- Title: FRANCE: France Telecom vows to halt 'infernal spiral' of employee suicides
- Date: 16th September 2009
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (SEPTEMBER 15, 2009) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF FRENCH LABOUR MINISTRY FRANCE TELECOM CEO DIDIER LOMBARD SPEAKING AS LABOUR MINISTER XAVIER DARCOS LOOKS ON (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRANCE TELECOM CEO DIDIER LOMBARD, SAYING: "I think what is most urgent today is to stop the contagion which is now underway, this infernal spiral of suicides." JOURNALISTS FILMING (SOUNDBITE) (French) LABOUR MINISTER XAVIER DARCOS, SAYING: "(We will) stop all employee transfers until October 31, and set up a telephone hotline that allows employees to call anonymously and get psychological support." PAN OFF JOURNALISTS FILMING TO XAVIER DARCOS SPEAKING AT PODIUM FRANCE TELECOM BUILDING EMPLOYEES COMING IN AND OUT OF BUILDING PARIS, FRANCE (SEPTEMBER 14, 2009) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF FRANCE TELECOM BOUTIQUE IN PARIS. NOTE NO INCIDENTS AT THIS LOCATION EXTERIOR OF FRANCE TELECOM HEADQUARTERS IN PARIS FRANCE TELECOM EMPLOYEES ENTERING BUILDING VARIOUS OF SEBASTIEN CROZIER, HEAD OF CFE-CGC UNION AT FRANCE TELECOM (SOUNDBITE) (French) SEBASTIEN CROZIER, HEAD OF CFE-CGC UNION AT FRANCE TELECOM, REACTING TO MEASURES, SAYING "We are pleased that the State has taken heed of the call we made last Friday. As the main shareholder, it must remind everyone what strategy it wants to be carried out in the company. We also welcome the resources that have been made available to help the employees. The time has come for management to unveil its industrial plan which will allow employees to find their way in the company."
- Embargoed: 1st October 2009 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: France
- Country: France
- Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
- Reuters ID: LVAB718I22ALJYDWRJ9VON8MV5XL
- Story Text: Just hours after yet another France Telecom employee tried to take her life, the company's president met with the French labour minister on Tuesday (September 15) to explain what he's doing about the string of staff suicides that has plagued the telecommunications giant.
The meeting took place a day after the latest apparent attempted suicide by a France Telecom employee on Monday, further fuelling a debate over whether employees at the former state utility were being pushed too hard.
Speaking to reporters, France Telecom Chief Executive Didier Lombard said he would do everything he could to stop the 'infernal spiral' of suicides among staffers.
"I think that what's the most urgent today is to stop the contagion which is now underway, this infernal spiral of suicides," he said.
A special hotline had been set up and repeated that all forced transfers would be suspended until the end of October, he told reporters. Extra human resources staff had been drafted in and compulsory transfers would be temporarily halted.
Sebastien Crozier, the head of the CGC union at France Telecom, a vocal critic of what he views as France Telecom's profit-centred mentality, welcomed the announcement. But he called on the company to halt all outsourcing, offshoring and job redeployments.
The France Telecom announcement came after news that a middle manager had taken an overdose of barbiturates during her lunch break in Metz on Monday. She was taken to hospital where her stomach was pumped, state television reported.
This latest incident brought to 20 the string of suicides or attempted suicides that have hit the company since 2008.
The spate of deaths has sparked a nationwide debate about working conditions in the former state utility, where employees have been more exposed to the the rigours of the marketplace since the group was privatised in the 1990s. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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