法國能源巨頭"誘惑"員工向長假說再見
The idea of taking 10 weeks holiday a year sounds unreal to the average American worker. The French energy giant EDF, however, has tens of thousands of employees entitled to this perk. It wants 30,000 of them to scale back their vacations to a more modest 27 days and is offering to buy them out with a one-off 10,000 payment for lower-paid workers and a 4-6 per cent pay rise for managers.
在普通美國勞動者看來，一年享有10周假期聽起來很不切實際。然而，法國能源巨頭法國電力(EDF)的數萬員工都享有這項福利。該公司希望其中的3萬名員工能將自己的假期天數縮減至較爲適度的27天，它願爲此提供經濟補償，也就是向薪酬較低的員工一次性支付1萬歐元、併爲管理層加薪4%至6%。In the words of EDF’s group strategy director Philippe Torrion: “We cannot be out of step with the world.” Many other French companies seem to have no problem with being out of step — and offer almost two months of holiday a year as standard.
用該公司集團戰略總監菲利普•托裏翁(Philippe Torrion)的話來說，就是“我們不能與世界脫軌”。其他很多法國企業似乎不覺得脫軌有什麼問題——它們每年提供的假期普遍接近兩個月。
Why? Well, French people — including French bosses — love holidays. Outside the tourism sector, it is often hard to find anyone working in a French office in August, or even for long periods in May — many workers took the chance last month to “bridge the gap” between the many public holidays
爲什麼會這樣？這個嘛，法國人——包括法國老闆——熱愛假期。除旅遊業外，8月份時往往很難在法國的辦公室裏找到還在工作的人，甚至5月份也有很長的時間找不到人——不少員工上月藉機把很多公衆假日（5月1日、5月8日、5月14日和5月25日）“串起來”休掉了。
(May 1, May 8, May 14 and May 25).
到底是錢多點更重要，還是空閒時間多點更重要，這在法國可是個大問題。正是這個問題加劇了圍繞每週35小時工作制（2000年在法國推行）的激烈爭論。時不時會有一些人把35小時工作制視爲促進就業的方法（如果人們工作時間短了，則需要設立更多的工作崗位）。其他人則將之視爲對就業靈活性的嚴厲束縛和對僱傭新員工的阻礙。The question of which is more important — more money or more free time — is a big one in France. It is this question that fuels the intense debate about the 35-hour working week, which was implemented in France in 2000. Some people, then and now, saw the trente-cinq as a way to boost employment (if people work fewer hours, more jobs will be needed). Others view it as a rigid brake on employment flexibility and a disincentive to hire new workers.
1992年至2005年，我曾在法國電力任經濟師，當時我並未看到有很多同事在努力工作。至少，那些足夠幸運的、擁有長期合同的同事不怎麼努力。當然，這些員工就是那些每年享有10周假期的人。As an economist for EDF between 1992 and 2005, I did not see many of my fellow employees working hard. At least, not those who were lucky enough to have a permanent contract. These employees are, of course, the people who have 10 weeks holiday a year.
在法國，我們有兩類員工。一類員工擁有一份穩定的工作，即“無固定期限合同”；另一類就是其餘所有人。後者包括臨時工、實習生和分包人。如今在法國，很少有人被錄用時籤的是長期合同（一旦拿到無固定期限合同，公司就很難解僱他們）。固定期限合同正日益成爲通行做法，80%被錄用的人籤的是這種合同。In France, we have two categories of worker. First, there are those who have a stable job, known as a CDI (contrat à durée indéterminée); then there is everyone else. This latter group includes temporary workers, interns and subcontractors. Few people in France are now being hired on permanent contracts (once someone is on a CDI, it is very hard to fire them). Fixed-term contracts are increasingly the norm, accounting for 80 per cent of hires[chking with author - NOT QUITE SURE WHAT THIS MEASURES? 80% OF PEOPLE WITH A JOB? 80% OF THOSE TAKEN ON ARE GIVEN A FIXED TERM CONTRACT? ] . (‘three third of the hiring’ - could you express this as a percentage as I am not quite following what the figure is?)
對法國電力員工來說，這種企業主體身份眼下變得更加令人垂涎。它有令人羨慕的工作保障、超棒的養老金計劃以及長長的假期。在法國電力工作被視爲一種特權；很多家長都夢想着可以吹噓自己的孩子在法國電力擁有一份長期職位。For EDF employees, the status of agent is now all the more coveted. There is enviable job security and an excellent pension scheme as well as the long holidays. It is considered a privilege to work there; many parents dream of being able to boast that their child has a permanent position at the company.
實際的工作往往平淡無奇，儘管這其實無關緊要。當我在法國電力工作時，我看到同事們花費很多時間從事一些不那麼重要的活動，比如努力瞭解公司組織架構（像個迷宮），謀劃爭取到更好的職位（工作更少、錢更多、威望更高的職位），悄無聲息地損害潛在競爭對手的晉升前景，做事情神神祕祕、好像自己是一個在執行任務的間諜（“透明”彷彿是個褻瀆之辭）。The actual jobs are often unexciting — although that doesn’t really matter. When I was at EDF I saw colleagues spend a lot of time on ancillary activities, such as trying to understand how the company is organised (like a maze); plotting to secure a better position (one with less work, more money and greater prestige); harming the prospects of potential rivals for promotion without their efforts being noticed; and practising secrecy as if they were spies on a mission (transparency seems to be a swear word).
說法國人懶惰是不對的。事實是一些人有資本懶惰，而其餘的人——就業較沒保障的那些人——每週工作時間不得不遠遠超過35個小時。現代法國的某些方面仍像凡爾賽時期一樣：如今的貴族是那些有鐵飯碗的人。當然，其中有些人工作努力，但很多人並非如此。畢竟，大多數人無法被炒掉。這些高貴的精英所享有的特權，尚未像1789年法國大革命所承諾的那樣被廢除。It is not true to say that French people are lazy. The truth is that some are able to afford laziness, while the rest — the less securely employed — have to work many more than 35 hours a week. Modern France still has some Versailles-like aspects: the aristocrats of today are those with secure jobs. Of course, some of them work hard but many do not. Most cannot be fired, after all. The end of privileges for these entitled elites, as promised by the revolutionaries of 1789, has not happened yet.
坦白地說，當我是法國電力的一名（工作有保障的）員工時，我永遠都不會接受任何旨在縮減我假期長度的經濟補償。正如我們法語所說的：“假期神聖不可侵犯(Les vacances, c’est sacré)。”如今我是一名自由職業者，甚至在放假的時候也在工作。有時我會懷念過去的美好時光。就像埃迪特•皮亞夫(Edith Piaf)所唱的：“一切都會逝去(Tout fout le camp)。”好時光一去不返了。
