"Every year, we increase the capital for our employees, and that makes sense," explains the CEO of Eiffage.

For the CEO of Eiffage, where 80% of employees hold more than 20% of the company's shares, employee shareholding involves a degree of risk but allows companies to remain fundamentally French or European.

The pension "conclave" is drawing to a close, with the final negotiations between social partners scheduled for Tuesday, June 17. With the system in deficit and soon there will no longer be enough workers to fund retirement pensions, consideration of a capitalization component is gaining ground, at least among employers.

A measure that focuses on the long term, which is in line with the philosophy of Benoît de Ruffray, CEO of Eiffage, a public works company, but also president of Fondact , an association that promotes employee participation in the life of the company.

franceinfo : Employee savings, collective retirement, is this a good time to push a number of issues, starting with corporate savings?

Benoît de Ruffray: Yes, I think it's a good topic because, ultimately, it's a somewhat French exception, and at Fondact, we've been championing these models for almost 45 years. Behind employee savings, you have profit-sharing and incentive schemes, and also employee share ownership, where we go even further.

"Overall, it's an excellent way to educate all company members about the value of planning for the long term. And of course, it can also be useful for retirement."

Benoît de Ruffray, CEO of Eiffage

to franceinfo

Within companies, employees had to decide whether to pay out their employee savings or keep it within the company. Is there any discussion about employee savings today?

Yes, I think so. There are more than 415,000 companies that use these schemes. There's a continuum. Often, profit-sharing or profit-sharing provides additional savings and purchasing power. And we see that many of our employees take a portion for their immediate needs, and leave a portion for their projects, real estate for example, or the birth of a child. And then, naturally, they also prepare for their retirement. They are aware that ultimately, they are putting part of their savings into very long-term savings. These are schemes, I think, very interesting and, above all, they help everyone understand economic dynamics.

In 2024, employee savings will represent €13 billion, and when it comes to choosing, 30% of employees ask to receive the amount—which is taxable. How can we encourage them to invest for the long term?

I think we need to continue this education over the long term. But inevitably, this requires collective retirement savings plans or employee share ownership schemes, which provide the ability, under the best tax conditions, to offer these long-term savings.

So you are encouraging employees, for next year, not to receive their share of employee savings right away?

It depends on each person's situation. There are times when we can, and there are times when we can do a little less, but in any case, we are able to balance short-term needs with medium- and long-term needs.

At Eiffage, the company you chair, 80% of employees are shareholders. Employees own more than 21% of the company's shares. What does this actually change?

It's a change that the fundamental reference shareholder is collectively all the employees. And what's very interesting is that it helped maintain independence in the event of a stock market raid, and prevented us from falling into the hands of a foreign competitor who had plans to separate our concessions and construction activities. So it really brought the company's social body together. It's now something that's shared. Every year, we increase the capital for our employees. It's an event in the company, and I think it makes sense because you feel like you own some of your shares.

And I always say to all of our teams, even when they are at a client's: the excellence of their work also means that a part of that work will come back. It must be said that the value-sharing mechanisms in the company, when you add up participation, profit-sharing and this share of the result that ultimately goes to employee shareholders, it represents an excellent balance of long-term value sharing between external shareholders and employee shareholders.

And what does this change within the company in terms of social dialogue between unions and management?

"I can assure you that the ability to maintain strategic independence within the group, when we are focused on where we want to reinvest, is of interest."

Benoît de Ruffray, CEO of Eiffage

to franceinfo

We are fundamentally European. We continue to invest in Europe, and the company's investments also represent the jobs of tomorrow and the development of employment. So there is a real overall consistency between employee shareholding and the company's social dialogue.

Has it improved with employees gradually increasing their capital?

It's been there for quite a long time. And employees are ultimately directly involved in this corporate governance. We talk a lot about ESG (a company's non-financial criteria: Environment, Social, and Governance). And employee savings in general, all the schemes, fundamentally, play on the social, societal aspect since we share value. But they also play on governance since employee shareholders are highly represented on the Board and therefore in corporate strategy.

Yes, when the company is doing well and there are profits to share. But when things are going badly, like at Renault, where the stock has plummeted—it's lost more than 7%—the employee share ownership campaign has just ended, and employee shares have lost value. What can you say to these employees?

First of all, fundamentally, employee shareholding and shareholding in general represent risk and it's medium-, long-, or even very long-term. That's what we must keep in mind. What I always say, in companies that practice employee shareholding, what's important is that it's everyone's business. Regardless of their seniority. And that everyone thinks in terms of their savings capacity. We mustn't make a mistake, we must invest what we can invest. So we must do it consciously, in terms of our capacities and above all not do it with the daily hazards that are characteristic of the financial markets. It's definitely medium- and very long-term.

And does that allow you to keep a French company?

Fundamentally French, even European. In our case, it's European since the schemes are now open to all the countries in which we have a long-term presence. I always say to my teams and, more generally, to companies that practice employee shareholding, as Pierre de Coubertin said: "The main thing is to participate," but each according to their means. And that, for me, is what provides a very long-term commitment to the company's performance.