VINCI commits to employing migrant workers

5 February 2009 - Sustainability - France

- First framework agreement signed with the French Government in favour of new arrivals
- An agreement fully in line with VINCI’s policy of promotion and diversity
- An initial experiment launched in the Nord-Pas de Calais Region

Xavier Huillard, Chief Operating Officer of VINCI, and Eric Besson, French Minister for Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Mutually-Supportive Development, today signed the first framework agreement on jobs for migrant workers arriving in France.
This framework agreement seeks to facilitate the direct employment of foreigners who sign the “reception and integration” contract within VINCI subsidiaries, and the learning of the French language by employees.
VINCI today is the world’s leading integrated concession-construction group. It employs more than 164,000 people in 90 countries, and pursues economic and social policies framed for the long term. Today’s agreement grows out of the VINCI Manifesto signed by Xavier Huillard in 2006, undertaking to promote diversity and guarantee equality of opportunity inside the company. VINCI intends to act as a driving force and pioneer in initiatives to foster equality of opportunity in the workplace. Because it views work as one of the keys to social integration, VINCI is engaged in a wide range of initiatives aimed at helping people in difficulty return to work and measures to develop employability at the local level, in deprived neighbourhoods especially.

An initial experiment in the Nord-Pas de Calais Region

An experimental project now underway in the Nord-Pas de Calais Region in association with the Agence nationale de l’accueil des étrangers et des migrations (French Agency for the Reception and Integration of Foreigners and Migrant Workers) seeks to lay the groundwork for a first partnership and implementing practical tools and methods to enable migrant workers who sign a “reception and integration” contract to acquire vocational skills. Based on the results of this first experiment, targeted at new arrivals, a partnership and operational methodology to integrate these migrant workers into the company will be formulated and introduced throughout France.

 

About VINCI
VINCI is a global player in concessions, energy and construction, employing 280,000 people in more than 120 countries. We design, finance, build and operate infrastructure and facilities that help improve daily life and mobility for all. Because we believe in all-round performance, we are committed to operating in an environmentally, socially responsible and ethical manner. And because our projects are in the public interest, we consider that reaching out to all our stakeholders and engaging in dialogue with them is essential in the conduct of our business activities. Based on that approach, VINCI’s ambition is to create long-term value for its customers, shareholders, employees, partners and society in general.