The senators voted this amendment against the opinion of the government, while the examination of the text entered its second week in the upper house.
The Senate, dominated by the right, is trying to put its paw on pension reform. The upper house voted, Monday, March 6, against the advice of the government and despite the opposition of the left, the creation of a new type of indefinite term contract of “end of career” to promote the recruitment of older employees at least 60 years old. The senators adopted by 202 votes against 123 an amendment to this effect, carried by the rapporteurs René-Paul Savary (LR) and Elisabeth Doineau (centrist).
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With this new “CDI seniors”, the employer would be exempt from family contributions. He could put an end to the contract by retiring the employee who meets the conditions to benefit from a full pension. He would therefore not be required to keep it until he is 70 years old, as currently provided for in the Labor Code, which today represents “a brake on the hiring of seniors”according to the reporters. “Current employment tools for seniors are not enough”, said René-Paul Savary. The rapporteur clarified that the amendment had been drafted “on the proposal of a number of social partners”which would be responsible for defining the terms of application, branch by branch.
The government skeptical about the “targeting” of the device
The Minister of Labor, Olivier Dussopt, gave an opinion “unfavorable” to this new CDI. In particular, he wondered about his “targeting”preferring a measure “experimental” to begin with.
“I fear a windfall effect that will lead our family branch into the red”, for his part declared the Minister of Public Accounts, Gabriel Attal. According to him, “100,000 permanent contracts” are signed each year for employees over the age of 60. If all were signed with the new contract, the cost would be estimated at “800 million euros for the family branch”. And might even reach up to “2.2 billion euros” in the event of a windfall effect.
The leader of Les Républicains senators, Bruno Retailleau, has “formally challenged” the cost advanced by the government, emphasizing that this amendment “reveals one of the biggest challenges of this reform”. “What would be the point of raising the legal retirement age if we do nothing about the employment of seniors?” he asked. “It is a direct order from Medef”denounced the socialist Yan Chantrel. “We do not understand why we are always obliged to give gifts to companies so that they recruit people”said Monique Lubin, another member of the socialist group.