EDF signs union deal on management working hours

PARIS (Reuters) — French utility EDF said in a statement that it had signed a deal with its two main unions to increase the number of days per year its managerial staff in France work.

EDF said the agreement would offer management the possibility of working 7 to 16 days per year more in exchange for higher pay. It said the standard number of days worked would be 209 days per year, in line with other big French companies.

It gave no further details on Monday.

France's national auditor said in a September 2013 report that EDF's staff should boost productivity by working more hours and being more flexible.

EDF's labour regulations are a "complex mosaic of local agreements" with different rules for different workers, a lack of control over the number of hours worked and "exorbitant" overtime arrangements, the Cour des Comptes audit body said.

EDF staff also pay only about 6 per cent of what the general public is charged for electricity.