Four-day week in the civil service: why are the unions opposed to it?

Barthélémy Philippe / Photo credits: Jeroen JUMELET / ANP / AFP 9:05 a.m., February 7, 2024

This is one of the Prime Minister's wishes: to experiment with a four-day week in the civil service. In his general policy speech, Gabriel Attal asked his ministers to experiment with a 36-hour week in four days in the public service. And if working nine hours for four days then benefiting from three days of rest appeals to many employees, the unions are opposed to it.

>> Find Europe 1 Matin in replay and podcast here

“Is this a social advance? No!”

This is the case of the CGT which opposes the four-day week without the transition to 32 hours. For the confederal secretary Nathalie Bazire, 9 hours a day would be too much for the employees: "Doing in four days what we have to do in five days is a false good idea. Working conditions will be degraded with The result is fatigue and arduous work,” she explains on Europe 1. 

Force Ouvrière is on the same line, while the other union representatives are not more convinced. “Is this a social advance? No!” exclaims Dominique Corona, number 2 of the UNSA. “It’s ultimately a gain in the organization of work. But I’m a little fed up with these announcements without us looking at what we can do, without an impact study, etc. We have to come to social dialogue,” calls the trade unionist. 

The CFDT first advocates experimentation

Responsible for the civil service at the CFDT, Mylène Jacquot is mixed: "We are neither for nor against, it absolutely must go through social dialogue. We have colleagues who will have physically demanding jobs, which would not hold up on longer days,” insists the trade unionist. 

This union sets two conditions: the experiment must be done on a voluntary basis, with the possibility of returning to five days, in the event of failure.