Workers' participation and occupational health: the French experience

In France, workers' participation in occupational health was organized for the first time in 1947, when Hygiene and Safety Committees were created. However, these committees remained ineffective in many firms for more than 20 years. Their role and power were greatly extended in 1976; in 1982, the Auroux Laws gave wage-earners new rights, mainly rights of expression. Here too, the way these laws have been put into operation varies a lot. Generally speaking, a great many regulations and laws exist that should give workers very good protection, but control systems are weak, and wage-earners' information on health is insufficient. Workers' participation is generally set up through trade unions, which are more often nationwide than locally organized. Workers' membership in unions is rather weak. The recent creation and development of quality circles in many firms, controlled by the company, give a false impression of workers' freedom of speech and do not really improve participation. But recent social movements have shown that people increasingly wish to express themselves and to deal with their own employers without any go-between. Nevertheless, participation will become effective only if workers' knowledge is taken into account, if they are trained in analysis and expression, and if their suggestions are seriously considered.