The idea of removing a new public holiday to finance the autonomy of the elderly should resurface during the study of the Social Security financing bill (PLFSS), starting this Wednesday, November 13, before the Senate Social Affairs Committee.
In a recent report on the financial situation of nursing homes, the High Assembly has just called for the establishment of a second day of solidarity, like that established in 2004 after the deadly heatwave of summer 2003. It was then an additional working day, initially set for Pentecost Monday, but the terms of which have been defined since 2008 by company or branch agreements.
In return for this unpaid day, companies pay to Social Security the social autonomy contribution (CSA) equal to 0.3% of their payroll, corresponding to the estimated additional added value of a day of work.
The measure would bring in 2.4 billion to the autonomy branch
In 2024, the CSA must bring 3.3 billion euros to the National Solidarity Fund for Autonomy (CNSA), which manages the fifth branch of Social Security. A very insufficient amount to meet the needs caused by dependency, estimated at 10 billion euros in 2030.
To fill the future deficit of the CNSA (400 million euros in 2025, and destined to increase with the creation of 50,000 nursing home positions), a Senate report therefore suggested, in September, establishing a second day of solidarity which could bring in 2.4 billion euros (plus 300 million by extending the CSA to self-employed workers).
If the proposal does not appear in the text of the PLFSS drawn up by the government, ministers Antoine Armand (economy) and Laurent Saint-Martin (budget) were in favor of it. A “very interesting proposition, worth looking at closely”judged the first. “Anything that allows our country to show that we can work harder to participate in the recovery effort goes in the right direction,” estimated the second.
“Not necessarily to eliminate a public holiday, but to work a little longer”
Before the National Assembly, the debates on the question came to an end. If the Modem argued for it, no amendment on the subject was adopted, while the left campaigned instead to increase the CSA rate from 0.3% to 0.6%, which the deputies rejected.
The Senate, at the origin of the proposal, should therefore logically take up the measure. “It should not be presented as a public holiday or one less day off, However, warns senator Les Républicains d'Eure-et-Loir Chantal Deseyne, author of the report on the financing of nursing homes. We are not calling into question November 11, May 8 or Ascension Thursday. The seven hours can be spread over the year, anything is possible. »
“It’s not necessarily a question of eliminating a public holiday, but of working a little longer”abounded, Tuesday morning before the Association of Social Information Journalists, the Minister of Solidarity, Paul Christophe, recalling the difficulty in eliminating Pentecost Monday: “We never got there and we ended up saying that we had to work 1607 hours, or a full year at 35 hours, plus 7 hours. So why not work 1614 hours to have a little more money for the autonomy branch. »
However, the minister is concerned about the acceptability of the measure. “In recent weeks I have had the opportunity to go to different territories and question French people on the subject, he says. “If it's to plug the hole caused by your management errors, there's no point in thinking about it,” they told me quite bluntly. “On the other hand, if you are telling us that, given the aging of France, there will be an additional need in the years to come, we are ready to make an effort.” »
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