1884: Trade unionism authorised in France
The law of 21 March 1884 authorised trade unions or professional associations to form freely. Trade unions were created. In 1895, some of them gave rise to the CGT.
Landmarks in French law
The trade union is a more specific type of organisation than the association and was legalised by the law of 21 March 1884. This law abolished the Le Chapelier law of 1791, which had prohibited consultation between people from the same profession with a view to discussing “their alleged common interests”. For a long time, trade unionism had been characterised solely by the activity of making demands, with strike action as its main weapon, but it acquired the right to represent an entire profession, which led it to increasingly seek out the path of negotiation and participation in the organisation of work and pay (collective agreements). It is true that the preamble to the 1946 Constitution, taken up by the 1958 Constitution, recognised the right of “every individual to defend his rights and interests through trade union action and to join the trade union of his choice”.
1906: CGT Amiens Congress
An important text deals with the relationship between trade unions and political parties: the Charter of Amiens. This Charter can be considered as the majority act of trade unionism …. “The Amiens Confederal Congress confirms Article 2 of the CGT constitution: the CGT brings together, outside any political school, all workers who are aware of the struggle to be waged for the demise of wage labour and employers” …. … “as far as individuals are concerned, the Congress affirms the complete freedom of union members to take part, outside the corporate grouping, in such forms of struggle as correspond to their philosophical or political outlook, confining itself to asking them, in return, not to introduce into the union the opinions they hold outside”… This Congress led the CGT to move from anarcho-syndicalism to revolutionary syndicalism, while reaffirming union independence from the party.
1919: birth of the CFTC
The Confédération française des travailleurs chrétiens (CFTC) was founded in November. Inspired by the social doctrine of the Church, it organised itself on the basis of solidarity and the defence of workers’ interests against economic liberalism.
1921: Lille Congress
A split occurs in the trade union movement. The CGT Congress confirms the Amiens Charter. The question of joining the Red Trade Union International, created by the Russian revolutionaries in conjunction with the Third Communist International, caused the CGT to break up.
1922: First split in the CGT
After the creation of the French Communist Party in 1920, the Communists found themselves in a minority in the CGT. They created the CGTU in 1922.
1919 to 1939: The early years of the CFTC
Linked to the social doctrine of the Catholic Church, the first CFTC was essentially formed around professional employee organisations, which were soon joined by young workers and teachers.
1926: CGT Congress – The Lyon Charter
The Charter of the CGT states that “the efforts of the proletariat must be directed not only to the overthrow of the present regime, but also to making it impossible for power to be seized and exercised by all the political parties which are bitterly contending for its possession. This is why trade unionism must take advantage of all the attempts made by the parties to seize power, in order to play its decisive role itself, which consists in destroying this power and replacing it with a social order based on the organisation of production, exchange and distribution, the functioning of which will be ensured by the workings of trade unions at all levels”.
1936: The Toulouse Charter
Trade union democracy guarantees that each union member can freely defend his or her point of view within the union on all questions concerning the life and development of the organisation. Reunification of the CGT and the Front Populaire CGT and CGTU reunited in 1936, as part of the momentum that would lead the Front Populaire into government.
1936: The choice of the Front Populaire
At its congress in May 1936, the CFTC affirmed the validity of workers’ demands and urged its members to take part in the movement. The CFTC doubled its membership from 200,000 in early 1936 to 400,000 by the end of 1938. New militants from the JOC (Young Christian Workers) brought in new blood. Membership of the SGEN (Syndicat Général de l’Education Nationale), which had no Christian references in its statutes, was a vector for further change.
1940: From ban to resistance
Confederated trade unionism was banned by the Vichy regime: the CFTC and CGT were dissolved. Many Christian trade unionists joined the Resistance networks. The CFTC underwent changes during the war. In 1944, the Confédération générale des cadres (CGC) was created.
1940-1944: The CFTC in the Resistance
In 1940, the Vichy government decided to dissolve the trade union confederations. The three main leaders of the CFTC, along with nine CGT counterparts, published the “Manifesto of the Twelve” on 15 November 1940, the first expression of trade union resistance. Many CFTC leaders and activists took part in the Resistance. Gaston Tessier, the first general secretary of the CFTC in 1919, was a member of the CNR (National Resistance Council). In August 1944, a CGT-CFTC joint committee issued an order for an insurrectionary general strike and took part in the Liberation.
At the end of the war, the CFTC was recognised as a representative organisation alongside the CGT.
1945: Social Security
Created in 1945 by “confederate” militants from the “old” CGT (not to be confused with the “unitary” militants linked to the Communist Party), Social Security is the model and symbol of trade unionism.
