Workforce development
 France (Paris)

Sponsor's summary

Alain Bunisset

Assigned by his regional manager, and together with the HRD, to set up the Plan Handicap at Veolia Eau Ile-de-France Centre, Alain Bunisset has been organising partnerships since 2005 with a number of ESATs* and similar companies.Meetings that clearly excite his enthusiasm.

Fact sheet

  • Identity : GERRMM - Esat de la Bièvre
  • Place : Paris, XIIth district
  • Sponsor : Alain Bunisset, Veolia Eau
  • Foundation grant : 30,000 euros
    Selection Committee: December 04, 2007
Alain Bunisset

Alain Bunisset

What is your mission with the Plan Handicap?

Since the bill on handicaps was passed in February 2005, all companies with more than 20 employees are legally obliged to reserve 6 % of their salaried workforce for handicapped persons.Of the 6%, half may nevertheless be employees hired by the company, and the other half, employees working in companies of the private sector.

The regional division of Veolia Eau Ile-de-France Centre promptly expressed its determination to work for handicapped persons by developing these two solutions.In early 2006, Union Économique et Sociale Veolia Eau accordingly signed an agreement with Agefiph** to promote the integration of handicapped persons, maintenance of these persons in the workforce, and to meet the legal obligations.

This explains part of my current work.Alongside the regional Mission Handicap, we prepare to welcome the handicapped persons.We organise awareness sessions for their future colleagues, in order to remove any psychological obstacles with regard to handicaps.

Besides, I'm mainly in charge of developing subcontracting with the protected sector in the region.In concrete terms, I visit the agencies and, with their directors, identify the needs which can be addressed by this type of company: maintenance of open spaces, laundry, refurbishing, packaging, organising receptions, mailing campaigns, etc.Then I meet the local ESAT's to check whether they can respond to these requests.(If necessary, I may even ask them to train part of their personnel to provide a service that is better adapted to our needs).This is how I came across the laundry of the ESAT du Père Lachaise managed by the association Centres Pierre et Louise Dumonteil, at the ESAT de la Bièvre.

Why did you decide to assist the laundry of the ESAT du Père Lachaise with help from the Veolia Environnement Foundation?

When I visited this establishment for the first time, its manager drew my attention to the fact that the equipment they used was obsolete, very inefficient, and extremely fatiguing for the handicapped employees.Besides, the laundry only processed 900 kg of linen per day.There was definitely room for improvement!

So I helped them to obtain a grant from the Foundation, which enabled them to renew their linen treatment process completely and to improve the working conditions of the employees - today, they have air conditioning, which isn't a luxury in a laundry!They have also doubled their production: they take charge of 2 tons of clothing daily.They have also grown from 40 to 80 employees.Thanks to this improvement of the working capability, I can now entrust them the whole cleaning contract for the work clothing of our Paris employees.That will certainly put their activity on a solid footing.

You say you're impressed by the quality of the contacts that you had with the mentally handicapped persons of the ESAT de la Bièvre...

This establishment employs psychotic adults who do amazing things in the field of metalworking and electromechanical operations.Since I'm a DIY fan myself, I was staggered by the quality of their creations.They think about everything and imagine fantastically clever, extremely functional objects.These persons have suffered serious problems since their childhood, so that by coming to work here daily, in a very strict setting where safety is the top priority, they are gradually integrated into everyday life.

Besides, whereas for years we, the healthy, left these persons on the sidelines, they approached me with the outmost friendliness, with a deep wish to establish a dialogue.We have a lot to learn from them:They are much more open than we are, and demonstrate a faultless professionalism that helps them surmount their handicaps.

Having been a union delegate for years, I look forward to the day when, in France, these people will secure their rightful place in the staff representation organisations.

You have sponsored two projects for the time being: how do you see the sponsor's role?

To fully perform his role, the sponsor has to make a personal investment.He has to understand the problem of the structure that enlists the Foundation's help, discover and analyse the needs of its activity:we have to "live" the project from inside!With my many years of professional experience, this is a unique opportunity to transmit the expertise gained in the Group.I have already started exchanges of this sort with the managers of the two ESATs: they come to ask me questions, knowing that I'm ready to invest alongside them

You'll be retiring in a few months: would you like to continue these projects?

I certainly would!I feel that the Veolia Environnement Foundation offers me tremendous motivation to approach the next phase of my life, which is retirement.As sponsors, we know that we can continue to invest ourselves in a highly interesting activity, that we can participate in a project of general interest.This is extremely positive: it opens up a new future!

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ESAT: Establishment and Service for Aid through Work

Agefiph: Association de Gestion du Fonds pour l'Insertion des Personnes Handicapées - agency in charge of workforce development for handicapped persons in the private sector.

"They're terrific professionals"

Alain Bunisset, Veolia Eau

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