Strike December 5: the reasons for the mobilization against the pension reform

To listen to the executive, the French should be convinced of the merits of the pension reform if they made the effort to understand it. Because for Emmanuel Macron, its Prime Minister Édouard Philippe and members of the government, it aims to make "more readable, fairer and simpler" the current system.

"One euro contribution will give the same rights, regardless of when it was paid, regardless of the status of the contributor," we hear for months to extol the merits of this future universal system and points .

#Retirement | 💡 The point retirement: what is it? what will it change compared to the current system? which calculation?

Explanatory answer and in drawing here ⬇

And you what do you think ?
🗨 Comment on this topic: https://t.co/uWdcBDyKNR pic.twitter.com/R0XqT7AyR7

The basic principle is to replace the current 42 pension systems, where pensions are calculated based on the number of quarters contributed, by a single system, where each will accumulate points throughout his career and for each hour worked. As a result, the reform will end the benchmarking rule for the best 25 years for private employees and the last six months for civil servants and special schemes. From the entry into force of the reform in 2025, the entire professional life will be taken into account. One way to promote short, uneven and little upward careers is supporting the government.

>> To read: Strike of December 5: SNCF and RATP announce major disturbances

To convince, the communication services of the High Commissioner for pensions, Jean-Paul Delevoye, who published his recommendations last July, regularly highlight concrete cases. That of women is particularly exploited: their average retirement is currently 42% lower than that of men and 70% of people who receive the minimum pension are women, highlights the tweets of the High Commissioner.

#Retirement | The current system penalizes women 🚺:
👉 Women's average retirement is 42% lower than men's
👉 70% of people who perceive the minimum pension are women pic.twitter.com/iHIvqLGQnm

However, with 245 rallies and demonstrations reported in France, many French will strike on Thursday, December 5, against the pension reform. The initiative for an extendable strike came from RATP unions. The SNCF, Air France, EDF, heavyweights, lawyers, teachers, nurseries have followed the movement, which has grown over the weeks, extending to Vests yellow, but also the Socialist Party, to the Communist Party, to Insubordinate France, and to the National Gathering.

Uncustomed to break the pavement, the executive union, the CFE-CGC, will also protest, the CFTC has left its unions "free" to rally the movement, unsa federations will gather before Bercy and the CFDT-Cheminots, cons - running from his central, calls for an indefinite strike.

"There will be a huge number of losers"

The reason ? "There will be a huge number of losers" with this pension reform, says economist Daniel Cohen, for whom "universal" system does not necessarily mean "just" system.

Pension reform: "There will be a huge number of losers. For Daniel Cohen, it is not because a rule is universal that it is right.
▶ ️ The replay of #Clubbdo: https://t.co/936xD6kKXP pic.twitter.com/urzY6jqoXj

In fact, the losers will not be only on the side of the beneficiaries of the special schemes. All French will "gradually work longer" to "put the current system back into balance" before the entry into force of the new regime in 2025, so repeated Édouard Philippe, November 27. The legal retirement age will then remain at 62, but two options are on the table: lengthen the contribution period or create a pivotal age for a full pension, for example with a discount before age 64 and a premium after this age. Therefore, whatever the option chosen, the French will be forced to work a few more years.

All unions are opposed to an extension of working hours, including the CFDT, the only weight support for a universal scheme by points, especially since the duration of contribution for a full pension must already go from 41 , 5 years old today at 43 in 2035.

>> Read: Édouard Philippe clarifies his timetable for pension reform

The government justifies this decision by pointing out that life expectancy is getting longer. But it is to forget that there are differences in life expectancy according to social categories, argue the opponents of the reform, as the economist Thomas Piketty (see video below). Executives live in fact longer, but also in better health than the workers: their life expectancy at 35 years without sensory and physical problems is 34 years, against only 24 years for workers, according to INSEE figures.

