Stressful times at France Telecom

By Le Monde Tuesday, 26 June 2007

Employees at French telecom operator France Telecom are not having a good week. The company announced last year that it would cut 22,000 jobs by 2009 and this week, employers have blocked staff from taking part in a 'stress assessment' organised by the unions.

On Friday 22 June, the board of France Télécom blocked access to part of http://www.observatoiredustress.org/, the website set up last week by the main unions SUD-PTT and CFE-CGC, which contains a questionnaire assessing the stress level of employees. Individuals now have to access the questionnaire from home.

The website sought the participation of some 10,000 employees to assess the psychological impact on staff of the restructuring plans. "We're not surprised," says Daniel Bertho, national secretary of SUD-PTT. "Senior management is doing everything they can to mask the malaise of their personnel."

France Télécom defended their decision by arguing that the unions had used spamming techniques to reach the company's employees, a practice which they hadn't agreed to with the unions.

Source: France Télécom bloque l'accès de ses salariés à un site mesurant leur stress
Cécile Ducourtieux
Le Monde 26/06/07
Review by Emilie Filou