Are repressive measures ineffective in increasing the employment rate? According to the FGBT, limiting benefits over time and increasing their degressivity would not push the unemployed towards employment: “The technique of the stick on the unemployed does not work. In recent years, there have been more than 50,000 permanent exclusions from unemployment. If it worked, we wouldn’t have such a shortage of jobs. We must find another way to increase the employment rate“explains Jean-François Tamellini.
The FGTB has just published a new study on unemployment benefits and their time limitation. The union relies on a series of studies by the OECD, Onem and IRES (among others) and draws the conclusion that there is no correlation between the reduction in benefits and reintegration. in the labor market : “These measures are ineffective. The link to job creation is the economic situation. Whenever the economic situation is better, employment increases. Each time it is bad, employment decreases. Degressivity has no effect and is even counter-productive because it keeps people away from access to employment.“
In addition, the degression of unemployment benefits would plunge the unemployed into precariousness: “By being in the increased degressivity, after 12 months you fall into situations which are for the most part below the poverty line. It’s indecent to say that unemployment is the good life and that we can take pleasure in it“deplores the secretary general of the Walloon FGTB.