Will this be the last round of discussions? Unions and employers’ organizations agreed on Wednesday night to a timetable for talks on unemployment insurance rules and measures to promote the employment of seniors, with a series of meetings planned between now and November 15, according to sources.
Meeting by video conference The five representative trade union organizations (CFDT, CGT, FO, CFE-CGC, CFTC) and the three employers’ organizations (Medef, CPME, U2P) plan to meet on 22 October from
Other sessions are then scheduled for October 29, as well as November 4, 8 and 14, we learned from union sources. Conversations about unemployment insurance and senior employment will be held concurrently. An extra session can possibly be added on 15 November.
The government officially invited unions and employers last week to negotiate on the two issues, in line with the desire expressed by Prime Minister Michel Barnier in his general policy statement.
New extension decree
Labor Minister Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet announced in a letter that she had withheld from her discussions with the social partners a desire to resume the collective agreement concluded on 10 November 2023 on unemployment insurance, in order to supplement it in particular with the provisions. regarding compensation for seniors.
This letter emphasized that “without calling into question the financial trajectory set out in the framework document of 1 August 2023 (which provided the framework for the negotiations at the time)the social partners are invited to propose measures to generate 400 million euros in additional savings annually. The minister also indicated to the social partners that they “share the desire to move forward with a relaxation of the conditions for access to progressive pensions”, which are currently not widespread in France.
The November 2023 agreement was signed by the CFDT, FO, CFTC and employers’ organizations after difficult negotiations, but was not validated by the government due to the lack of provisions on seniors.
As the unemployment insurance regulations expire on 31 October, an extension order must be published before then to avoid a legal void and give the necessary time for approval of a collective agreement. If the negotiations fail, the government will take control.
