France: the executive presents its unemployment insurance reform decried by the unions

The reform of unemployment insurance is again on the table Monday, November 21, during a last meeting with the social partners.

AFP - PASCAL GUYOT

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

This will undoubtedly be a formality more than a real debate.

The reform of unemployment insurance is again on the table Monday, November 21, during a last meeting with the social partners.

The discussions promise to be stormy as the unions are opposed to this reform, particularly the readjustment of the duration of compensation.

On Thursday, Parliament adopted the “labour market” bill which makes it possible to implement this reform by decree. 

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To achieve full employment by 2027 and deal with the recruitment difficulties of companies, the executive wants to adapt the rules of unemployment compensation according to the situation of the labor market. 

Unemployment insurance

will be "

stricter when too many jobs are unfilled, more generous when unemployment is high

", according to a promise from Emmanuel Macron.

When the labor market is considered good, the duration of compensation would be reduced by a coefficient, perhaps 0.75%, which would reduce it from 2 years to 18 months. 

Olivier Dussopt, the Minister of Labour, must specify all these terms on Monday.

The conditions for access to unemployment insurance will however remain the same, ie having worked six months over a two-year reference period.

According to the social partners, if the duration of the allowances is reduced by a quarter, 4 billion euros could be saved each year by Unédic, the organization which finances unemployment insurance.

For all unions, this reform is "

unfair

" and "

inefficient

", especially in a context of

declining purchasing power

.

It only aims to save money, and cannot, according to them, solve the shortage of labor in the sectors in tension. 

► To read also: the unemployment insurance reform continues to divide in the workplace

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