Timoté Hebert – The application and impact of the Act of 20 August 2008 ‘on the renewal of social democracy’ on trade union representation and workplace elections in the cleaning sector.

The law of the 20th of August 2008 « on the renewal of social democracy » brought important changes to professional elections in companies. Previously strictly circumscribed to internal company issues, the elections of employee representatives now also determine the access and weight of trade union organizations in collective bargaining. By calling employees to the ballot box, the reform aims to democratically justify the powers granted by the State to organizations considered as « representative ». Nevertheless, research has shown that the conditions in companies were not always met to make voting a vector of democratization. Within the framework of professional elections, the vote is rather an object of dispute between actors (trade unions, candidates but also informally the management of the company) who seek to legitimize their own interests. This situation is particularly clear in the cleaning sector, where employees usually have precarious statuses. The thesis will focus on the way in which the actors have grasped the reform, the transformations in the elections (in terms of organization and results) and the consequent changes in industrial relations at the branch level.