Sodexo: declaration of intent signed with IUF to improve protection of staff, including when working at client sites

Sodexo, the French food services and facilities management company, and the IUF (International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations), signed a joint declaration on 19 March in which the French group makes a commitment to improving health and safety standards across its global operations, including at client sites, where the majority of its employees work. Sodexo says it will work alongside its clients to implement these health and safety standards. The company, which has more than 420,000 employees operating in 60 countries, makes several commitments, including: a “zero-harm” culture of care; no retaliation against employees who “legitimately” raise health and safety concerns; a preventive approach; and identification of biggest health and safety risk and development of prevention programmes. The declaration calls on trade union representatives and Sodexo entities to transpose the company’s commitments in agreements that are valid on a national or local level. The document also covers the election of health and safety delegates and consultation of trade union delegates, as well as staff more broadly, when it comes to developing improvement plans as well as implementing and reviewing these. Meanwhile the company commits to several specific measures to protect its employees during pandemic crises, in order to guarantee working conditions that remain “safe and healthy” for employees: consultation with employee representatives, sharing of information on work-related accidents, and reporting the company’s health and safety results to provide assurance of improvement and progress. The two organisations pledge that they will communicate regularly, to facilitate the implementation of the commitments. This declaration of intent is an annex to the global agreement signed by the group in 2011 (see article n°11077).