Professional equality – Quality of life at work: LET’S NOT MISS THE OPPORTUNITY!

The Professional Equality – Quality of Life at Work (EP-QVT) agreement is nearing its expiration. While French law doesn’t mandate an agreement, the Labor Code provides for negotiations on these topics. In fact, this negotiation represents a major opportunity to achieve real progress for employees, provided we don’t get bogged down in rushed discussions and limited gains.

A Hasty and Worrying Negotiation

SUD is concerned because management seems to want to move quickly, using a "carrot" as an incentive: improved compensation for an additional two months of parental leave.

Starting July 1st of this year in France, additional parental leave is being introduced by law. This new leave, with a maximum duration of two months, is in addition to the usual maternity and paternity leave. Specifically, this will allow each parent to take up to two months of additional paid leave at:

• 70% of salary up to €4,005 for the first month,
• 60% for the second month.

Management has indicated that it is willing to increase these levels, but that it will not be able to raise the two months to 100%. For this improvement to be possible, we must reach an agreement in the coming weeks.

Let’s be clear: such a measure would be a real step forward, and SUD supports it. But it cannot be used as an excuse to ignore other essential issues.

The Sextant Audit Cannot Be Ignored

This renegotiation of the EP-QVT agreement comes just after the publication of the Sextant audit, which highlights serious psychosocial risk (RPS) problems within the Agency.

One-third of employees work during their time off and often under pressure. Two-thirds of journalists are frequently tired, and half have sleep problems. One-third of employees often feel demotivated. And more than one-fifth of those surveyed stated that they do not have a satisfactory work-life balance.

For SUD, it is essential to take the necessary time to analyze this report and draw concrete lessons from it, then to integrate measures into the EP-QVT agreement.

We advocated for an in-depth discussion. Other unions want to see if a new agreement is possible, without ruling out, if necessary, extending the current agreement. Negotiations are therefore opening in this tense context.

A demand already shared…

One demand (put forward by another organization) has already garnered consensus among the unions: the generalization of subrogation. This means that the employer continues to pay our wages in the event of sick leave and is responsible for collecting daily allowances from Social Security.

It is simple, secure, and practical for employees. AFP is already piloting it for maternity leave: it can and should extend it.

But that is not enough.

The scope of the negotiation is broad. The Labor Code stipulates that negotiations on employee well-being and quality of work life (EP-QVT) cover, in particular:

• work-life balance,
• gender equality in the workplace,
• combating all forms of discrimination,
• integration and retention in employment of disabled workers,
• health and welfare benefits,
• employees’ right to express their views,
• the effective right to disconnect,
• and commuting conditions.

SUD’s demands

SUD has already formulated several demands:

• a minimum number of weekends off per month,
• reinforced guarantees for two consecutive days off, no more than six consecutive days working,
• publication of salary ranges in job ads throughout the AFP network,
• provision of a company phone for those who cannot disconnect using only a personal phone, including for CDDs,
• reduction of night work, particularly at the English desk and the photo desk,
• reimbursement of taxi fares after 10 p.m.,
• the possibility of working from home for half a day,
• provision of laptops for regular CDDs who can work from home,
• clear guarantees regarding the use of the CET for early retirement,
• implementation of a menstrual leave,
• extension of leave for sick children until the child reaches the age of majority and an increase in the total number of days starting with the third child.

This list is neither closed nor exhaustive.

Help us by sending your ideas for improving working conditions and work-life balance to sud-afp@protonmail.com. We need your help!

Paris, May 18, 2026
SUD-AFP (Solidarity-Unity-Democracy)

Updated version June 2, 2026 to add demands and correct parental leave amount.