1948: New split in the CGT
The Cold War between East and West and the Marshall Plan of 1947 had an impact on the Communist-led CGT. The Force Ouvrière minority created the CGT-FO in 1948. The WFTU and then the ICFTU (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions) were created.
1958-1962: Democratic trade unionism and the Algerian war
As early as 1955, when the state of emergency in Algeria was voted through, the CFTC affirmed its support for the Algerian people. In 1958, the CFTC recalled the right of peoples to self-determination and spoke out in favour of self-determination and peace in Algeria, as well as against any attack on democracy in mainland France. From 1960 onwards, it forged links with the Union Générale des Travailleurs Algériens (UGTA) to assist it in its fight for independence.
This led to a major realisation: trade unions could not ignore politics when democracy and human rights were under threat; respect for these rights was a prerequisite for the existence of an independent trade union movement.
1964: the CFTC becomes the CFDT
The move towards secular trade unionism became a reality: on 6 November, the CFTC became the Confédération française démocratique du travail (CFDT) with 70% of the mandates. The current CFTC was formed from the minority that refused this democratic result. The CFDT signed a unity agreement with the CGT in 1966 and again in 1970.
1968: the CFDT obtains recognition of company union sections
Comparing its fight for democracy to that of employees in the workplace, the CFDT began supporting the student strike on 6 May. During the Grenelle negotiations, it won recognition for company trade unions. This was a fundamental achievement, as it led to the creation of company trade union sections. It was the first time that trade unionism was recognised in the workplace.
1970: Self-management as an alternative
The 1970 congress introduced new articles of association and proposed an alternative to capitalist society: self-management of companies. Edmond Maire was elected General Secretary in 1971. He remained in office until 1988. In 1974, the CFDT joined the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), created in 1973, and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) in 1988.
1974: CFDT joins the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)
Keen to play an effective part in consolidating peace, the CFTC has been calling for a united Europe since the 1950s. The European Trade Union Confederation, a tool for trade union action at European level, was created in 1973.
1979: the CFDT defends its autonomy of action and decision-making (“refocusing”)
The CFDT refocuses on its mission as a trade union organisation to better respond to changes in society: globalisation, changes in the production system, restructuring and a sharp rise in unemployment.
1981: The CFDT confronts the Left in power
When the Left came to power, the CFDT wanted to quickly achieve its priority demands: shorter working hours, the fight against inequalities in pay and purchasing power, new rights for employees and the development of a plan.
1982: the CFDT contributes to the drafting of the Auroux laws on social dialogue
Inspired by CFDT proposals, the Auroux laws represented significant progress in defending employees’ rights and made major changes to labour law (prohibition of all forms of discrimination; obligation to negotiate collective agreements on pay, working hours and work organisation, and gender equality; development of staff representative bodies and creation of a right for employees to express their views on working conditions; creation of the Health, Safety and Working Conditions Committee – CHSCT).
1988: For a membership-based unionism
The 1988 CFDT congress emphasised the importance of membership-based unionism and the need to adapt unionism to economic and social change.
1992: A woman at the head of the CFDT
Nicole Notat is elected General Secretary. The CFDT stresses the need to regulate the market economy: our confederated trade unionism must give priority to negotiation. One of the cornerstones of its strategy is a negotiated reduction in working hours.
1995: CFDT supports social security reform
In 1995, the CFDT supported the health insurance reform, which maintained the logic of a solidarity-based system by improving control of the healthcare system and extending its funding to all incomes.
1997: the CFDT negotiates the 35-hour working week
The CFDT’s key demand was the reduction of working hours. The CFDT entered into negotiations with the Jospin government to ensure that the 35-hour working week was synonymous with the creation of new jobs.
1998: Clarifying the concept of CFDT trade unionism
This Congress was essential because it clarified the CFDT’s concept of trade unionism: a confederated trade unionism that opts for adaptation, negotiation, the fight against exclusion and for employment, and orderly globalisation based on solidarity. It was also the last congress of Nicole Notat, who was replaced at the head of the organisation by François Chérèque, former General Secretary of the Health and Social Services federation.
2002: 45th CFDT Congress
Meeting in Nantes from 27 to 31 May, more than 1,600 delegates brought the 45th CFDT congress to life. With 78.51% of mandates, the activity report was adopted by the largest majority in the history of the CFDT. Full employment, quality work, social protection, public services and union development were the five themes of the resolutions approved by the delegates, with percentages ranging from 70% to 90%.
