“Depending on the companies, depending on the branches, this can translate into one day” or even spread over the year, according to the Senate Social Affairs Committee.
(AFP/THOMAS SAMSON)
Enough to bring “2.5 billion” euros to Social Security. The Senate Social Affairs Committee is proposing that workers work 7 hours more per year without pay to finance Social Security, it indicated on Wednesday, November 13, presenting its amendments to the draft Social Security budget for 2025.
According to the mechanism proposed by the Senate committee,
comparable to the solidarity day already practiced
workers would work 7 hours a year without pay, with conditions to be defined by “those on the ground”.
“In exchange for the benefit of these unpaid hours of work”,
employers would see the rate of the current solidarity contribution for autonomy “go from 0.3% to 0.6%”
according to the Social Affairs Committee. This contribution of assets would bring “2.5 billion euros” to the autonomy branch of Social Security, indicated the president of the Senate Social Affairs Committee, Philippe Mouiller (LR, Deux-Sèvres), in a conference of press.
“Depending on the companies, depending on the branches, this can translate into one day” or even spread over the year, specified Philippe Mouiller. “The idea is really that there is
a debate with the social partners on the application of the principle
“, he clarified.
On the other hand, the Social Affairs Committee does not want to cut as much as the executive the reductions in social charges from which businesses benefit. While the government wanted to reduce these reductions by 4 billion, the Social Affairs Committee is proposing to reduce them by only 3 billion, choosing in particular to maintain the exemptions at the level of the minimum wage.
Limit the damage in terms of jobs
“The economic situation in our country is worrying, and
we don't want to have too many losses in terms of jobs
“, declared the general rapporteur for the Social Security budget, Élisabeth Doineau, senator from Mayenne (Centrist Union).
The Social Affairs Committee also endorses the compromise sealed by the government and LR which plans to increase all pensions on January 1, 2025, but only by half of inflation. A new increase will take place on July 1, only for small pensions below 1 net SMIC.
Regarding behavioral taxes, the Social Affairs Committee proposes to increase slightly – from 3.5 to 4% – that on sugar, a proposal from deputies during the examination of the Social Security budget in the Assembly. It also offers
accelerate the increase in tobacco prices
which should bring the pack of cigarettes to 13 euros, for an additional revenue of 150 million euros.
On the other hand, it proposes to exclude horse racing betting from the increase in the gaming tax, so as not to penalize the French sector. In the end, the Social Affairs Committee leaves the Social Security deficit unchanged for 2025, which would remain at 16 billion euros.
