Jean-Claude Mailly (born 12 March 1953) is a French former trade union leader. Born in

Béthune Béthune ( ; archaic and ''Bethwyn'' historically in English) is a city in northern France, sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department. Geography Béthune is located in the former province of Artois. It is situated south-east of Calais, ...

, Mailly grew up in

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements ...

, then studied economic science in

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the N ...

. He found work with the National Health Insurance Fund. In 1974, he met Marc Blondel, a prominent figure

Workers' Force The General Confederation of Labor - Workers' Force (french: Confédération Générale du Travail - Force Ouvrière, or simply , FO), is one of the five major union confederations in France. In terms of following, it is the third behind the CGT ...

(FO), a trade union confederation. Mailly's father was already an activist in FO, and Mailly decided to also join the union. In 1981, on Blondel's invitation, Mailly began working full-time for FO, in its federal office. In time, he came to lead FO policy on economic issues, serving on the secretariat from 1989, and then was elected national secretary in 2000. In February 2004, he succeeded Blondel as general secretary of FO. Initially, Mailly's critics claimed that he relied on the support of the Trotskyist Workers' Party, although this proved not to be the case. He started by meeting the leaders of the other main national union federations, breaking with FO tradition, and campaigned alongside them in protests against a new hiring contract in 2005. Initially, he was able unite the large majority of the union, but from 2016 he was more controversial, working closely with the General Confederation of Labour in opposing the

El Khomri law The loi n° 2016-1088 du 8 août 2016 relative au travail, à la modernisation du dialogue social et à la sécurisation des parcours professionnels is a piece of national legislation in France relating to employment. It is commonly known as the El ...

, then refusing to organise opposition to Emmanuel Macron, against the wishes of the majority of the union. Mailly retired in 2018, reaching the age of 65. His final activity report only very narrowly winning the approval of a majority of members. His successor, Pascal Pavageau, published details of Mailly's salary and expenses, which proved controversially high. Following his retirement, Mailly formed the company JCBC Conseil, to advise on social, economic and industrial matters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mailly, Jean-Claude 1953 births Living people French trade union leaders People from Béthune