The Franco-Canadian group Orpea, which runs retirement homes and health clinics, has been accused of spying on its workforce and then offering a deal worth four million euros to persuade a trade union to drop its official complaint and keep quiet about the covert practices. The claims relate to three Orpea clinics run through its subsidiary Clinea at Haÿ-les-Roses and Andilly in the Paris region and at Lyon in east France, where the group apparently hired “observers” to work among staff.
Health firm 'offered 4 million euro deal' for French union's silence over workplace spies
The Franco-Canadian group Orpea, which runs private retirement homes and health clinics, has been using “observers” to spy on its workforce and in particular trade union activities, according to documents seen by Mediapart. When the French trade union in question, the CGT, decided to make a formal legal complaint, the group offered it a deal worth four million euros in return for withdrawing the complaint and keeping quiet about the snooping – a deal the union ultimately refused. Mediapart can also reveal that the three “spies” used by the healthcare firm came from a company which is linked to allegations that furniture retailer Ikea spied on its staff and customers in France. Mathilde Goanec and Mathilde Mathieu report.
Mathilde Goanec and Mathilde Mathieu
24 April 2015 à 15h01
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