It took less than an hour of discussion with the trade unions and the employers to cut short the tenth trading session on unemployment insurance. It was the meeting of the last chance which was to be held on Wednesday, the Medef, and it is therefore a dismal failure. “We went after what we could offer. We make the observation that today, we cannot find enough points of convergence”, has noted the trader of the Medef, Hubert Mongon. Imposed by the government, this bargain was a bad part since its launch last November. “The objectives of the framework letter of negotiation (the government) were not necessarily sustainable,” admitted the trader of the U2P, Patrick Liebus.
“We will never have in fact never negotiated”
moreover, the trade unions and the employers have never really managed to make progress on the key topics. “We will never have in fact never negotiated,” said Jean-François Foucard, of the CFE-CGC.
on one side, the employers still fiercely opposed to the introduction of a sort of “bonus-malus” on the employer contributions or a financial contribution to the fight against the excessive use of short-term. A device defended by the workers ‘ organisations which have rejected the proposals as “alternatives” presented by the representatives of employers (Medef, CPME, U2P). On the other, the unions were not willing to accept the savings consequent required by the executive (between 3 and 3.9 billion euros over three years) involving necessarily downward revision of the rights of the unemployed.
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Except that nobody wanted to slam the door in the first, at the risk of being held responsible for this failure. And now, each rejects the stone. “The trap would have been not to go into the negotiation. The chances of reaching an agreement were low, but they existed, however, remains convinced Marylise Leon, number two of the CFDT. The role of a union is to negotiate but not to conclude an agreement at any price.”
A new calendar to come
It remains that the case is not over. The government should now take over again to lead this reform explosive in a social context tense. “We will be announcing in the days to come the method and the timetable for progress on this issue”, has informed the minister of Labour, Muriel Pénicaud, who “deeply regrets” the failure of the negotiation. On this occasion, trade unions and employers intend to continue the match and defend their respective positions in the face of the executive.
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This is not a coincidence if the CFDT and Medef, the two organizations that are most influential, followed by their counterparts, have called for the holding of a tripartite meeting at the ministry of Labour even before the end of the negotiation. Surprising, at a time when the social partners accuse the government of Philip and the head of the State to denigrate the social democracy. “The employers’ organisations and trade unions are sometimes schizophrenic, because on one side they are seeking independence and autonomy, and on the other they seek the arbitration of the State via a consultation”, was recently the negotiator of the CFE-CGC.
nevertheless, the speech are already well-established for the future. “Job seekers should not be the big losers of a reform that would be guided solely by the search for budgetary savings”, has hammered the number two of the CFDT. As to the FO, his negotiator Michel Beaugas insisted: “I’m not going to let go of the government to be sure it sets up the bonus-malus.” And no surprise, the employers will be “very attentive to proposals that (him) will be made,” in the words of the representative of the Medef, who, without doubt, continue his fight against the bonus-malus. New battles in perspective.
