According to the mechanism proposed by the Senate Social Affairs Committee, comparable to the solidarity day already practiced, workers would work without pay for 7 hours during the year.
The Senate Social Affairs Committee is proposing that workers work 7 more hours per year without pay to finance Social Security, it said on Wednesday while presenting its amendments to the draft Social Security budget for 2025. According to the mechanism proposed by the senatorial commission, comparable to the solidarity day already practiced, workers would work without pay for 7 hours during the year, with modalities to be defined by “those on the ground”.
“In exchange for the benefit of these unpaid working hours”, 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, it can translate into one day” or spread over the year, he said.
“The idea is really that there is a debate with the social partners on the application of the principle,” he added.
Reduction in social security contribution reductions of 3 billion euros instead of 4
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.
“The economic situation in our country is worrying, and we do not want to have too many losses in terms of jobs,” declared the general rapporteur for the Social Security budget, Elisabeth 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.
The Social Security deficit unchanged in 2025
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. She also proposes accelerating the increase in tobacco prices, which should bring a pack of cigarettes to 13 euros, for an additional revenue amount 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.
