A little more than three weeks are given to reach commitments. On Wednesday, October 16, unions and employers set the calendar for a double round of debates, one on unemployment insurance and another on the employment of older people. The meetings, held in parallel, will begin on October 22 and will continue until November 14, with a final session being considered the next day if necessary. They are committed following a proposal from the Minister of Labor, Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet, who wanted to return control to social actors, believing that they are “the best located” to address these issues.
Regarding the first component – compensation for job seekers – the protagonists will be able to benefit from the agreement that they signed in November 2023 – with the exception of the CFE-CGC and the CGT – but that could not come into force, said the executive. he then refused to give his approval. Starting from an already written text should simplify the exercise. However, with one caveat: “We will have to look for the 400 million euros of additional savings that the minister asks of us”underlines Jean-François Foucard, confederal secretary of the CFE-CGC.
Several avenues are being considered, including a review of the rules applicable to unemployed people who reside in France but have worked in a neighboring country (mainly Switzerland and Luxembourg). The system currently in place is very expensive, in particular because benefits are calculated based on the salary received, which in many cases is higher than in France. During a hearing at the National Assembly, Mr.me Panosyan-Bouvet confirmed, on Wednesday, October 16, that reflection was being carried out on unemployment compensation for cross-border workers: among the hypotheses examined is the strengthening of the obligations that weigh on this category of assets, through a redefinition of “reasonable offer of employment” that the interested parties are obliged to accept, under certain conditions, under penalty of ceasing to receive their benefit.
“It’s going to be difficult to be too innovative”
The other negotiation, dedicated to maintaining employees who are approaching the end of their careers, will perhaps be more delicate. One of the questions that arises is whether “We start from a blank page or we take advantage of what has already been written”confesses Eric Chevée. The vice president of the Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises (CPME) thus alludes to conversations about a “new pact for life at work”, which led to a disagreement in April. A draft text had indeed been drawn up which included, among other things, measures for the elderly, but the unions rejected it as very insufficient and even regressive in several aspects.
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