The government will have to modify one of the most sacred provisions of the labor code: that which sets the conditions for being able to vote in elections in companies. The Constitutional Council has, in fact, recently annulled the rule in force because it has the effect of excluding from the electoral lists some of the employees of the management. This situation carries “A manifestly disproportionate infringement of the principle of worker participation”, for the judges of rue Montpensier, in Paris.
Rendered on November 19, the invalidation decision follows a priority question of constitutionality (QPC) asked by the CFE-CGC union of the Carrefour group. This organization had initiated such an appeal, following a dispute over professional elections in some of the brand’s establishments. The CGT federation of commerce had requested in court that store managers be removed from the list of voters called upon to choose the members of the framework college of the social and economic committee (CSE) – the body representing the staff. The CGT’s request had been accepted, in accordance with case law.
For years, disputes of this nature have been decided on the basis of an interpretation of the texts. Article L. 2314-18 of the Labor Code, which defines the persons entitled to vote in professional elections, is, in itself, very broad: “Employees of both sexes, aged 16 and over, working for at least three months in the company and who have not been subject to any ban, forfeiture or incapacity relating to their civic rights, are electors. ”
“Shocking” interpretation
The Court of Cassation reads it, which goes beyond what is written. It considers that it is necessary to remove from the electorate certain employees, including those who have received a “Particular delegation of authority”, established in writing, on the part of the boss. The reasoning of the high court, summarized schematically, consists in saying that an ally of the management can neither represent the employees nor even take part in the designation of the people who defend the interests of these same employees, within the CSE. .
At Carrefour, those excluded from the vote are store owners, whose prerogatives are limited and who receive low remuneration.
For the lawyer of the CFE-CGC, Mr.e Emmanuel Mauger, this interpretation of article L.2314-18 is “Shocking” : it removes the right to vote from a little over 400 employees out of the 1,694 of the supervisory college, at the level of the Carrefour entity which covers supermarkets in France. The excluded are shop owners, whose prerogatives are limited and who receive little remuneration. “They depend very largely on their regional management”, argues Me Mauger.
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