The end of union discrimination? Legal struggles and negotiated practices.

Summary The laws of 2008 on the reform of trade union representation and of 2015 on social dialogue introduced new obligations to negotiate in companies on the "reconciliation" of trade union and professional activity. How can we explain this sudden attention of the public authorities to "union discrimination"? Are we witnessing a historical break in French industrial relations? Based on six monographs of large companies with contrasting labor practices, this book shows how the negotiation of agreements on union rights and "management of union career paths" is also a response to the growth in litigation, led in particular by the CGT since the 1990s, which has contributed to an awareness of their rights by union members. While these company agreements now better protect the representatives most involved in social dialogue, who sign agreements, they do not radically change managerial practices in the field, which continue to stigmatize local trade unionists, especially when they oppose restructuring or denounce the deterioration of working conditions through protest practices.