His speech has softened slightly. Invited on Sunday 8 September to the programme “Political Questions” on France Inter, in collaboration with France Télévisions and The worldMarylise Léon said that if the debates on the issue of pensions were relaunched, “At the very least, we suspend the reform [de 2023] » AND “We avoid that age [légal de départ] continues to evolve» from 62 to 64 years. The Secretary General of the CFDT thus raised the idea of a moratorium that would begin when talks between the government and the social partners on this highly sensitive issue resume.
The unionist’s comments come two days after the interview with Michel Barnier on TF1, during which the new Prime Minister declared himself ready to “open the debate on improvement” of the law promulgated in mid-April 2023. The words used on Sunday by the head of the CDE central are less harsh than a few days ago: on September 4, on Franceinfo, she declared that “64 years has been no and it is still no”watching a “absolute red line”.
Questioned at length about pension reform during the programme, Mme Léon said that the postponement of the age of eligibility for pension rights was “the elephant in the room” which needed to be addressed as a priority. The head of the Government intends to demonstrate that this parametric measure is “the most unfair lever”which penalizes, in particular, women who have “much more fragmented careers”.
For the CFDT leader, several issues must be taken into account “pass” : the hardship of certain professions, the fate of people affiliated to various pension systems (the “multi-pensioners”), the organisation of work, gender pay inequalities that affect the amount of pensions paid, etc.
The cost argument “is correct”
While elected representatives of the former majority warn of the budgetary cost of abolishing the 64-year rule (they estimate around 14 billion euros per year in the long term), Mme Leon objected that “this argument [avait] good back ». She again asked “a conference on public finances”will likely identify solutions to address, among other things, the costs related to a challenge to the law in April 2023.
Asked about Marine Le Pen’s party, which will support a bill to repeal the 2023 reform at the end of October, the secretary general of France’s largest union has clearly distanced herself from it. “You won’t make me say that, at some point, the CFDT and the National Grouping had something in common”he said, highlighting that this political formation “places legal inequality at the heart of its programme”with national preference. “I don’t think they are very interested in what happens in the world of work, and that, particularly, in the matter of equality between men and women, it is a matter of concern on their part.”he added.
