Between Bercy and the Ministry of Labor, “two rooms, two atmospheres”

“Who should we listen to? We are completely lost”: faced with a Minister of the Economy who multiplies resounding interventions on the subject of work, and a more level-headed incumbent of the post, the unions have the impression of having “two rooms, two atmospheres”.

For several months, Bruno Le Maire has been repeating in particular that the duration of compensation for job seekers must be reduced, arguing that structural reforms are necessary to achieve full employment.

He also recently pleaded for a “definitive” takeover by the State of unemployment insurance, currently managed by the social partners, via Unédic.

Comments which come after two controversial unemployment insurance reforms in 2019 and 2023, and which sparked strong union protests.

For her part, the Minister of Labor Catherine Vautrin tempers and insists on the fact that “social dialogue takes place at Grenelle”.

“Bruno Le Maire has been there for seven years, I have been there for two months,” argued this ex-LR, who has been at the head of a super-ministry with Health and Solidarity since January but seems less audible .

Although she has had delegated ministers since the beginning of February, notably for Health (Frédéric Valletoux), she is not letting go of her different hats. This is evidenced by her multiple trips on the subject of health, more than on work-related issues, where she is nevertheless alone on board.

Enough to perplexe the social partners, who are currently negotiating on the employment of seniors with a component on unemployment compensation.

“We have a Minister of Labor, officially,” quips Denis Gravouil for the CGT.

The Minister of Labor, Health and Solidarity, Catherine Vautrin, on March 1, 2024 in Epinal, in the Vosges (AFP/Archives/SEBASTIEN BOZON)

In the press, the minister assures that on unemployment insurance, “everything will be done in consultation, in social dialogue”, he told AFP. But “ten days later there is the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Economy who announces that in his personal opinion, the government should take unemployment insurance back into its own hands.” “So, either they talk to the government before announcing something (…), or it has made decisions that are completely based on what the Minister of Labor said.”

For Yvan Ricordeau (CFDT), “for the moment at the executive, we have two rooms, two atmospheres”. “We are used to having Bercy trends which are not the Ministry of Labor trends,” he says. But traditionally, there are “regular arbitrations” by Matignon which mean that “we know where the cursor was located”.

– “No more ministry” –

If Cyril Chabanier (CFTC) recognizes that Catherine Vautrin is “really attached to social dialogue” and is “enough cash”, he also points out a “problem”: “we must explain to Bruno Le Maire that he “I’m not Prime Minister of the Economy.”

CFTC President Cyril Chabanier during a meeting at the Matignon hotel, July 12, 2023 in Paris (AFP/Archives/Bertrand GUAY)

“When you talk with Catherine Vautrin it’s pretty much the opposite of what you were told or what you read about the Minister of the Economy,” he said, assuring that he “never saw two ministries also publicly opposed.

“Who will win in the end? I don’t know” and “who should we listen to? We are completely lost,” says the union leader. He in turn judges that “Matignon does not arbitrate clearly” and expresses his impression that “the Elysée is still rather on Le Maire’s side”.

The boss of the CFE-CGC François Hommeril, for his part, does not beat around the bush: “Obviously, there is no longer a Ministry of Labor”, Emmanuel Macron “removed” it.

The Elysée is “directly in line with Bercy which controls all subjects, treated only from the budgetary angle”, criticizes Mr. Hommeril for whom “power has been concentrated on an incredibly small group of people”.

“Even Medef is starting to worry,” the trade unionist believes, who notes in particular that on unemployment insurance, they are not asking what the government wants to do.

The number one of Medef Patrick Martin had in fact expressed in February his reluctance to trigger a new reform “for reasons of social climate and respect for social partners”.

© 2024 AFP

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