Michel Barnier’s government plans to cut 500 jobs at France Travail as part of its savings plan. The unions are opposed to it. Due to the composition of the National Assembly, Parliament could well play the role of arbiter.
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As part of the savings plan desired by the Barnier government, operators and public services are invited to make efforts. The finance bill, which will be presented on Thursday October 10, plans to eliminate 500 positions at France Travail.
The old employment center is losing staff. Reduced to the operator’s 54,000 agents, the percentage is minimal, argues the government, which also justifies this reduction by the drop in unemployment in recent years. According to him, it is possible to “redeploy” the teams. Another argument put forward by the government is that France Travail had obtained nearly 2,000 additional jobs at the time of Covid, in particular to manage partial unemployment. He therefore believes that this is a fair return of things. The initial project also planned to eliminate more than a thousand positions; according to the government, 500 reductions represent a lesser evil.
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The unions consider this measure unacceptable. They reacted unanimously. According to them, all resources are necessary to face the important reform that awaits France Travail. On January 1, 2025, the operator will have to strengthen its support for all job seekers and companies that are having difficulty recruiting. A vast reorganization of all those involved in integration is also planned, in order to better coordinate their actions, to share common software, and above all to welcome all RSA beneficiaries, whether young or disabled. As part of the RSA reform, which has started to be rolled out, all beneficiaries will have to be automatically registered with France Travail by the end of 2026, i.e. more than 1.5 million additional people. They will not only have to be registered, but also supported according to their training and integration needs. For the unions, these job cuts will inevitably degrade the service provided to the public.
Parliament can decide not to follow the government. We can expect debates during the budget discussion in the Assembly. On the left, deputies will argue against this reduction in resources allocated to the most vulnerable, especially in a context where unemployment could rise again and where a new reform of unemployment insurance is expected. Michel Barnier is certainly giving the social partners back control to resume negotiations, but he is already asking them to make savings.