The prosecutor's office said Friday the probe follows a complaint last year by a union representing France Telecom employees as well as a report by the state labor inspector into the deaths. The investigation was ordered Thursday.A state prosecutor has ordered an investigation into accusations that harassment by managers at France Telecom was to blame for employee suicides.
Unions blame the suicides on stresses brought on by corporate restructuring. The former state-run company laid off around 22,000 people between 2006 and 2008.
Dozens of French Telecom workers have committed suicide in recent months. Last month, the company unveiled a response plan that included the hiring of thousands of new sales and customer relations workers to ease the work pressures on its current staff.
"At one time, there was an intention to create a sense of frustration so employees would leave. The problem was that it worked too well," said Jean-Paul Teissonniere, a lawyer for the union that filed the complaint.
A France Telecom lawyer disputed that claim.
"One cannot talk about a policy of moral harassment, each suicide must be put in its context," said Claudia Chemarin, a company lawyer.
Concerns over the suicides led the company last year to put its restructuring on hold and conduct a series of meetings with employee representatives to address stress in the workplace.
Chairman Didier Lombard came under fire for his handling of the suicides, and handed over his role as chief executive last month to Stephane Richard.
A report by the French labor inspector's office concluded that 14 cases of suicide, attempted suicide or depression can be considered directly linked with the company's managerial techniques -- such as pressuring employees to change jobs or giving them work the employees considered "devaluing."
The inspector's report found that some of the company's restructuring targets, including layoffs, productivity increases, and thousands of job changes, could constitute moral harassment.
Such alleged tactics came down particularly hard on those employees who retained their civil service status -- with its nearly iron-clad job protections -- from before France Telecom's
French unease at telecom suicides
French Labour Minister Xavier Darcos is to meet the head of the country's main telecommunications company to discuss a number of suicides among its staff.Twenty-three employees of France Telecom have killed themselves since the beginning of 2008.
Unions blame tough management methods at the multinational, which was privatised in 1998.
But France Telecom says the rate of suicides is statistically not unusual for a company with a 100,000 workforce.
According to the World Health Organization, France had an annual suicide rate of 26.4 for 100,000 men in 2008. The rate for women was 9.2 suicides per 100,000.
The latest suicide occurred on Friday, when a 32-year-old woman leapt to her death at a France Telecom office in Paris.
On Wednesday, a 49-year-old man in Troyes, east of Paris, plunged a knife into his own stomach during a meeting in which he had been told he was being transferred.
He is being treated in hospital.
Counselling
Mr Darcos is to meet France Telecom chief executive Didier Lombard early next week, a spokesman for the labour ministry announced on Saturday.
The latest suicide occurred on Friday, when a 32-year-old woman leapt to her death at a France Telecom office in Paris.
On Wednesday, a 49-year-old man in Troyes, east of Paris, plunged a knife into his own stomach during a meeting in which he had been told he was being transferred.
He is being treated in hospital.
Counselling
Mr Darcos is to meet France Telecom chief executive Didier Lombard early next week, a spokesman for the labour ministry announced on Saturday.
The unions say a never-ending drive for efficiency is causing emotional havoc in the workforce - especially among older employees recruited when France Telecom was part of the public sector.
Since privatisation in 1998 some 40,000 jobs have gone, and unions say there is pressure on many employees either to leave or to accept new working conditions.
The management of France Telecom denies that there has been a sudden increase in the suicide rate.
It points out that in the year 2000 there were 28 suicides in the company - a figure which it says is statistically not unusual.
France Telecom says most suicides are prompted by personal, not professional, causes.
However, a BBC correspondent in Paris says the firm concedes that the cultural and organisational changes required by the move from French public monopoly to a competitive multinational were bound to cause stress.
After the latest cases it has promised to hire more counselling staff and to suspend internal job transfers pending new talks with the unions.
Since privatisation in 1998 some 40,000 jobs have gone, and unions say there is pressure on many employees either to leave or to accept new working conditions.
The management of France Telecom denies that there has been a sudden increase in the suicide rate.
It points out that in the year 2000 there were 28 suicides in the company - a figure which it says is statistically not unusual.
France Telecom says most suicides are prompted by personal, not professional, causes.
However, a BBC correspondent in Paris says the firm concedes that the cultural and organisational changes required by the move from French public monopoly to a competitive multinational were bound to cause stress.
After the latest cases it has promised to hire more counselling staff and to suspend internal job transfers pending new talks with the unions.
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