He wanted to settle the "short-term" retirement issue. Finally, Jean Castex proposed Friday July 17 to postpone negotiations on pension reform, "by resuming consultation in the coming months". 

The Prime Minister indeed reaffirmed that the pension reform would be "maintained" but promised "a new method" at the end of a meeting with the social partners in Matignon, in particular distinguishing the "structural nature" and the financial aspect.

"The establishment of a new universal retirement scheme to which the President of the Republic committed in 2017 before the French people will be maintained. Simply, as I indicated to the social partners, we will apply a new method ", by distinguishing the" structural character "of the reform" which aims at more justice "and its financial aspect", and "by resuming concertation in the coming months", indicated the Prime Minister.

"A good reform", judges Castex on unemployment insurance

Prime Minister Jean Castex also announced that the date of entry into force of the unemployment insurance reform would be "postponed" due to the health and economic crisis, but that it would be brought to an "end". 

"The unemployment insurance reform is a good reform and we will carry it through. But we have, because we are pragmatic decided to adapt it to the present circumstances and therefore to postpone the date of entry into force ", declared the head of government in the court of Matignon at the end of a meeting with the social partners.

>> Read also: Pension reform: Jean Castex put to the test by the unions

On the subject of this reform, the head of government also decided to suspend at least until next year the measures which had been introduced on November 1, thus easing the conditions of entry into the mode, the secretaries said. Generals of Force Ouvrière, CFDT, CGT and CFE-CGC.

To qualify for unemployment insurance, it will therefore suffice to have worked four months in the last 28 months and no longer six months in the last 24 months as provided for in the reform.

The executive, however, called "not to put the dust under the carpet and to take our responsibilities with regard to the current system", which should be in strong deficit at the end of the year, declared François Asselin, president of the Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises

Decisions welcomed by unions 

"We continue to believe that a universal system is fairer but the priority is not this one today," said CFDT boss Laurent Berger. Prime Minister Jean Castex "said it was postponed until 2021," he confirmed.

"It corresponds to our desire not to make the subject of pensions a subject of summer and autumn, but rather to allow the time for diagnosis to see first how we will have been able to respond or not to the issues to fight unemployment, maintain employment, fight against impoverishment, with a priority aimed at young people, "added Laurent Berger, adding that" priority is placed in the right place in terms of objective. and calendar, namely employment, employment, employment ".

Besides, Jean Castex "reassured us on the fact that it would be necessary to make a distinction between what is the conjunctural and what is the structural" knowing that after the coronavirus crisis "financial equilibrium" schemes "are no longer the same," said François Asselin.

With this in mind, Jean Castex announced to the participants that he would once again seize the Retirement Orientation Council (COR) in order to assess the financial situation of the current plans. According to a provisional COR estimate released in June, the deficit could approach 30 billion euros this year.

The social partners unanimously asked for the postponement, if not for some of the total abandonment, of the pension reform, suspended indefinitely by the coronavirus epidemic.

Jean Castex had initially indicated that he wanted to resume consultations in order to settle the "short term" file. He also said he wanted to distinguish "very clearly" the overhaul of the current system "from any financial measure", such as the lengthening of the contribution period, taken to make up for deficits.

With AFP and Reuters

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