Employers and Unions Reach Agreement on Unemployment Insurance: Latest Updates and Analysis

2023-11-10 23:06:48

Employers and at least two unions finally reached an agreement on unemployment insurance on the evening of Friday, November 10, following difficult negotiations on compensation rules from January 2024.

“After nine negotiation sessions and despite the requirements of the framework document [du gouvernement en amont], an agreement has been reached »welcomed the representative of Medef, Hubert Mongon.

Just before, the CFDT negotiator, Olivier Guivarch, who mentioned a “difficult negotiation from the start”, had reported a “positive review” of his delegation. « We are satisfied to have reached a draft agreement, possible because blockages have been lifted for new rights”, rejoiced Mr. Guivarch on. The text will still have to be approved by the national office of the organization on November 16.

Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Unemployment insurance: unions and employers open last chance negotiations

“We are ready to sign it, now it still needs to be approved” by the government, said Eric Courpotin, his counterpart at the CFTC.

For FO, “the red lines have fallen”

FO said it was awaiting the decision of its confederal office on Monday, while noting that “the red lines have fallen”according to negotiator Michel Beaugas.

The government will ” to study “ the compatibility of the agreement drawn up by the social partners with the objectives that it had set for them in its framework letter, affirmed for its part the Ministry of Labor. For Medef, the agreement reached is “perfectly compliant” to the framework document and results in a balance between new expenditure and revenue.

Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Unemployment insurance: the government imposes a strict framework for negotiations

Two unions, the CGT and the CFE-CGC, have indicated that they will not be among the signatories. “For us the balance is not there”even if “the employers have withdrawn most of their provocations”said Denis Gravouil (CGT).

The CFE-CGC left the discussion table in the evening. Its negotiator, Jean-François Foucard, denounced the maintenance of the reduction in benefits for high incomes, a red line for him. But this degression, which concerns those who receive a daily allowance greater than 91.02 euros per day – corresponding to a gross salary before loss of job of 4,850 euros – will cease to be applied from the age of 55, compared to 57 years so far.

Under the agreement reached, job seekers who register for the first time will be able to be compensated following five months of work in the last twenty-four months, instead of six months currently. “A concrete and fair measure”for the CFDT.

On the other hand, the modifications to the conditions of compensation for seniors following the pension reform, which the government wanted to see included in the agreement, were referred to a negotiation on the employment of seniors, despite the initial desire of the employers’ organizations to include them.

0.05% reduction in employer contributions

The bosses, who wanted to lower their unemployment insurance contributions from 4.05% to 3.95%, also accepted a reduction half as large, of 0.05%. The text also reduces the scope of the bonus-malus system, a system criticized by employers which increases the contributions of bosses who use short contracts more than the average.

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The government had given the social partners until November 15 to conclude. He would have regained control without this compromise found on the line. He had narrowly framed the debates in a document sent at the beginning of August: no return on the 2019 reform, which notably tightened the conditions of access to unemployment compensation, nor on that of 2023, which modulates the conditions of unemployment. unemployment insurance depending on the labor market situation and reduced the duration of compensation by 25%.

Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Unemployment insurance: an initial mixed assessment for the controversial reform and its effects on the return to work

Several negotiators, on the union side, complained of a form of “guardianship” and a « parasitage » of the government on the discussions. “We have reached the end of a hybrid system” with this interventionism, also judged Mr. Mongon.

Additional financial complexity, the executive has planned additional draws on unemployment insurance revenue to finance support and training measures for the unemployed. These punctures pose “a double difficulty”underlines the draft agreement, invoking “a question of principle” and in relation to Unédic’s debt reduction objectives.

Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Unemployment insurance: the “unacceptable drain” from the State illustrates the slow agony of paritarianism

The subject of entertainment workers came up in the discussions. The employers initially wanted to toughen their compensation conditions, despite the agreement reached by representatives of the sector and opposition from the unions. Ultimately, it is the status quo that prevails, i.e. maintaining the current rules, but without the improvements negotiated by the sector.

The World with AFP


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