The case concerns the dismissal of more than 130 workers between 2018 and 2019 after they joined the Petrol-Is union to challenge poor working conditions, systematic discrimination against women and reports of sexist and sexual violence in the workplace.

The complaint was brought by ActionAid France, Sherpa, Petrol-Is and 81 former employees. After years of determined legal action, the court has now confirmed that the parent company failed to adequately identify and address risks to workers’ rights in its Turkish operations.

A historic step forward under the Duty of Vigilance Law

In its judgment, the court concluded that the Yves Rocher Group did not meet the requirements of the French Duty of Vigilance Law of 27 March 2017, which obliges large companies to identify and prevent human rights violations linked to their global operations.

The court found that the group should have identified the risk of serious labour rights violations within its Turkish subsidiary. By excluding the subsidiary from its vigilance plan and failing to take appropriate measures to prevent anti-union practices, the company did not fulfil its legal obligations.
Importantly, the ruling established that workers were dismissed in 2018 and 2019 in order to prevent the presence of a trade union and avoid collective bargaining. The court also found that the company had not properly assessed the risk of violations of trade union freedom in its 2017 and 2018 vigilance plans, despite having access to information indicating these risks.

This is the first time that a French company has been found liable under the Duty of Vigilance Law for human rights violations linked to its activities abroad. The decision sends a strong message that multinational companies must respect fundamental workers’ rights throughout their global operations.
Workers’ persistence leads to justice

The case is the result of years of persistence by the dismissed workers and their union. After being fired for organising, many workers continued their fight for justice, including through more than 300 days of protest outside the factory.

Their determination, supported by trade unions and civil society organisations, has now led to a historic court ruling confirming that the violations they faced were linked to anti-union practices.

Although most workers had previously signed a settlement agreement with the Turkish subsidiary in 2019, the court’s recognition of the company’s responsibility represents an important victory for those who brought the case.

Compensation and recognition

The court ordered the Yves Rocher Group to pay damages of €8,000 each to six former workers — Nimet Göksu, Nazim Sancak, Erdin Günaydın, Nejdet Mengübeti, Ersan Alasulu and Sedat Ordu — consisting of €5,000 for moral damages and €3,000 for economic damages.

The union Petrol-Is was awarded €40,000 in damages, while Sherpa and ActionAid France received symbolic compensation of €1 each.

In addition, the company must pay €1,000 in legal costs to each of the six workers, as well as to Sherpa, ActionAid France and Petrol-Is.
The judgment is provisionally enforceable, meaning that it remains applicable even if an appeal is lodged.

A strong signal for corporate accountability

“The ruling represents an important milestone for corporate accountability. By confirming that multinational companies can be held responsible for labour rights violations linked to their operations abroad, the judgment strengthens the role of due diligence legislation as a tool to protect workers.

For trade unions and workers, the decision shows that persistence can lead to results and that legal mechanisms such as the Duty of Vigilance Law can help ensure that companies respect fundamental rights throughout their global operations” said Judith Kirton-Darling, industriAll Europe’s general secretary

"We salute the determination and solidarity of the Flormar workers and their years of steadfast struggle. This case demonstrates that worker resistance is essential to defending freedom of association.

We welcome the French judiciary's landmark verdict confirming that Yves Rocher violated fundamental workers' rights. Using human rights due diligence through binding legislation is a central strategy for IndustriALL and an essential instrument for workers around the world.

While the court has delivered justice for individual rights violations, union recognition and the right to collective bargaining are still not in place. We call on Yves Rocher to recognize Petrol-Is as the bargaining unit so that such serious abuses never happen again." said IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan