The left “has a boulevard in front of it” because “the National Rally is lousy on labor issues”, says François Ruffin

The rebellious deputy from the Somme publishes, Wednesday February 7, the book “Mal-travail, the choice of the elites”, published by “Les Liens qui Libération”.

“We have a boulevard in front of us” because “the National Rally is lousy on labor issues”, said Tuesday February 6 on France Inter François Ruffin, LFI deputy for the Somme. He notes that the far-right party “has nothing to say about fixed-term contracts, nor about temporary work, nor about self-employed people”. François Ruffin recognizes that the working electorate is turning more and more towards the party of Jordan Bardella, which must therefore push the left to question itself. He thus explains that employees, disillusioned by the business world, voted for National Rally due in particular to a lack of “support for this transformation of anger into hope”. But the rebellious deputy maintains that “recovering a popular electorate cannot be done by snapping your fingers”.

LFI deputy François Ruffin is particularly interested in the question of “unhappiness at work”at the heart of his new book which appears on Wednesday February 7 (Poor work, the choice of the elites, published by “Les Liens qui Libération”). Referring to a report on work accidents and occupational diseases, he mentions in particular the “more than 100 000 departures to France Travail for incapacity per year”ensuring that this “number has doubled in ten years”. This represents the equivalent, according to him, “from the city of Amiens which would be suddenly made redundant”of “all automobile manufacturing would be crushed physically or psychologically”.

Consequences on the health of employees

François Ruffin notes that “this discomfort translates into back pain, anxiety, work accidents and occupational illness”. He also calls into question his “cost for Social Security and its human cost”. “Entire sectors, like all medico-social sectors, are doing very badly and are almost paralyzed”deplores the deputy for the Somme.

For the rebellious elected official, this situation results from a “choice of political and economic leaders” whom he accuses “to crush work for 40 years”. François Ruffin thus evokes “relocations, the choice of subcontracting or even the question of production rates”. “It’s the transformation of professions that had status and income into bits of work; it’s the multiplication of self-employed contracts”, he specifies. The rebellious deputy from the Somme, however, considers that this “poor work is not inevitable”. He thus invites the French to unionize, “to get involved in the world of work”. “There are classic solutions: occupational doctors, the recognition of psychological disorders as occupational illnesses because it is an epidemic”he adds.

François Ruffin also wants a discussion to take place around Ukraine’s possible accession to the European Union. He recalls that the country notably has “a minimum wage below 200 euros”, which risks having consequences, according to him, “on agriculture and industry” French. He therefore invites MEPs to “ask yourself under what conditions [cette adhésion] must be done”.