The Court of Auditors once again singles out EDF’s social works

The Court of Auditors once again looked at social activities in favor of staff of companies in the electricity and gas industries (IEG), mainly those of EDF, Enedis, GRDF, RTE and Engie. Around 665,000 employees, pensioners and their families benefit from it for various activities: holidays, Christmas trees, ticketing, etc. These activities are managed on the one hand at branch level and on the other hand by dedicated organizations, such as the Central Fund for Social Activities (CCAS), which differentiates them from the CSE (social and economic committee) under common law. A legacy of the law of April 8, 1946 on the nationalization of electricity and gas.

Since the damning report of 2011 which followed the publication of a first report in 2007, the situation has improved. But very insufficiently. The Court of Auditors notes that “the management of social activities remains very unsatisfactory and that the financial situation of the institutions responsible for them remains particularly fragile”. First of all, structural costs are still very high. In fact, IEG companies devote nearly 400 million per year to financing organizations that manage the social activities of their employees. However, “more than half of this sum finances the structural costs of social organizations”. And for good reason, they employ nearly 2,750 permanent employees and around 1,000 non-permanent employees. This is explained in particular by a low use of activities managed by third parties. The report is also concerned about the conditions for granting bonuses or compensation to these employees.

Real estate assets are also put in the spotlight by the high court. “Its legal situation vis-à-vis EDF and Enedis poses a problem,” write the magistrates of the Court. The report points out, for example, “numerous real estate companies (SCIs) mainly owned by the CCAS, for which the rents requested from operators do not cover the costs”. To fill this gap, the Fund has granted current account advances, essentially at a loss, reaching 33.5 million euros since 2010. The purchasing policies of social authorities are also “perfectible”.

However, improvements have been made, particularly in the provision of optional social protection by social institutions. Lunchtime catering, which also posed a problem, is now the responsibility of employers. However, “the financial situation of social institutions remains fragile. In total, since 2010, the cumulative accounting deficits of the CCAS stand at 234 million euros,” underlines the Court of Auditors, noting an recovery in results from 2020.

Ultimately, expenditure on activities and services amounted to more than 170 million euros in 2021, or 255 euros on average per person, with a “rich and varied” range. However, “certain activities have a confidential audience”. Only 16.5% of families benefited from “adult” vacation stays and 18% of children from “youth” stays in 2022. “The financial effort is concentrated on a small part of the beneficiaries,” notes the Court, for high average unit amounts in 2021 - more than 1,350 euros per family going on vacation, 1,700 euros per young person going.

“In the light of these various findings, the Court considers that the progress made since 2010, including the better supervision of the means allocated to social activities at the end of the 2017 reform, remains insufficient, far in any case from the reforms in depth of management of the social activities that it called for in 2011,” concludes the Court of Auditors.