The Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday that he was in favor of lowering the duration of unemployment compensation for those over 55 to align it with those of other unemployed people, one of the measures taken according to him to achieve full employment .
Compensation for those over 55 extends for 27 months compared to 18 months for younger unemployed people, he noted on Franceinfo, a way according to him to bring early retirement to those over 55.
For Bruno Le Maire, if we do not shake things up, there will not be a 5% unemployment rate at the end of the five-year term, or full employment (compared to 7.4% today). Something is wrong with the French social model which prevents this from being achieved, according to him. One of the ways is through the employment of seniors, underlined the minister.
This is total hypocrisy, a way to retire them early
Would those over 55 be worth less? I see no reason for there to be a longer period of compensation, it is total hypocrisy, a way of putting them into early retirement, he argued.
He recalled that the employment rate of seniors was ten points lower in France than the employment rate of all workers, which stands at 68%.
The message I want to send them is we need you, we need your experienceadded Bruno Le Maire.
It is a question of raising the debate on a reduction in the duration of compensation for seniors with the total determination to achieve this 5% unemployment rate that we have not reached for half a century in France, a- he insists.
He also considered that the agreement on unemployment insurance signed last week by the social partners could be improved, particularly on this issue of seniors.
Before the Senate in the afternoon, during the discussion on the Finance bill, Bruno Le Maire hoped that companies would assume all their responsibilities and stop explaining to seniors that they cost too much, and give them their rightful place.
Apart from the seniors index, he said, we are working together on other measures that would encourage companies to keep those over 55.
CFE-CGC: The first discrimination in hiring is age
In reaction to these declarations, the CFE-CGC union simply quipped: Everyone knows that it is very easy to find work after 55… The first discrimination in hiring is age.
Reproduction forbidden.