French Public Health Code
In forceI. - In each regional health agency, an Agency and Working Conditions Committee is set up to deal with issues and projects affecting all staff. This committee has legal personality and manages its own assets. It receives an operating grant in accordance with the conditions laid down by decree in the Conseil d'Etat.
In the field of social and cultural activities, the Agency and Working Conditions Committee exercises the powers provided for in Articles L. 2312-78 to L. 2312-80, the second paragraph of Article L. 2312-81 and Articles L. 2312-83 and L. 2312-84 of the Labour Code.
The resources of the Agency and Working Conditions Committee in social and cultural matters are set by decree in the Conseil d'Etat.
1. The role of the Agency and Working Conditions Committee is to ensure the collective expression of the Agency's staff so that their interests are taken into account on an ongoing basis. It shall formulate, on its own initiative, and examine, at the request of the regional health agency, any proposal likely to improve the working conditions, employment and vocational training of staff members, their living conditions in the agency and the conditions under which they benefit from additional collective guarantees. It is consulted on matters relating to the organisation and operation of the agency, in particular on :
1° Issues relating to staff numbers, jobs and skills;
2° Employment and working conditions, in particular the organisation of working hours and vocational training;
3° The introduction of new technologies and any major changes affecting health and safety conditions or working conditions;
4° Guidelines for compensation policy and related distribution criteria;
5° Professional equality, parity between men and women and the fight against all forms of discrimination.
In the field of health, safety and working conditions, the Agency and Working Conditions Committee exercises the powers provided for in articles L. 2312-9 and L. 2312-11 to L. 2312-13 of the Labour Code and those provided for in 7° of II of article 15 of law no. 84-16 of 11 January 1984 on statutory provisions relating to the State civil service. The Chairman of the Agency and Working Conditions Committee may call on the services of an authorised expert, under conditions laid down by decree in the Conseil d'Etat.
In regional health agencies whose staff numbers are at least equal to a threshold set by a decree of the Conseil d'Etat, a specialised committee for health, safety and working conditions is set up within the Agency and Working Conditions Committee. In regional health agencies whose staff numbers are below a threshold set by the same decree, a specialised committee for health, safety and working conditions may be set up within the Agency and Working Conditions Committee where this is justified by particular occupational risks, in accordance with the procedures defined by the said decree.
The specialised committee is responsible for examining the questions mentioned in 2° and 3° and in the seventh paragraph of this 1, except when these questions arise in the context of departmental reorganisation projects examined directly by the committee under the first paragraph of this 1. To exercise these powers, the specialised committee may, by delegation from the Agency and Working Conditions Committee, have prerogatives specified by decree in the Conseil d'Etat.
The members of the Agency and Working Conditions Committee elected by the employees of the college mentioned in 1° of 2 of this I have the task of submitting to the employer individual or collective complaints relating to salaries and the application of the Labour Code, other applicable legal provisions, in particular social protection, and the agreements and accords applicable in the agency.
2. This committee comprises the Director General of the agency or his representative, who chairs it, and staff representatives. Only staff representatives are entitled to vote when they are consulted.
Staff representatives sitting on the committee are elected by list ballot with proportional representation. Elections are held by colleges under conditions laid down by decree in the Conseil d'Etat.
Candidates are nominated by trade unions that meet the following conditions:
1° For the college of private-law employees governed by the collective agreements applicable to the staff of social security bodies, those provided for in Articles L. 2122-1, L. 2122-2, L. 2122-9 and L. 2142-1 of the Labour Code;
2° For the college of civil servants, public-sector employees and contractual public-sector employees, those provided for by article 9 bis of law no. 83-634 of 13th July 1983 on the rights and obligations of civil servants.
In each regional health agency, an agreement may set up local representatives, under the conditions provided for in article L. 2313-7 of the Labour Code.
II - Chapter III of Title IV of Book I of Part Two of the Labour Code is applicable to all Regional Health Agency staff. Trade union delegates are appointed by the representative trade union organisations in the agency, which form a trade union section within the agency, from among the candidates who received at least 10% of the votes cast in the most recent elections to the Agency and Working Conditions Committee. The procedures for taking the election results into account are laid down by decree in the Conseil d'Etat in such a way as to guarantee the representation of employees in the two staff colleges mentioned in 1° and 2° of 2 of I of this article.
The validity of the collective labour agreements provided for in Book II of Part Two of the Labour Code is subject to their signature by one or more representative trade union organisations that received more than 50% of the votes cast in the last committee elections.
The rules governing the validity of these agreements are those set out in article L. 2232-12 of the same code. The rates of 30% and 50% mentioned in the same article are assessed at the level of the college of private-sector employees mentioned in 1° of 2 of I of this article.
For the application of the second and third paragraphs of this II and for the assessment of the representativeness provided for in article L. 2122-1 of the Labour Code, the procedures for taking into account the electoral results are set by decree in the Conseil d'Etat in such a way as to guarantee the representation of the employees of the college mentioned in 1° of 2 of the I of this article.
Each trade union which, in accordance with Article L. 2142-1 of the Labour Code, constitutes a trade union section within the agency may, if it is not representative within the agency, appoint a representative of the section to represent it within the agency.
III - A national consultation committee for the regional health agencies is set up under the ministers responsible for health, health insurance, the elderly and the disabled.
It is made up of representatives of the staff of the regional health agencies, representatives of the administration of the ministries responsible for health, health insurance, the elderly and the disabled, representatives of the health insurance schemes and the chief executive officers of the regional health agencies or their representatives. It is chaired by the ministers responsible for health, health insurance, the elderly and the disabled, or their representative.
Staff representatives on the national consultation committee are appointed by the trade unions represented on the agency and working conditions committees of the regional health agencies, in accordance with the procedures laid down by decree of the Conseil d'Etat, taking into account the results of the elections of staff representatives to these committees.
The national consultation committee deals with issues concerning all the staff of the regional health agencies. In particular, this committee discusses the general organisation of all the agencies and their activities. It deals with issues relating to working conditions, health, safety and employment for all staff, with the exception of issues and projects falling within the remit of a relevant ministerial technical committee or those of the national bodies set up by the national social security bodies.
IV - The members of the bodies mentioned in I and III, the trade union delegates and the representatives of the trade union sections benefit from the guarantees provided by their respective statutes and, as far as the employees placed under the regime of collective agreements are concerned, from the protection provided by Book IV of the second part of the Labour Code.
