These organizations, whose relations with the government are already tense before the January 10 pension reform presentation, are initially ulcerated by the method.
“It is not acceptable to make an announcement on December 23 without consultation. It is really in very bad taste,” Cyril Chabanier (CFTC) criticized on Monday. “It is pure disloyalty”, denounces Laurent Berger (CFDT). “A bad Christmas present” for Denis Gravouil (CGT), “simply scandalous”, according to Michel Beaugas (FO).
The subject of this anger: the draft implementing decree of the layoff reform, sent to the social partners on Friday afternoon.
As announced at the end of November, this text provides for a 25% reduction in the length of pay for all jobseekers who open entitlements from February 1 in mainland France.
For jobseekers who will see the duration of the benefit reduced, an “end-of-entitlement supplement” (extension of the duration) is envisaged in the event of a deterioration in the labor market, if unemployment exceeds 9% or has increased by 0.8 point or more on a quarter.
New in Friday’s text, the duration of the compensation is expected to be reduced by 40% and not by 25%, when the unemployment rate falls below 6% (it is currently at 7.3%).
In presenting the reform to the press on November 21, Labor Minister Olivier Dussopt had hinted at the possibility of such a tightening but in the event of unemployment below “5%”, i.e. the level at which one can speak of “full employment ” . .
In the presentation sheet of the decree it is specified that “the conditions of application of this provision refer to a decree adopted after hearing” the social partners.
“Collective Punishment”
“Not only has it not been resolved,” but this decree would only be valid for 2023, Renaissance MP Mathieu Lefèvre defended on RMC / BFMTV on Monday. And “there is little chance that unemployment will fall below 6% in 2023”.
The social partners will in principle negotiate the next agreement on unemployment insurance which will be in force from 2024. But the issue of modulation according to the economic situation “will have to be integrated” into these government-supervised discussions, has already underlined Olivier. Dussopt.
“The government anticipates, perhaps for the future, a situation in which we will be in full employment”, acknowledges Mathieu Lefèvre.
On the merits, the deputy “fully assumes” the reduction of the duration of the salary because “sometimes there are people who refuse job offers, who evade, who don’t show up”. When it’s hard to recruit, “it’s not possible.”
The government is hoping for 100 to 150,000 more jobs in 2023 thanks to the reform. These arguments are rejected by the unions.
“This drastic and unprecedented reduction in the rights of jobseekers will only aggravate the difficulties faced by these people”, judges the CFDT. “The goal of full employment will pass through intelligent solutions on the quality of employment and support”.
“It is a question of considering that any unemployed person is to some extent his fault (…). It is an ideological position, of the order of collective punishment”, denounces François Hommeril (CFE-CGC).
The unions are all the more dissatisfied as Unédic has just drawn up an initial assessment of the previous unemployment insurance reform, launched in 2019 and fully implemented at the end of 2021.
This reform has significantly tightened the conditions of pay for job seekers, especially for those who alternate periods of work and inactivity. According to Unédic, it resulted in an average 16% drop in daily allowances for the unemployed affected.
