2 the situation in the main branchesBanks

It is a matter of weeks. The third and often last round of the annual wage negotiations will start in January. Especially in the automobile (24 January in SAP, for example). It will be added to the two cycles of negotiations which have already taken place: in October for the first, just before the truce of Christmas for the second ("Les Echos" of 20 December). "This will give real the temperature of the coming year", said Union official of a large company. And will know if the trend towards a greater pay largesse which seems to be drawn before the truce confectioners will prove true. But some observers fear that this is not the case. "The observed increases are often areas where the proportion of executives is more important than that of low-wage workers," says an expert. And clarify that behind salary policies of large companies, sometimes generous, negotiations conducted at the level of branches are less favourable. At the expense of the employees of SMEs.

1 the agreements of December

Total. The agreement signed just before Christmas provides a global envelope of at least 3.3. It concerns the French employed 17,000 of the refining-marketing and exploration-production branches. In 2010, no agreement had been reached.

EDF. After a dramatic increase of 4.4 beginning 2010, EDF's rest tip in salary matters: a new agreement was signed late December. Initialled by the CFDT and the GSC, it provides a 3.95 of the wage increase, including the items negotiated at the level of the branch (see below).

Bosch. An overall increase of 2.5, which will be complemented by an increase of 0.4, so-called "specific" was reintroduced. Will be an effort on the social protection budget and a premium of 140 euros paid in February with the award.

Rhodia. The agreement provides for an average increase of 3.1. And 3.5 for the increase in the budget of individual increases to 3,000 euros lower wages.

The position. Four unions (CFDT, CFTC, FO and GSC) have signed an agreement for ordinary (non-government employees) and non-management employees two General increases in wages in 2011: one of 0.6 in April 1 and the other 1.2 on September 1. For frames the overall increase and the individual write-ups envelope are attached to respectively 0.7 and 1.8 in April 1.

2 the situation in the main branches

Banks. The negotiation of branch is in progress. "There is a hardening of the wage policy that institutions justified by their lack of visibility on the economic environment," said Regis Dos Santos, national President of the SNB-CGC. BNP Paribas, has given the "the" looping the first wage negotiations and by introducing a ceiling of income to the payment of increases: only workers earning less than 75,000 euros gross per year will be allocated between 450 and 500 EUR gross more in 2011. According to the internal context, some banks are however brought to be a little more generous: Société Générale, the 500 euros in annual increase will be a floor, the overall increase of 1.

Electric and gas industries. There is no wage agreement but a unilateral recommendation from employers. January 1, it provides an overall increase of 1.1, individual measures of 0.7 and promotions related to the seniority of 0.6. The industry prefers globalize and talk about an adjustment of 2.4.

Oil industry. The agreement includes an increase of 1.9 of the minimum wage and 2.6 of the annual remuneration guaranteed (scope to 19.200 euros).

Metallurgy. The agreement sets a Revalorization of 2.3 of the minima of the engineers and executives of metallurgy. The negotiations for the workers, employees and agents of control will start business in January.