The message, without any ambiguity, can be summed up in three words: “It’s no! » Friday February 23, Medef expressed all the evil it thinks about a project dear to Emmanuel Macron, but also to the CFDT: the universal time savings account (CETU). The creation of such a device “has no place in this discussion”launched Hubert Mongon, the representative of the main employers’ organization, at the end of a negotiation session between social partners devoted to “new pact for life at work”. Even if it was expected, this position cast a chill among the protagonists.
The idea of CETU, which Edouard Philippe’s government began to explore in 2020, consists of allowing moments of breathing space in workers’ careers. It joins a demand made for a little over five years by the CFDT – with the original name the “time bank”. The envisaged mechanism remains to be constructed but it can, very schematically, be presented as a generalization of the time savings accounts already in place, and from which 10% to 20% of private sector employees benefit. Fueled – among other things – by unused leave days, the CETU would be attached to the person and not to their employment contract: they could use it at any time of their professional life, by drawing on the capital acquired rights, even if she changed employer.
“Not a priority” for Medef
During the 2022 presidential campaign, Mr. Macron included this measure in his program. In the fall of 2023, the executive asked the social partners to think about it during the negotiations for the “new pact”, which opened just before Christmas. During his general policy declaration delivered on January 30 at the National Assembly, the Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, affirmed his desire “to move forward in [ce] construction site “.
But this is not at all Medef’s wish. Such a device “is of rare complexity” And “does not appear to be a priority”insisted Mr. Mongon, arguing that the current negotiations aim to improve “the employment rate”. “We are not interested, it’s yet another hassle in the organization of work”added Eric Chevée, vice-president of the Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises.
In addition to the CFDT, the CFTC is rather willing to defend the CETU. The other unions show little motivation or campaign in favor of other solutions. One of the questions that now arises is whether the differences of opinion on this issue could compromise the conclusion of an agreement at the end of the negotiations – scheduled for the end of March but likely to be postponed. In the event that the discussions are unsuccessful, the government could legislate, provided that it keeps its commitment.