executive presents new reforms, debated

The executive wants to change the unemployment benefit rules again. The government gave Wednesday, September 7 at the Council of Ministers, the start of new reforms aimed at addressing recruitment difficulties by varying the conditions of compensation for the unemployed according to the economic situation, an idea that unions vehemently rejected. . .

The first social reform of a second five-year term, the bill was originally intended to, paradoxically, expand current unemployment insurance rules. Derived from the already controversial reforms of his first five-year term, this will expire on October 31.

This is a question of avoiding a legal vacuum for the compensation of about 2.5 million job seekers and applications “Malus bonus” for the contribution of certain companies that use a lot of short contracts.

Allowance modulation

More than the content of the text, which will be debated at the start of its return to parliament in October, is a contentious trigger sequence.

Executives want to modulate unemployment insurance conditions according to the labor market situation, as was done in Canada, for example. To that end, the government will cooperate with social partners with a request to negotiate the modulation of unemployment insurance benefits so that, said Emmanuel Macron, “Tighter when there are too many unfilled jobs, more generous when unemployment is high”.

It will happen “for consultation” and not negotiations, which was determined Wednesday, on Franceinfo The Minister of Manpower, Olivier Dussopt, added that in this regard, “This is an exchange, this is a discussion, this is a proposal, a counter-proposal (…) and in the end the government makes the decisions it has to make.”.

The goal is to achieve criteria – the unemployment rate, for example – whose upward or downward evolution can determine the number of months of work required to access compensation (currently six months out of the last twenty-four) or longer durations.

The executives emphasized, to Olivier Dussopt, that there was urgency because of that “unbearable to still have an unemployment rate of 7.4% and at the same time get unanimous feedback from business leaders on recruitment difficulties”. This makes this reform as one of the conditions to achieve the goal of full employment (unemployment around 5%) by 2027.

According to the economist and deputy of the Renaissance (former La République en Marche) Marc Ferracci, one of the initiators of the 2019 reforms, “Dozens of studies have shown that unemployment insurance regulations, including duration and eligibility thresholds, have an effect on employment rates”particularly for the most autonomous unemployed in their research.

Wrong, countered the union, whose recruitment difficulties were mainly related to training and attractiveness of the profession (salary, working conditions, mobility, etc.).

“counter-cycle” actions

Meeting on Monday at CFDT headquarters, the unions agreed to their opposition to negotiating such a measure “contracycle”. They should publish a joint text to this effect next week.

She will wear “on the current labor issues and recruitment difficulties that will not find an effective response with reforms which further reduce the rights of the unemployed”said Marylise Léon (CFDT).

“We want to negotiate a new unemployment insurance agreement, but on condition that we stay in control”added Michel Beaugas (FO). “The reality is that the executive gave assurances to Medef, who was therefore not interested in negotiating with the union.”deplores François Hommeril (CFE-CGC).

In fact, the president of Medef, Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux, has judged that“opening negotiations would be futile, as it would not work due to the lack of a diagnosis shared with the union”.

Since then the masses seem to have been told. Without an agreement, the government will set the rules by decree only. He wants implementation “before the end of the year”, according to M. Dussopt.

Within months, the government intends to open another consultation on the Unédic government, the joint unemployment insurance scheme, in connection with the reform of support for active solidarity income (RSA) and the formation of France Travail, which will replace Pôle. .