Tarbes (France): Alstom Transport gains top marks for
integrating the less able-bodied

The President of the French Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy,
visited the Alstom site in Tarbes (France) on 25 March, where
many actions have been put in place to promote the integration
of people with disabilities. These actions are part of the
commitments made by Alstom Transport France in July
2006.

Alstom Transport commitments for disabled
people were welcomed at the highest levels of the French
government and on 25 March , the President of the French Republic
visited the Tarbes site to discover exactly what the company had
set up to promote the integration of people with disabilities.
During his visit, Nicolas Sarkozy met several employees with
disabilities and exchanged views with them on the difficulties
encountered in their careers.

In many respects, the site of Tarbes, which
specialises in traction systems and power converters, is first in
class in this area. The site employs 814 people and reserves 6%
of its positions for less able-bodied workers. In addition,
during the past year, a dozen activities for job retention have
been put in place.

In July 2006, Alstom Transport France gave a
commitment to the unions that it would recruit a disabled
employee per year in each of its 12 sites for the next three
years. At the beginning of 2008, 12 permanent contracts were
signed with disabled people, in addition to 21 fixed-term and
temporary contracts as well astwo apprenticeship contracts and
several student placement contracts.