France: faced with inflation, companies called on to also put their hands in their pockets by Bercy
Paris Bercy - Ministry of Economy and Finance © Flickr/CC/Fred Romero
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
To restore purchasing power to the French and fight inflation, the French Minister of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire is encouraging companies to get their hands on the wallet and raise wages... for those who can. .
He received representatives of employers' organizations on Monday.
They were more cautious about the feasibility of these salary increases, especially in the current context.
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The main employers' organizations: the Medef and the CPME, the Confederation of small and medium-sized enterprises, but also the representatives of the construction, trade and distribution federations, had an appointment Monday in Bercy with Bruno Le Maire.
With inflation close to 5% over one year, the purchasing power of the French is the priority of the new government and companies are invited to make an effort on wages.
"
Work must pay and pay well
," hammered the Minister of the Economy to the bosses.
Today many French people say: 'it costs me too much to work, to take my car, to fill my tank, to feed my family, to pay my rent... I can't do it anymore!'
This has always been our line of force: work must pay... and there are companies which will be able to increase salaries, which have the means, because they have margins... does not act to weaken VSEs, SMEs, but there are companies that can do it and those that can do it must increase wages
!
»
Bruno Le Maire: "Work must pay"
Anne Verdaguer
A statement to which François Asselin, head of the Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises, opposes "
a principle of reality
".
The ongoing war in Ukraine is worrying employers' organizations, production costs are exploding on the side of raw materials, starting with energy, underlines François Asselin, who recalls that efforts have already been made, in the face of recruitment tensions in some sectors: many companies have already made individual increases, and we must avoid weakening them even more: "
it is a principle of reality, the company can only distribute what it earns!
When there is value to be shared, it is an element of motivation for our employees that must be used;
when a company is in a slightly more fragile economic situation, the principle of reality imposes itself on it
.
»
But for Bercy, the response to inflation must be equitably shared, and should not rest only on the state.
After the energy bonus, a food check will also soon be put in place, to prevent the purchasing power of the French from deteriorating even further.
A bill on purchasing power, "everyday priority" of the French, will be presented to the Council of Ministers before the legislative elections of June 12 and 19, said government spokeswoman Olivia Grégoire on Monday at the end of the advice.
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