Thierry Bodson, president of the FGTB, was this Wednesday the guest of Matin Première. He is very critical of the labor market reform adopted by the governmentto start with the possibility of distributing their working hours over four days.
“Compressing work over four days is a murderous stab in the demand for the collective reduction of work”, does he react to Thomas Gadisseux.
For the trade unionist, the collective reduction of working time is written in the direction of history. According to him, it is clear, there will be a collective reduction in working time and this will make it possible to respond to problems such as burn-out, in particular. “But the 4-day week will make us fall years behind this claim, which will be much more difficult to bear.”
Schools, nurseries accessible 12 hours a day, that does not exist.
“Concentrate the work on 4 days, these are 10 hour days which are simply not possible for a certain number of trades (housekeepers, childcare workers, etc.). And it is also to bring schools, nurseries to be accessible 12 hours a day, that does not exist.”
A whole symbol
The measure also has a symbolic significance for the unions: “It implies the modification of the law of 1971 which organizes the working time in which fits in particular the famous day of the 8:00 am. So the symbol is very heavy for us.”
Labor Minister Pierre-Yves Dermagne is a socialist. The socialist party had supported the idea of reducing working time, a 4-day week paid for 5 days. This measure is just the opposite. What does the FGTB say to the PS? “That not only is it a stroke of the penknife for the claim, but also for the workers, who suffer from a lack of meaning, from burn-out… Here we don’t settle anything”.
“A dangerous precedent”
One of the other points of the reform, it is the simplification of the implementation of night work (from midnight to 6 a.m.), and evening work (from 8 p.m. to midnight). Now, for example, night work might be implemented if only one union approves it, even if it is in the minority. “It is a dangerous precedentt”, s’exclame Thierry Bodson. “If the government wanted to demonstrate once and for all that it gives much more importance to the bosses than to the workers, it’s done!”
If the government wanted to demonstrate once and for all that it gives much more importance to the bosses than to the workers, it’s done!
“When a collective labor agreement is signed, the employers’ bench will be 100% presented, while the union bench will be partially presented by a single organization. It means that the balance of power has completely reversed.”
The balance of power has completely reversed.
Another criticism of the president of the FGTB: “We make this decision and we don’t even know to whom it will apply. We talk regarding e-commerce but we don’t know what it covers. The government has asked the Central Economic Council to define the scope of e-commerce. Depending on the definition we give it, it might concern few or many, or even a majority of workers.”
The trade unionist further specifies that the bosses had to accept, in order to reach an interprofessional agreement, to put aside their demands on night work. “What we managed to block 5 months ago in front of the bosses comes back to us through the window when the government leaves.”
As for the clarification of the status of workers in the sector of collaborative economy platforms, another point of labor market reform, Thierry Bodson is not much more enthusiastic.
“shitty jobs”
“The problem is that all measures that are proposed pWith the government, it’s always more flexibility. This is the eternal demand from employers, in particular to reach the famous threshold of 80% employment rate.“To achieve this employment rate, says the boss of the FGTB, it would in fact also be necessary to put sick people back to work, under certain conditions.”This is the real debate that the government does not dare to assume.”
“And the government doesn’t dare to say either that the 80% employment rate in Germany, excuse me for being a little trivial, they are achieved through shitty jobs, up to a few hours a month. It does not solve the fundamental problem which is that of the financing of social security.“
And the trade unionist to return to the question of wages: “If we want to increase the employment rate, we must increase the quality of employment, and therefore pay them better. However, the law of 96 [qui fixe la marge salariale] will continue to freeze salaries in 2023 and 2024.“
