Pension reform: public service unions join the mobilization

Europe 1 with AFP 8:31 p.m., January 11, 2023

The public service inter-union on Wednesday called on all agents to mobilize against a pension reform deemed "unfair and unnecessary", in particular by participating "massively" in the day of strike scheduled for January 19.

In a rare joint press release, the eight trade union organizations representing the public service - in the order CGT, FO, CFDT, Unsa, FSU, Solidaires, CFE-CGC and FA-FP - "demand from the government the withdrawal of its project of to postpone the legal retirement age from 62 to 64 and to increase the contribution period".

The difficult jobs in question

"The improvements mentioned in the rights of male and female agents by the establishment of a progressive retirement in certain cases, the preservation of the rights linked to active service and henceforth their portability, can in no way compensate for the decline in the retirement age. 'opening of pension rights or the extension of the contribution period,' they say.

The unions denounce in particular the fact that the two-year lag in the retirement age would also apply to agents “benefiting from active or superactive service”, that is to say those who exercise difficult jobs.

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"Instead of being able to choose to leave at 52 or 57, they and they would be obliged to continue their missions until 54 or until 59", deplore the trade unions.

Consequently, the inter-union calls "all public officials to mobilize" against this "unfair and unnecessary" reform and "to enroll massively in the first day of strikes and interprofessional demonstrations on January 19".

An upcoming inter-union meeting date

The civil service unions, united by wage demands in addition to their common opposition to the pension reform, are also trying to agree on a date for an inter-union meeting which could presage future mobilizations, AFP has learned. .

Initially scheduled for Wednesday, the inter-union was postponed due to the unavailability of some participants.

The government presented its pension reform project on Tuesday, which plans to shift the legal retirement age by two years and to accelerate the extension of the contribution period to benefit from a full pension.

In an attempt to mitigate the hostility of the unions, the executive has notably planned to reintroduce a system of progressive retirement in the public service and has announced a "professional wear and tear prevention fund" for caregivers, which will be a priori endowed with 100 million euros per year.

Minimum pension set at nearly 1,250 euros

On the question of arduous jobs, exercised by 710,000 civil servants in France according to the Ministry of the Public Service, the government plans to sanctuarize the right to early retirement in the event of retraining towards a less physically exposed profession.

Another guarantee, the minimum pension for civil servants remains fixed at nearly 1,250 euros, or around fifty euros more than what is provided for in the private sector.

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More than "compensation" for raising the legal age, "which will affect a majority of women", these measures are quite simply a matter of "justice", commented the secretary general of the CFDT Public functions, Mylène Jacquot, with from AFP.

Asked by AFP, the Ministry of Public Service did not wish to react to the call for mobilization.