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The French retail chain, Auchan, and UNI Global Union today signed a global agreement, committed to upholding workers’ rights and the freedom of association throughout the multinational’s entire global network.  Auchan has more than a 1000 hypermarkets and  2625 in 17 countries and is one of the leaders in the commerce field.

The signing ceremony was held at Auchan’s head-office in Lille. UNI Global Union was represented by its General Secretary, Philip Jennings and Auchan by, the Director General of Auchan Retail, Wilhelm Hubner.

Jennings said, “ While some companies only play lip service to CSR, Auchan has shown by signing up to this agreement it truly values its workers. We congratulate Auchan on the agreement and are pleased the company has joined the growing list of responsible multinational retailers who engage with global unions and understand the value of Global Framework Agreements.”

The Head of UNI Commerce, Mathias Bolton said, “The agreement underscores Auchan’s strong commitment to go beyond simple corporate social responsibility. The company has agreed to work with UNI to fulfil its obligations to its 34,5396 strong workforce by fully respecting the ILO’s Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the United Nations Guiding Principles.

“Through this agreement with UNI Global Union, Auchan Retail strengthens its interactions with its stakeholders to build a development model that combines operational performance and behavioral quality and demonstrate we are listening.

“This is the purpose of this agreement whereby Auchan Retail and UNI Global Union create a space for information and dialogue and affirm the importance of good business, social and environmental practices throughout the world where the company operates, "said Philippe Saudo, Director of Human Resources at Auchan Retail.

The mission of UNI Commerce Global Union is to improve working conditions in the retail and wholesale sector by creating networks and building capacity among our affiliated unions and by committing multinational companies by signing Global Framework Agreements. UNI Commerce is part of UNI Global Union which represents 20 million workers in the services sector throughout the world.