The Employment Relations Environment in France Essay

The Employment Relations Environment in France - Essay Example France is characterized by heterogeneous employment relations prevailing in different firms, yet unionization has achieved significant status and recognition in the country (â€Å"Eurofound†). The French government has provided full legislative and legal support to its workforce in the form of strict and enforceable laws. Essential elements of French employment relations structure are: Employment is provided on written contract based agreements and minimal wages are authorized. Employment is also guaranteed and no worker can be thrown out of a job without sound reasons. Employees are also guaranteed sick and paid leaves with maternity leaves for women in addition. France is faced with many serious problems and challenges with respect to its employment relations structure due to some inherent shortcomings and governance loopholes which are discussed as below (Jenkins 17): There is no provision of either insurance or hygienic working conditions. In addition to this, women do not get proper representation in the workplace as they should get. The communication gap between management and union with respect to recruitment policy and other information details is a common problem. Collective bargaining is a well known and established tool of dispute and grievance handling which is not implemented in its entirety in France. People are either not aware of their roles or possess little knowledge of the legislative remedies available to them. Employees feel fearful of losing their job and so do not raise their voice and similarly, managers are hesitant in delegating decision making authority to others to avoid any hassles. This has resulted in many stark conflicts and battles between union and management in bigger firms.