CHAMPAGNE PROFESSIONAL ORGANISATIONS

I - Salaries and working conditions

      The average effective working week is 35 hours long with the possibility of variations over the calendar year to account for additional seasonal activity in the spring (bottling in the cellars, pruning and binding in the vineyards) and deliveries at the end of the year.
      Bank holidays, Saint Jean's Day for the cellar and office workers and Saint Vincent's Day for the vineyard workers, are paid days off when they fall on a normal working day.
       Paid holiday is 5 weeks per year. Extra holiday days for length of service can be added up to one supplementary week. A seventh week is even granted when the employee continues to work after the age of sixty.
      Permission for absence allows the employee to participate in family events.
      Monthly salary is established after 6 months of service on the basis of 40 hours per week instead of 35 effective working hours, that is 174 hours per month instead of 152 hours (bonus 22 hours/month = + 14 %) due to monthly bonuses.
      Career development results from individual promotion and/or an automatic evolution due to length of service: a monthly bonus is added every five years to reach 8.5% of the basic salary for a length of service of 35 years.
      The basic annual salary varies according to the length of service. After 2 years of work, all employees and workers collect 14 months of salary, to exceed 15 months after 25 years of service. For example, a polyvalent production line worker or an office employee having a coefficient of 150, receives an annual gross salary greater than 135,000 FF (about 20,580 Euros) after 3 years of service (equivalent to more than 11,000 FF/month, that is about 1,677 Euros/month).
      Incentives or profit-sharing schemes are frequently established in companies with over 50 employees and complement the salary.

II - Social benefits

1 - Cover in case of accident during the first 6 months of work
(temporary workers, harvesters, etc) (cf. Ch. 30 of the Collective Agreement )

      The hospitalisation (for work or private reasons) of the employee, or a member of his family is covered (doctors and surgeons fees, clinic costs etc) at 100% of the National Health tariff.
      The incapacity for work, permanent and definitive (total or partial) of the employee gives rise to the payment of a capital (for example: payment of a capital of 20 months salary for total incapacity).
      The death of the employee gives rise to the payment of a variable capital according to the cause of death and the family status. This capital is calculated on a basis of 2.7 years of salary for married employees and even more when they support a family .

2 - Covers valid throughout the career after 6 months of continuous service

      The costs of sickness, surgery, prosthesis, hospitalisation etc… (for work or private reasons), of the employee and his family are refunded up to the amount of 100% of the National Health tariff (cf. Ch. 34 of the Collective Agreement).
      All temporary work stoppages imply a cover of 100% of the salary, on two occasions during six months, increased to three years in case of an accident at work (for workers employed for over one year) (cf. Ch. 35 of the Collective Agreement).
      All definitive work stoppage for incapacity (disability) gives rise to the payment of an annuity of up to 100% of the net salary. It is paid up until the retirement of the disabled person, that is to say, for 38 years for an employee aged 22 (cf. Ch. 36 of the Collective Agreement).
      The death of the employee gives rise to the payment of a variable capital according to the cause of death and the family status. This capital is calculated on a basis of an amount above 3.5 years of gross salary in case of an accident at work or the death of a father responsible for two children, that is 420,000 FF (about 64,029 Euros) (cf. Ch. 33 of the Collective Agreement).
      An annuity is paid, in addition to the capital, to the spouse of the deceased employee. It is based on the full pension that the spouse would have received if the employee had contributed up until the age of 60 (cf. Ch. 33 of the Collective Agreement).
      Social and leisure activities are carried out in a self-managing manner by the personnel representatives (Works Committee or the Social Activity Committee) with an obligatory contribution (in companies with over 50 employees) of up to 1.50% of the salary, roughly 2.000 FF (about 305 Euros) per employee on average.
      Holidays are encouraged by the allocation of a fixed price bonus granted to each employee.
      This is completed by assistance allocated by the Works Committee or the employer to all families whose children are going on holiday (cf. Ch. 24 of the Collective Agreement).
      Professional training results from consultation between the Houses and their social partners as well as the application of a decision taken at the heart of each company for an overall financing of 1.60% of the salaries in companies, which have over 10 employees. The companies with less than 10 employees contribute as well but at a level up to 0.25% of the salaries. They can also benefit from contributions made by other Houses (cf. Ch. 37 of the Collective Agreement).
      Early retirement is granted as early as 57 when the employee has achieved 43 years of work, 20 of which in the same House (cf. Ch. 32 of the Collective Agreement).
      A private pension scheme, complementary to social security, gives the employee the benefit of a complementary pension on the basis of a contribution rate of 8% (since 1999, this rate has changed to 10%) (cf. Ch. 31 of the Collective Agreement).
      Housing for the employee's family is made easier by employer contributions to specialised bodies, such as Coplorr, Copler, Effort Rémois or other similar ones.

NB : When an employee receives 100 € or FF, the social charges paid to a variety of organisations can reach up to 90 € or FF. The cost for the company can, in effect, reach or even exceed twice the amount received by the employee.