ENGIE: social forum held to renew focus on implementing European agreement to anticipate industry changes and safeguard employability

Back in 2016, the energy group ENGIE signed a European agreement with three union federations – IndustriALL Europe, EPSU (European Public Services Union) and the EFBW (European Federation of Building and Woodworkers) – which sought to allow each employee to build his/her career path in the group “against a backdrop of organisational change” (see article n°9597). The agreement reaffirmed and bolstered the GPEC (forward-looking employment and skills) agreement that was established as part of a previous deal, containing strong and concrete commitments on training and seeking to foster internal mobility to ensure employment opportunities within the group. Three years later, on 16 February 2019, following a request by its European Works Council, the group held a European social forum, which was an opportunity to bring together key actors on the agreement (HR directors, managers, employee representatives) and engage in transparent dialogue on how it has been implemented, as well as to share views on best practices and on areas where efforts need to be stepped up.