Paris (AFP)

LREM deputies want to authorize employees who wish to donate part of their paid leave to carers, according to a letter consulted Tuesday by AFP, an elected LR seeing in it a "plagiarism" of his proposal and the government deeming "very interesting".

In this letter addressed to the Minister of Labor, Muriel Pénicaud, and co-signed by 100 deputies, the elected official of Calvados Christophe Blanchet proposes "that we can allow employees who wish and who can, in the public as in the private sector, to donate part of their paid vacation ", for the benefit" of those who fight directly against the coronavirus ".

Questioned in the Assembly during the questions to the government session, Muriel Pénicaud considered the proposal "very interesting". The government "fully supports her" she said.

"We need to define the terms for converting rest days," she added. "This raises a whole series of questions," she said, being in favor of "coupling it with holiday vouchers".

Mr. Blanchet noted the "frustration" of certain French people who, beyond the applause of support at 8 pm, "cannot or do not know how to help more" the caregivers, arguing that we must not "obstruct" fraternity ", in this letter dated April 22.

"Such a device does not represent a burden for the State or for companies because paid holidays are already provisioned. As an indication, there are 23 million employees in France, if each gives just one day off, that’s done 23 million days, or the equivalent in value, dedicated to nursing staff ", adds the courier.

These days could be given "in the form of holiday vouchers, usable both in public and private offer", specifies the deputy, who evokes a possible bill in this direction.

The elected LR Maxime Minot castigated in an official statement an "unacceptable plagiarism" of the deputies LREM, underlining having deposited on March 22 a bill in this direction, that the deputies of the majority "refused to cosign".

Its text relates to the establishment of a "donation of days of rest for nursing staff". The elected representative stresses that in the state of the legislation, "only the donation within the same company for employees who help a loved one suffering from a loss of autonomy" serious or presenting a disability is possible.

Elected official of the Oise, who indicates having "already collected more than 50 co-signatures of deputies from all oppositions", denounces "a revolting way", launching an appeal for its text to be placed "to order of the day with a view to its adoption in the consensus that this subject deserves. "

The deputy LR Philippe Gosselin briefly relayed this protest during a question he asked on another subject during the question and answer session.

For his part, the boss of LREM deputies Gilles Le Gendre denounced Tuesday from LR a "bad controversy, certainly not up to the stakes". "First we have to remove the technical obstacles that stand in the way of this excellent idea, which is not an easy task," he added, indicating however that he was "fairly confident".

© 2020 AFP