Unions and employers completed their discussions on Thursday on new rules on unemployment insurance but continued to negotiate an agreement on the employment of seniors, demanded by the unions after the pension reform.
At the end of the talks on the rules for compensation for the unemployed which should apply from January 1, only the CGT appeared before the press, the negotiators reserving their verdict depending on the outcome of the discussions on the employment of seniors.
The CGT negotiator indicated that he would recommend to his organization not to sign the text: “we do not accept that there will be further reductions in the rights of the unemployed”, declared Denis Gravouil. A little earlier, around a hundred demonstrators had gathered in front of the Unédic headquarters at the union's call to demand improvements in the rights of the unemployed not provided for in the draft agreement.
This project, planned for four years, is an amendment to the November 2023 agreement – signed by the CFDT, FO and the CFTC, but not validated by the government. In particular, to save money, it plans to reduce compensation for unemployed cross-border workers who have worked in Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium or Germany.
Their rights are today calculated on the basis of their salaries in these countries which are significantly higher than in France.
An increase of two years in the age limits giving entitlement to longer compensation, to take into account the pension reform that the unions are contesting, is also planned.
The level giving entitlement to a maximum of 22.5 months of compensation thus increases from 53 to 55 years and that giving entitlement to 27 months from 55 to 57 years.
The measure should bring in 350 million over 4 years.
In order to get closer to the 400 million euros in additional savings requested from the social partners from 2025 by the Minister of Labor Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet, employers accepted on Thursday that the reduction from 4.05% to 4% of the employer contribution unemployment insurance does not take effect until May 1, 2025.
Overall, the new rules would make it possible to generate some 2.3 billion savings over four years for the unemployment insurance system, according to a calculation by Unédic.
Unions and employers are trying to come to an agreement to prevent the government from taking control again, as the Attal government did in the spring after the failure of negotiations on seniors, publishing a decree whose unions had unanimously denounced. “violence”.
– gradual retirement –
“We have put ourselves in a position to find an agreement (on unemployment insurance, editor's note), however this, as in 2023, is conditional on obtaining new rights at the end of their career for employees”, declared to the outcome of the morning negotiation session FO negotiator Michel Beaugas.
The objective of the negotiations on the employment of seniors, which could continue until late at night, or even Friday morning, is in particular to increase the employment rate of 60-64 year olds, which is particularly low in France compared to neighboring countries.
In the spring, talks broke down in particular on progressive retirement, a subject now included in the draft agreement.
Accessible from the age of 60 and allowing the employee to work part-time while continuing to contribute at full rate for their retirement, the system would not however become a right to which the employer could no longer oppose, as would be desired. unions.
The draft agreement also includes the creation of a so-called “experience enhancement” contract to facilitate the hiring of older unemployed people. Part of the salary may be paid by Unédic to compensate for any shortfall compared to the previous salary. These contracts also provide that the employee can be automatically retired as soon as he is entitled to a full pension.
“Hard point” for the unions: the progressive exemption from unemployment insurance contributions provided by the employers for the employer who recruits an employee under an experience enhancement contract.
