“knife stroke” against the 35 hours, bad response to inflation… The unions and the left are opposed to the project of conversion of the RTT against remuneration, for the employees of the private sector, about to be voted in Parliament. Supported by the presidential majority and the right, this project gives private companies the possibility of buying RTT days from employees, if the employees so request.
>> Takeover of RTT: we explain the debate on this measure which makes the left jump
Defenders of RTT monetization present the measure as a boost against inflation. But for the unions, it is nonsense. “Employees will see the RTT as a potential source of income, and give up this extra time to rest”, worries Vincent Gautheron, member of the executive committee of the CGT. Otherwise, “many branches, such as the hotel and catering industry and personal assistance, do not have RTT, and will therefore not see an increase in their salary”.
The unions protest against this “penknife” in the 35-hour system. “Repeatedly invoking the objective of full employment while making those who already have a job work more is a paradox!” points out Frédéric Souillot, secretary general of FO, in a press release. Michel Beaugas, confederal secretary of FO, also mentions “net loss for the Social Security funds”. It is in fact provided that the money received when redeeming these RTTs is exempt from income tax and contributions.
The president of the CFTC, Cyril Chabanier, considers that “Employees who want to buy back their RTT are not those who want to work more to earn more, but those who want above all a decent salary”. According to him, companies will be able to say “that they do not need to increase wages, since employees will be able to buy back their RTT”. The negotiations “are already difficult, but this measure will give companies an even greater incentive to increase at least lare wages”.
For Boris Vallaud, president of the PS group in the Assembly, “the Sarkozyist right dreamed of it, the macronie does it: kill quietly the 35 hours, with the monetization of the RTT”, reacted the rebellious Clémentine Autain. While for the ecologist mayor of Grenoble, Eric Piolle, “the Uber spirit continues” because the state “makes possible the individual redemption of RTT outside the collective framework and without social security contributions”.