The government is making a gesture towards the so-called reformist unions. In a letter sent on Saturday 11 January to the social partners, the Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe, said to himself “Willing to withdraw” the pivotal age set at 64 in 2027 of the pension reform bill. The objective of such a measure is to make the assets work longer in order to put the accounts back in the green. The text sent to the Council of State makes it possible to adjust this parameter so that it comes into force from 2022 at 62 years and four months and gradually reaches 64 years in 2027. A provision rejected by all unions and whose CFDT has makes its red line.
The ex-mayor of Le Havre now proposes that a “Conference on the balance and financing of the pension system”, in which the social partners are invited to participate. Its mission will be to arrest “Measures to achieve financial balance in 2027, as part of the projections of the Pension Guidance Council”. In November 2019, this body had estimated that the system’s deficit would be between 7.9 and 17.2 billion euros in 2025.
An “age of balance” will be well created in the future system
The conference, specifies Mr. Philippe in his letter, must deliver ” its conclusions by the end of April 2020 “, that is to say “Before the vote on the bill at second reading”. If the conference participants can get along by then, like“Hope” the Prime Minister, “Parliament may take it into account at second reading and the government will issue an order transcribing this agreement into law”. In the event that this is not the case, the executive, “Enlightened by the proceedings of the conference”, “will take by ordinance the measures necessary to reach equilibrium in 2027 and finance the new measures of social progress”. “I want to be perfectly clear on this point: I will take my responsibilities”, insists Mr. Philippe.
The latter also traces the roadmap he is giving to the conference. “The measures intended to restore balance must not lead to a reduction in pensions to preserve the purchasing power of retirees or an increase in the cost of labor to guarantee the competitiveness of our economy”, he insists. If the conference brings together “A sufficient number of social partners”, Mr. Philippe will proceed “As of Tuesday to a corrective referral to the bill currently submitted to the Council of State” and recommend that she meet here “The end of January”.
The Prime Minister also reaffirms that an “equilibrium age” will be created in the future universal system which should come into force in 2037. The latter “Will be one of the collective steering levers of the system over time”. Concretely, departures before the pivotal age will give the right to a pension with a penalty, and those after this limit will give the opposite the right to an increased pension.
CFDT and UNSA welcome the announcement
The CFDT has “Praised” in a press release “Removal of the pivotal age from the pension bill” that she says she has ” got “. The Laurent Berger central, favorable to retirement by points but firmly opposed to a pivotal age at 64 years old with bonus-malus, welcomes a “Withdrawal which marks the government’s will to compromise”, and “Will continue discussions within the framework proposed to answer the questions that remain about the future universal regime”she wrote.
The UNSA also approves this “Major breakthrough” and ensures that “The exchanges can finally start”. The union says it “Will bring its solutions” to get “The financial equilibrium, from 2027 and in the long term, of our pension scheme”.
The Medef for its part recalled that the imperative of financial balance by 2027 defended by Mr. Philippe is a point that the employers’ union “Called for”, and was satisfied with the method used by the Prime Minister in which the organization said it wanted “Fully commit”.
Read the full Edouard Philippe letter to unions:
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