@PikettyTheWorld, economist, on the #retirement reform:

"The government has a problem with the notion of #justice" #the79Inter @LeaSalame pic.twitter.com/avyW0Ftise

The fear of a decline in the level of pensions

The second major concern is the level of pensions. On this subject, the executive ensures that the reform will make winners and communicates again with several concrete examples on social networks. "Today, the minimum pension is 900 euros for farmers and 973 euros for employees of the private sector," notes for example a tweet from the high commissioner for pensions. With the pension reform, this minimum will be "increased to 1,000 euros for all, with full career".

#Retirement | Today, the minimum pension is € 900 for farmers and € 973 for private employees. @ Delevoye proposes that the min. pension is increased to 1000 € for all, with full career.

➡️ Your opinion on this theme: https://t.co/esatiVNsoJ pic.twitter.com/uvoyxTZufJ

If they do not dispute that the future regime will inevitably win, opponents of the project believe that the losers will be in the majority. According to them, pensions will be mathematically lower with the inclusion in the calculation of the worst years. They are also concerned that the point value, which determines the level of pensions, may serve as a fiscal adjustment variable. A video of François Fillon, speaking in March 2016 to business leaders at a party of the Concorde Foundation, is also used extensively by the anti-reform to decry the point system. We see the former Prime Minister declare that such a system "allows one thing, no politician confesses": "lower every year the value of the points and thus reduce the level of pensions."

However, it is now impossible to say that Emmanuel Macron or his successors will resort to such a strategy. Edward Philippe assures the contrary. "There must be guarantees on the evolution of the value of the point," he admitted, November 14, during a citizen consultation on pensions in Pau.

On the other hand, a citizen collective, which militates for "a clear public debate on the reform", denounces a "circle" of the government in the figures communicated. This group demonstrated that the simulations contained in the Delevoye report were erroneous, leaving doubts about the real intentions of the government.

"In order not to penalize the comparison too much, the 'typical cases' are not made under the current (legal) actual system, but by adding new lengthening measures which have never been voted and which increase the contribution period to more than 43 years for the 1980 cohort and more than 44 years for the 1990 cohort. This manipulation has the effect of lowering pensions calculated 'in the current system' to make them appear lower or equal to those calculated in the system Delevoye ", writes the collective.

[Making of] In the report, the #retirement of the Navy in the current system had been artificially reduced to make the reform pass as favorable (this is the blue column). #entourloupe pic.twitter.com/O09fSB8N5n

"Everything is on the table"

The same group also denounces the absence in the Delevoye report of all the simulations carried out by the government and regrets that the report does not compare "the projected situation, as part of the reform planned by the government, with the situation of current retirees ". However, "replacement rates [the percentage of his former income once retired] will drop significantly compared to today," says the collective citizens, which means that "will leave on average a lot more late to claim the same levels of pension ".

1. The amount of the pension paid at the last salary will MUCH fall compared to today.

For Mathieu, a private sector employee born in 1961, retirement will be 73% of the last salary
For his son Mathias, born in 1990 and doing * the same * career, it will be ... 56% pic.twitter.com/Je01fwoGuc

All these fears are also fueled by the vagueness maintained by the executive on the directions that will eventually be taken, most of the details of the reform is not yet decided. "Everything is on the table," said Jean-Paul Delevoye, November 29, on LCI. But by lengthening the concertation without cutting down his cards, the government maintains the idea that he has interest in hiding his game as long as possible.

"Today we have a president of the Republic and a government who are totally anxious, who generate anxiety and worry everywhere" because "nobody is able to say what the reform will be (... "We do not know where we are going and therefore we are in this important strikes tomorrow," said the boss of the party Republicans, Christian Jacob, Wednesday, December 4, at a press conference.

An analysis corroborated by the polls. While they are 76% to be in favor of a reform of the pension system, 64% of the French say they do not trust Emmanuel Macron and the government of Édouard Philippe to reform the system, according to an Ifop survey for the Journal du Sunday, published on December 1st. As for the strike of December 5, between 58% and 71% of French support, according to three polls of three different institutes published Wednesday.