Disability Employment Week: a look at Safran Transmission Systems' commitment

Blindness and deafness were the two major themes of the 2018 event at our Colombes site. The day provided a means to unite and educate our employees, as well as to remind them that our company maintains its commitment to disability-related issues throughout the year.

A day dedicated to raising awareness around disability

On 22 November, more than 200 Safran Transmission Systems employees took part in various activities focusing on disability awareness.

Accompanied by their guide dogs, a group of representatives from Les Chiens Guides de Paris, an association for the blind and visually impaired, carried out guiding and sensory workshops, through activities such as examples of walking routes . The French Federation of the Blind and Visually Impaired was also present, and offered an activity aiming to raise awareness of low vision: equipped with virtual reality headsets, our employees were able to use the Eye View application to see what a person with a vision-related disease might experience.

Prevention was as much of a focus as raising awareness. A hearing aid specialist went over the functioning of the auditory system, and the risks that can lead to hearing loss – a daily concern for many of our employees who work in workshops.

Safran Transmission Systems, a disability-conscious company

Safran Transmission Systems is fully committed to the professional integration of disabled people and maintaining them in employment. Our company upholds the AFNOR 'disability-conscious' standard, a recognised benchmark for creating and implementing disability policies within companies. As Julie Desseaux, HR Development Manager, reminds us: "We work closely with the sheltered sector, since ESATs* are very much present on our Colombes site”.

The targets set out by Safran Transmission Systems' Human Resources Department are to maintain this standard, to communicate extensively with our employees on the issue of disability, and to continue to recruit people with disabilities. "As a manager in the Technical Department, if I am looking for a steel specialist, and the candidate has all the required skills, I fail to see how a disability should be an obstacle to their hiring and integration into my team," says Nancy Caldeira-Meulnotte. In 2019, dedicated conferences will be planned throughout the year and will aim in particular to raise managers' awareness of how to support disabled employees.

Disability in the workplace: rights and support mechanisms

A disability is only visible in 20% of cases; as Béatrice Hildera, social worker at Safran Transmission Systems, explains, "It need be nothing more than a problem that complicates everyday life, such as colour blindness or a limp, for example. While the term 'Disabled Worker' can be frightening, it actually covers many realities”. 

Béatrice Hildera insisted on the fact that "this recognition of disabled workers makes sense for the employee, as it allows us to adapt the workplace to their new situation. That’s why it’s so important for the employee to open an RQTH process, without which the company cannot offer them suitable solutions and working conditions”. There are many mechanisms within Safran Transmission Systems that enable our employees to remain in work regardless of disability. "Telecommuting is a solution that we might consider, for example," explains Beatrice Hildera.

* Sheltered sector: ESATs are medico-social facilities that enable people with disabilities to work in a professional capacity under suitable working conditions.