Collective agreement for Citroën establishments in the Paris region (27 April 1973)

In this document

This agreement is signed between the Société Anonyme Automobiles Citroën and four trade union organisations (CFT, CGC, CGT, CGT-FO), "Done in Paris, 27 April 1973" p. 14. It renews and replaces a collective establishment agreement of 25-26 February 1969, already amended by addenda in 1970, 1971 and 1972 p. 10. Concluded for two years from 26 February 1973 — certain articles (2a, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 15, 17, 18) being valid for only one year p. 10 — it is published as a supplement to Citroën-Information No. 716 of June 1973 p. 14.

Wages and benefits

The Management commits to an increase "at least equal to 6%" of the January 1973 salary, paid half in June 1973 and the balance in January 1974 p. 11. Semi-annual attendance bonuses (vacation, year-end) are detailed, with a pro-rata table for new hires and military personnel p. 11.

Leave

A precise scale links seniority to additional leave days, ranging from 24 to 30 days depending on the category (monthly-paid, E.T.A.M., collaborators), and a specific table for engineers and executives, from 1 to 6 additional days depending on seniority p. 11.

Families, immigration, military service

Allowances are provided for single mothers (up to 175 francs), for immigrant workers arriving via the O.N.I. (200 francs), and a stipend for military service (60 to 120 francs per quarter for heads of families) p. 12.

Early retirement and retirement

Article 10 sets the conditions for the early retirement scheme: 62 years for women, 63 years for men, with 15 years of seniority p. 12. Degressive supplementary allowances are provided according to the age of departure, up to 65 years p. 12-13.

Classifications and sickness-accident

Article 11 creates the statuses of qualified agent/workshop professional (A.Q.A., A.P.A.) and Citroën Workshop Technician, with the planned creation of "3,000 new positions" between 1973 and 1975 p. 13. Article 18 sets sickness benefits (6 to 12 francs/day) and work accident benefits (1/6th of the average daily wage) p. 14. Article 19 regulates the right to strike through a conciliation and secret ballot procedure p. 14.

Context

This agreement is part of the French social climate of the early 1970s, marked by the post-May 68 period and the law on monthly payment. Citroën, then a subsidiary of the Michelin group, employed a large workforce in the Paris region (Javel, Levallois, Aulnay...), including a significant proportion of immigrant workers, mentioned in Article 6. The economic context of 1973, still growing before the first oil shock, explains the commitment to salary increases.

Archivist's perspective

This document does not directly concern the engineering work of Paul Magès, but testifies to the social environment of the company where he designed the hydropneumatic suspension. It sheds light on the working conditions of the workers and executives who manufactured his inventions.

The text constitutes a valuable source for understanding the internal social organisation of Citroën on the eve of major industrial upheavals: a few months later, in June 1973, François Rollier's speech at the Citroën AGM would mention the company's situation, before the announcement of the merger with Peugeot at the end of 1974 (Le Figaro, 4 December 1974). It seems that this agreement illustrates, on a small scale, the daily life of thousands of employees on whom the production of the models designed by Magès' teams depended.