In order to encourage dialogue that is sensitive to the realities of the economic and labour context in which each business line operates, employee representatives and the Group have opted for the implementation of employee representative bodies at business lines. This employee representation system is well suited to VINCI’s decentralised organisation, and is set out in the agreement to promote social dialogue within the Group. For this reason, information and consultation bodies were put in place at VINCI Construction and VINCI Energies. These bodies were renewed in 2023 at VINCI Energies in France (three bodies) and within the Building France, Civil Engineering France and Road France divisions of VINCI Construction.
In 2023, employee absences due to strikes totalled 22,608 days worldwide, of which 17,304 days in France, out of a total of 67 million days worked in the year (compared with 7,046 days and 4,883 days respectively, out of 52 million days worked in 2022, excluding Cobra IS). In France, national pension reform was the main cause of the strikes.
Health and safety is one of the Group’s core concerns and is a key point discussed at each meeting of employee representative bodies. Frequency, severity and fatal accident rates are systematically reported to the officers of the Group Works Council and the EWC, and management endeavours to answer all questions on these subjects with full transparency. As part of these efforts, a representative from VINCI’s Health and Safety Coordination unit presented to the CSR Committee the action plans implemented at Group level to improve results (especially for risks related to handling, lifting and roadworks in traffic areas, risks of heart disease and electrocution, and H&S plans for subcontractors and temporary workers). The Group’s Social Responsibility Department also presented an update on the responsible subcontracting policy, a French initiative that is destined to be rolled out to other European entities.
As every year, the entire EWC was involved in identifying risks and defining the measures to be taken relating to the Group’s duty of vigilance plan during the “hybrid” meeting, referring to a meeting organised to share ideas and discuss issues relating to VINCI Manifesto commitments. Held in October 2023, this meeting also included a presentation for employee representatives on the Group’s progress in environmental protection as well as VINCI’s social protection framework offering minimum guarantees, which is currently being implemented in all countries where the Group is present and where EWC members will act as correspondents.
As a driver of growth and progress, social innovation within an organisation like the VINCI Group builds new forms of dialogue that promote discussion and transparency. In 2023, the Group and the EWC joined forces to create a public platform for all Group employees. It operates alongside the platform reserved for EWC members, which was implemented in 2021, and has two key objectives:
Three-day training sessions are available every year for EWC members. In 2023, training topics included the role, responsibilities and operation of the EWC, Czech trade union law and subcontracting in Europe. As every year, during each of these training sessions, the Group also held a hybrid meeting. In 2023, this meeting reviewed the Group’s achievements and goals for the environment, responsible subcontracting, the duty of vigilance plan and human rights. Group Works Council members also receive training every year. This year, sessions took place in Toulouse.
As social dialogue is a key principle in the VINCI Manifesto, several Group companies have decided to ensure that their employees are familiar with how it works. For example, in France, VINCI Energies provides training for its managers who chair social and economic committees. VINCI’s Social Affairs Department also holds annual meetings with the entire human resources network in France to teach HR staff about these practices. This took place at the “Préparer sa rentrée sociale” event attended by more than 300 HR professionals in France.
The collective agreements negotiated and signed by VINCI companies are a concrete example of the Group’s decentralised approach to human resources management, which takes account of the realities on the ground and aims to improve working conditions, health and safety, and the organisation of working hours. In 2023, negotiations focused on flexible work arrangements resulted in the signing of 224 agreements. Among the other collective agreements, over 41% related to employee remuneration.
In countries that have not ratified the International Labour Organisation’s conventions on trade union rights, VINCI companies are working to give employees the means to exercise their freedom of expression and of association, for example in Qatar (see paragraph 4.3, “Duty of vigilance with regard to human rights”, of the Group’s duty of vigilance plan, pages 269 to 279).
In 2023, three Group agreements, applicable to France, were negotiated and signed with the representative trade union organisations at Group level. The first is an open-ended agreement to promote social dialogue that sets out the commitments of all parties, including the annual budget paid to trade unions (total of €240,000). The second is an agreement on the scope, role and operation of the Group Works Council. And the third agreement was signed to change the approach for the employee savings funds set up in connection with the Group’s collective retirement savings plan in France, in particular to include “green” funds.
2,194 collective agreements signed in 2023
