This agreement concerns the nearly 160,000 Orange employees working  worldwide in some 30 countries and builds on the fundamental rights  agreement between the Group and UNI signed in 2006. Orange's global  footprint has expanded considerably since then, especially in Africa,  where the Group operates in some 20 countries and where health and  safety issues are of paramount importance.

With this agreement,  Orange reaffirms its intention of making health and safety a core  component of its Human Resources policy, based on its conviction that  taking every step to ensure the good health of its employees is  essential to the company's social and economic performance. The Group's  ambition is to integrate health and safety in all of its operations,  with the goal of being the leading employer in its segment.

This proactive, far-reaching agreement - a first in the telecommunications industry - is primarily based on:

  • a participatory initiative by all players, including innovative social  dialogue with the establishment of Health and Safety Committees or their  equivalent that get the trade unions and/or representatives of the  personnel of different countries involved
  • the definition of a  core, common, occupational health and safety, with special attention  paid to health care coverage in the region of Africa where the Group is  operator
  • the deployment of an occupational health and safety  management system in all of the Group's companies as part of a  continuous performance improvement approach
  • the commitment to  participate in public health campaigns, health protection programs and  the fight against pandemics, particularly HIV/Aids
  • a level of  prevention and protection for its service providers and subcontractors  that is consistent with the Group's requirements

Implementation  of this agreement will be tracked over time, in contact with the labour  partners, reflecting the Group's ambition of acting for the long term.

distributed by