token that the wrongdoings in the France Telecom affair will not happen again." LAWYER LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (French) LAWYER FOR VICTIMS, JEAN-PAUL TEISSONNIERE, SAYING: "We had many examples during the proceedings, but for instance, one was calculating the managers' salaries according to the number of redundancies. There are other examples and I won't get into details as the court did so but of course there were methods that were obviously toxic and that were systematically leading to true disaster in a company with 120,000 employees. That's what happened. And I think that the sentencing takes the measure of what happened and tells us the way we can avoid such wrongdoings." LAWYER FOR LOMBARD, JEAN VEIL, SPEAKING TO MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (French) LAWYER FOR FORMER FRANCE TELECOM CHIEF EXECUTIVE DIDIER LOMBARD, JEAN VEIL, SAYING: "This is a politically motivated decision, one that is completely demagogic. The judges tried to please themselves, I regret that. It's not their role. They're here to hand out justice and not just do politics. We were not in a rally. We were dealing with a serious case and I have to say I'm quite shocked at how the court dealt with it."
- Embargoed: 3rd January 2020 12:34
- Keywords: Didier Lombard Orange telecoms workers sucides
- Location: PARIS, ANNECY LE VIEUX AND METZ, FRANCE
- City: PARIS, ANNECY LE VIEUX AND METZ, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions
- Reuters ID: LVA001BAS6UKN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:French telecoms group Orange and its former CEO Didier Lombard were found guilty of "moral harassment" that prompted a spate of suicides during a restructuring at the company in the late 2000s, a Paris court ruled on Friday (December 20).
The landmark ruling against the former telecoms monopoly is bound to reverberate in French boardrooms as it could pave the way for other similar collective procedures.
The court sentenced Lombard to a year in jail, of which eight months will be suspended, and a 15,000-euro ($16,700) fine. Yet since that term is under two years and as Lombard does not present a danger to society, he will not spend time behind bars under French court rules.
The traumatic episode of workers' deaths at the company in the late 2000s led to deep soul-searching over corporate culture in France.
The court found Orange guilty of the same charge, and fined it 75,000 euros ($83,200).
Outside the courtroom, union representatives were all satisfied with the ruling.
Raphael Louvradoux, the son of one of the France Telecom employees who committed suicide, said he and his family were satisfied with the sentencing but said they would have liked the defendants to face jail sentences.
Jean-Paul Teissonniere, a lawyer who represents some of the victims in the case, said the ruling brought a clear understanding of how employees should be treated.
Many individual managers have been convicted of harassment - and often fired as a result - but not companies themselves.
Orange, which in 2018 had core earnings of 3.3 billion euros ($3.66 billion), said it would not appeal the verdict.
Orange has previously acknowledged the suffering expressed by victims and recognised there may have been management errors in implementing the restructuring plan but denies there was any systemic plan or intention to harass employees.
Prosecutors argued that some of the methods employed in a deep restructuring of the company, then known as France Telecom, after privatization prompted a wave of suicides.
Lombard, 77, and three other former Orange executives also accused of "moral harassment" have denied any wrongdoing and said the restructuring plan was an economic necessity.
Orange used the last day of the trial in July to offer compensation to victims and relatives of those who died. The presiding judge estimated that claims for compensation so far were about 2 million euros ($2.25 million).
The case centres around a drive by the former state monopoly to shed 22,000 jobs and redeploy another 10,000 as it adapted to competition in the private sector.
In a country where workers employed on state contracts expect jobs for life and employees in both private and public sectors enjoy strong labour law protection, unions alleged that management sought ways to encourage workers to quit or accept reassignment.
Prosecutors listed at least 18 suicides and 13 suicide attempts between April 2008 and June 2010. According to union records, one employee stabbed himself in the stomach during a staff meeting and one woman threw herself out of a window.
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