The leaders of the five major trade unions called on Monday the government to abandon a new reform of unemployment insurance, believing that it is necessary to “stop the populist stigmatization of the unemployed”, in an article published in The world.
“While the unemployment insurance negotiation ended less than three months ago, the government has already announced a new reform to toughen its effects. This would be the fifth since 2017,” denounce Sophie Binet (CGT), Cyril Chabanier ( CFTC), François Hommeril (CFE-CGC), Marylise Léon (CFDT) and Frédéric Souillot (FO) in this column. “At a time when simplification is fashionable, it is clear that this principle does not apply to job seekers, whose rights are increasingly illegible,” they continue.
For several months, the executive has been increasing warnings about a possible further tightening of the rules. The Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, reiterates in particular that the duration of compensation for job seekers must be reduced, arguing that structural reforms are necessary to achieve full employment.
“Stop the populist stigmatization of the unemployed”
“The multiple reforms combined have caused the average amount of allowances to plunge by 17% compared to 2019 and the duration of compensation by 25%”, underline the union officials, who “solemnly call on the government to renounce this budgetary reform which will cut corners rights to unemployment insurance again and will abolish the ASS”, the Specific Solidarity Allowance. “We must stop the populist stigmatization of the unemployed. On the contrary, to revive the economy and domestic demand, businesses must better share the wealth created,” they believe, judging that “we must finally invest in training , skills and qualifications.
“The model advocated by Bruno Le Maire, and probably Matignon, is (…) the Thatcher model,” criticized Sophie Binet (CGT) on Monday on RMC/BFMTV. “If we want to look like a Ken Loach film (…), we have to continue like this,” she quipped.
The general secretary of the CFDT Marylise Léon, for her part, called on RTL for a “public expenditure conference”. “When we say that there are public deficit problems, we have to look at what are the types of expenditure, what are the types of revenue,” she said. “We are calling on the government to bring together trade union organizations, employers’ organizations, the government, for a conference on public spending and public finances to put everything back together and say where efforts can be made.”