French unease at suicides

Actualizado
  • 14/09/2009 02:00
Creado
  • 14/09/2009 02:00
PARIS. French Labour Minister Xavier Darcos is to meet the head of the country's main telecommunications company to discuss a number of...

PARIS. French Labour Minister Xavier Darcos is to meet the head of the country's main telecommunications company to discuss a number of suicides among its staff.

Twenty-three employees of France Telecom have killed themselves since the beginning of 2008. Unions blame tough management methods at the multinational, which was privatized in 1998. But France Telecom says the rate of suicides is statistically not unusual for a company with a 100,000 workforce. The latest suicide occurred on Friday, when a 32-year-old woman leapt to her death at a France Telecom office in Paris. The unions say a never-ending drive for efficiency is causing emotional havoc in the workforce - especially among older employees recruited when France Telecom was part of the public sector.

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