Paris (AFP)
Labor Minister Muriel Pénicaud announced Monday that 9.6 million workers are currently on short-time work, nearly one in two private workers, and called on business leaders to resume their activity if they could.
"This morning, 9.6 million employees who keep their employment contract, are partially unemployed but whose wages are paid by the state," said the minister on RTL, referring to a "completely out of the ordinary situation. common, that we have never known in France ".
"We are almost one in two employees in the private sector in the country," she said.
When the confinement came out, "on May 11, we do not close short-time working, otherwise there would be disasters," said the minister. "But it's going to be declining, as activity resumes, we need less partial unemployment," she said.
"For example, if an entrepreneur who has 100 employees tomorrow finds activity, on the market, which allows him to recall 20 of his employees (…), then we will continue to work partial unemployment out of 80 ( employees, note), it could be declining in proportion to the upturn in activity. This is important because it allows you not to be all or nothing, "said the minister.
Muriel Pénicaud also encouraged business leaders to relaunch their activity, "if they can, that is to say if they find markets, if they set up guides to good practice in terms of health and safety that we did sector by sector ".
By respecting these guides, numbering 31 at the moment, "you respect your security obligations for employees, so you are in the nails" and this allows "employees to say to themselves + I can go in peace to work +", a she estimated.
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