11 June 2009
Thales adopts a European approach to Professional Development based on anticipation and social dialogue.
Thales and the European Federation of the Metalworkers are pleased with the conclusion, on June 11, 2009, of an innovative European Agreement relating to the improvement of the professional development of employees by effective anticipation.
This European agreement aims at reinforcing, to a significant degree, the employability of Thales group employees by the implementation of an annual process of anticipation which associates staff representatives with the potential of evolution of employment.
This European agreement, which aims at deploying for all employees an annual plan of professional development, will therefore give each person the possibility of becoming the main actor of his/her professional future. It is the first agreement of a transnational nature signed by Thales in the field of human resources. It is an innovative European agreement which goes beyond the statement of the principles by envisaging concrete actions associated with an equal follow-up and measurement of results.
Built on the basis of existing good practice identified within the various European countries, this agreement will relate to 56,600 Thales employees based in 11 European countries.
Yves Barou, HR Director of the Thales group considers that the European agreement “IDEA” is “the answer adapted to accompany the development by a high technology company like Thales whose success rests on the excellence of its teams”. This agreement “constitutes a first, very successful, experiment of innovative and responsible negotiation seeking European convergences in the social domain. The European trade union delegation led by the EMF, showed in this negotiation an opening and a great responsibility for the installation of a negotiated European industrial relations policy.
For Bart Samyn, deputy general secretary of the European Federation of Metalworkers, “this agreement, by its richness and degree of accuracy, constitutes a stake in the construction of social Europe. This European agreement shows that employee representatives have an important role to play in the prospective management of the evolution of employment”.