2nd. week

WORKING CONDITIONS

In this second week, our Professor was Steve Kruse who spoke about working conditions in France. There are many differences and similarities in relation to work in Mexico.

One of the reasons that the working conditions are different is because in France the laws are met and are written to keep the employee in the Company. While in Mexico, according to the Federal Labor Law, the employee should be protected, but the reality is different, because the employer takes care of their interests and benefits and forgott protect their employees.

The most important points about working conditions in France are described in the table below and compared with the conditions in Mexico.

	France	Mexico
Similarities	Ended contracts and term contracts. Tryal periods 1-4 months. Annual review of minimum wage. Contributions to social security. Maternity leave 16 weeks. Paternity leave 11 days. Companies spend on training personal.	Ended contracts and term contracts. Tryal periods 3 – 6 months. Agreements on minimum wages between union workers and Company. Contributions to social security. Maternity leave 16 weeks Paternity leave is given only in some companies for a couple of days. Companies spend on training personal.
Differences	Collective contracts. Overtime benefits are determined by the collective bargaining agreements. Working hours of 35 hours per week. Contributions to unemployment programs. Program to obtain qualifications through experience (VAE). No discrimination when looking for a job. The law is for all size enterprices. CV’s anonymous	Individual contract. The company does everything possible to not pay overtime. Working hours of 40-48 hours per week. There is not a unemployment program. Test to obtain qualifications, experience is not required only knowledge. The handicaps and the pregnant women have problems to find a job. There are many micro and small enterprices that not respect the laws. CV´s required picture and personal information.