Abstract
The Future of the French Trade Unions
Highlights
When one includes in these statistics engineering grandes écoles, public research institutions, the Bank of France, central government and the large national companies the equivalence of at least 30,000 full time jobs are made available, free of charge, to French trade unions by employers
One might consider that de-unionization in France seems to be in line with a global trend (Visser, 2011; Hayter et al, 2011), but, apart from its exceptional magnitude, it presents many specific characteristics that are summarized in conclusion
This dependency of unionists on employers may be the principal cause of the impotence of unions and of the imbalance inherent in French industrial relations. As well as their institutionalization can explain that French workers are increasingly likely to express their suspicion of unions, especially in public opinion surveys, and to abstain in elections held in the workplaces. This situation may be related to the development of strikes or protest movements outside union initiatives or union control (Basilien et al, 2010, p. 18)
Summary
In less than thirty years, activists and supporters have been replaced by professional representatives who control cartels of non grass-root unions These professionals do not seek to drum up membership or encourage social mobilization. This article will examine these new dynamics: how activists have been replaced by professionals; the decline of social mobilization and the advent of social bargaining on the plant level; the potential scope of this negotiation; the funding of unions by employers and the state. This new system is very similar to cartel parties (Katz & Mair, 1995), and has a future which is not fully assured
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