They each criticized the government on their own. From now on, they do it with the same voice – or almost. On the night of Thursday September 28 to Friday September 29, the unions and employers published a “joint declaration” who castigates the “puncture (…) unacceptable” to which the State uses unemployment insurance resources. The text was validated by all the employee and employer organizations which manage the scheme – except the CGT. This is an extremely rare initiative, reflecting the increasingly strong tensions between the social partners and the executive on issues relating to the sphere of paritarianism.
This joint declaration was finalized during a negotiation session which ended shortly before midnight on Wednesday evening. Since September 12 and until mid-November, employers and unions have planned a series of meetings in order to redefine the rules for compensating job seekers, those currently in force expiring at the end of the year. The discussions are outlined by a framework letter that Matignon sent, at the beginning of August, to the representatives of workers and business leaders sitting at Unédic, the joint association which manages the regime.
The document sent by the Prime Minister’s services is very prescriptive. It indicates in particular that“a fraction of the surplus” released by unemployment insurance “must finance policies aimed at full employment”. Amounts are even mentioned, representing a total of between 11 billion euros and 11.9 billion euros for the period 2023-2026. The principle of this contribution has just been confirmed in the Social Security financing bill (PLFSS) for 2024, presented on Wednesday to the Council of Ministers: it provides for a mechanism which will allow public authorities to extract money to Unédic, in proportions set by ministerial decrees.
A form of “racketeering”
The government’s approach has angered the social partners. They see it as a “hold-up”or even a form of “racketeering”, to the detriment of an organization which is, certainly, in surplus again since 2022, but is carrying a colossal debt (60.7 billion euros at the end of 2022) after thirteen years of deficit. This is the message they wanted to convey, during the night from Thursday to Friday, in a way “a little more solemn [qu’auparavant] », according to Olivier Guivarch. Speaking to the press, the leader of the CFDT delegation in the negotiations read the joint declaration, surrounded by his counterparts from other trade union organizations (except the CGT) and employers’ movements. A production, orchestrated in the premises of Unédic, which seeks to show the almost perfect cohesion of the actors present and the vigor of their discontent.
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