Signature of a new agreement to support disabled persons

This agreement falls under GRTgaz’s CAP24 business plan that aims to step up the company’s transformation, in line with its new Core Purpose: “Together, we make possible an energy future that is safe, affordable and climate neutral.”. Made up of five pillars*, this Core Purpose is an expansion of GRTgaz’s public service mission. It enhances the company’s legitimacy as an infrastructure operator supporting a hybrid, decarbonised energy system, and it steers the company’s innovation and diversification as part of the energy transition. One of GRTgaz’s ambitions is to reinvent the roles and practices that make up its teams.

As Hervé Rambaud, GRTgaz Director of Human Resources emphasises:
“Inclusion and diversity are central values for our human project. The signatories of this agreement are committed to sustaining these actions that have had such a positive impact in changing attitudes towards disability over several years. The results will depend on the commitment of all those involved within the company (HR, social partners, occupational health services, departments, managers, employees, etc.).”

France currently has 12 million disabled persons.** As a socially responsible company, GRTgaz’s disability policy entails the signature of a fifth agreement covering the period 2022-2024 to promote integration and job retention for disabled workers. The company's commitment to this goal is shown in its allocation of a €840,000 budget over this three-year period, i.e. €280,000 per year.

The new agreement is in keeping with previously signed agreements. Also worth recalling is that since the signature of the first agreement in 2010, GRTgaz has implemented a “Mission Handicap” programme to support disabled workers. This programme has a national management structure and a disabled persons’ contact network within the various GRTgaz entities.

• Sustain the momentum of previous agreements by hiring 30 new disabled persons over three years (permanent (CDI) and fixed-term (CDD) contracts, temporary workers, interns) and by encouraging employees to declare a new Recognition of the Quality of Disabled Worker (RQTH)*** status (illness, physical impairment, non-work-related accidents);
• Strengthen processes supporting the employability of disabled employees throughout their career (e.g. financial assistance to promote access to jobs and job retention, workstation ergonomics, disabled-friendly tools and accessories, managerial awareness-raising about disability and work teams, scheduling and pace of work);
• Ensure fairness in career development (the “Commission Handicap” carries out an annual study to correct any discrepancies); 
• Continue working together (green spaces, cleaning, etc.) with establishments that employ a majority of disabled persons (the so-called “secteur protégé et adapté”);
• Maintain and improve training systems;
• Educate and inform all employees about this topic via internal conferences, thematic workshops and theatre plays.

With this fifth agreement, GRTgaz is restating its desire to increase its direct employment of disabled persons and maintain its job retention actions to ensure their employability within the company. To this end, the company has set itself the minimum target of 6% disabled employees by 2024. 

GRTgaz’s direct employment rate currently stands at 4.2%. At the signing of the first agreement in 2010, this figure was 2%.

*The five pillars of GRTgaz's core purpose: Serving the general interest – Being responsible actors – A conviction that the energy transition requires innovation – Upholding humanist values – Engagement with our stakeholders.
** Source: INSEE 2016
*** RQTH: Reconnaissance de Qualité de Travailleur Handicapé