2003: the CFDT obtains the “long career” system in the pension reform
The CFDT took part in the consultation on pensions and obtained the “long career” scheme. This agreement enabled more than 600,000 employees who had started working early to retire before the age of 60.
2006: Grenoble Congress
Once again, the congress reaffirmed the importance of democracy in France, the need for stronger intermediary bodies, and the need for players to be committed to reform.
2006: the CFDT opposes the Contrat première embauche (CPE – first job contract)
In 2006, the CFDT strongly opposed the “Contrat première embauche” (CPE) proposed by the Villepin government. For the CFDT, this was an inappropriate response to the real issue of integrating young people. Its involvement in this unitary movement was one of the major factors that caused the executive to back down and withdraw the project. One of the consequences of this was the adoption the following year of a law on the “modernisation of social dialogue”, which took up the CFDT’s demand for cross-industry negotiations prior to any changes to the Labour Code.
2008-2010: Securing career paths
- More flexibility, more mobility, more and more employment contracts and careers: employees are faced with a changing labour market that makes their rights more fragile.
- In 2008, the CFDT obtained new guarantees through the Agreement on the Modernisation of the Labour Market: rights to company mutual insurance and training became transferable after redundancy.
- In 2008, the CFDT signed a joint declaration on trade union representativeness with the CGT, the MEDEF and the CGPME. From now on, trade union representativeness is based on employee votes in companies.
- In 2009, the CFDT signed the agreement on unemployment insurance, which guaranteed greater rights for employees, particularly the most precarious.
- Tours Congress.
2008: the CFDT signs the agreement to modernise the labour market
The CFDT obtains new guarantees to make career paths more secure: certain rights such as the right to company mutual insurance or training become transferable after redundancy.
2010: CFDT mobilises against pension reform
The CFDT fights against the inequalities of the reform, which pushes back the statutory retirement age to 62 and tightens the conditions of the “long careers” scheme.
2012: Trade union general meeting
François Chérèque steps down as General Secretary and is replaced by Laurent Berger.
2013 : The CFDT signs the “job security” agreement
In particular, the CFDT obtains the creation of the CPF (personal training account), which enables employees to receive training throughout their working lives, including when changing company.
2014: Marseille Congress
Laurent Berger is re-elected General Secretary.
2016: Compulsory supplementary health insurance in the private sector, at least 50% paid for by the employer
This measure of the 2013 agreement came into force on 1 January 2016:
– better access to healthcare for employees,
– more advantageous healthcare benefits thanks to the negotiated group contract,
– the opportunity to progress professionally by changing company, without fear of losing their health cover.
2017 : CFDT 1st in the private sector!
At the end of the second representativeness cycle, the CFDT becomes the No. 1 trade union organisation for private-sector employees.
2018 : The CFDT becomes France’s leading trade union – Rennes Congress
Following the various professional elections, the CFDT, already the largest union in terms of membership and the largest union in the private sector since 2017, becomes the most representative union in the public and private sectors, rewarding 100 years of trade unionism almost to the year.
2020 : The CFDT alongside workers during the Covid crisis
Against the backdrop of an unprecedented global crisis, whether confined or not, the CFDT remained mobilised to support workers and put forward its demands so that no one was left by the wayside in this complex period. The CFDT reacted very quickly and obtained measures to protect workers in their workplace, to preserve their jobs and maintain their pay.
2021 : Extension of paternity leave to 28 days
This historic CFDT demand is a major social advance for all forms of parenthood. The challenge of equality between women and men requires better co-parenting, a better division of tasks, and better recognition, in society and in companies, of the responsibility and commitment of fathers.
2022 : The CFDT obtains the extension of complementary health insurance
The CFDT obtains the extension of compulsory supplementary health cover to the three civil service sectors: State, territorial and hospital.
2023: “64 is a no! The CFDT opposes pension reform
The CFDT is opposed to raising the legal retirement age, which is an unfair, unjustified and brutal reform. An unprecedented mobilisation of millions of French men and women took to the streets during the 14 demonstrations. Despite all this, the government turned a deaf ear to the national mobilisation and rammed through its reform. The CFDT did, however, manage to secure a number of advances, including an increase in the minimum contributory pension, improved recognition of arduous working conditions, maintenance of the “long careers” scheme and the introduction of early retirement in the civil service.
2023: another woman at the helm of the CFDT
A new page in the history of the CFDT opened on 21 June 2023 at Le Zénith in Paris. After eleven years as General Secretary of the CFDT, Laurent Berger handed over to Marylise Léon, the new General Secretary, in front of 2,700 activists.
Marylise Léon succède à Laurent Berger