The unions are refining their unity before the penultimate negotiating session, Wednesday, on professional career paths. They present a list of 10 common proposals, while the employers also propose a text.
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Unions and employers meet, Wednesday March 20, for a new negotiation session around the employment of seniors, and it is quite rare but the employee unions, in order to show their unity, have agreed to present , together, proposals. LThe CFDT, the CGT, FO, the CFE-CGC and the CFTC presented a list of 10 common proposals in terms of training, arduousness, etc. For example, there is the idea of establishing a bonus-malus system, to reward or penalize companies which retain or do not keep seniors in their jobs. In this list, however, there is no creation of the CETU, the universal time savings account, into which employees could deposit their leave throughout their lives. A universal time savings account to which the CFDT and the CFTC are particularly keen, unlike the CGT or FO, which are not attached to it.
The employers also proposed a text. It is tradition, the employers always send a draft agreement before the meeting. In this document of around forty pages, employers suggest, for example, organizing negotiations on employment and improving the working conditions of seniors in companies. The employers propose that this negotiation be compulsory for companies with more than 1,000 employees, and optional for those below. The unions welcome this idea, but find that it does not go far enough. Another idea from employers is to mark out your career with many more interviews than today. They could intervene at 35, 45, 55 and 60 years old, to better adapt the professional path as we age.
Union opposition to senior permanent contract
Medef’s flagship system is the senior permanent contract, or end-of-career permanent contract, which should allow unemployed people over 60 to find work, with part of their salary financed by unemployment insurance. Faced with the unanimous opposition of the unions, who see this as a cheap contract, the employers are proposing it on an experimental basis.
Basically, the positions between unions and employers seem quite distant, but as always in this type of negotiations, it is the last sessions which are decisive. Furthermore, faced with very strong pressure from the government, which wants to once again reform unemployment insurance, we feel a strong motivation from the social partners to show politicians that they know how to find compromises, and to prove that social dialogue is living in our country.