“Always encourage people to return to work”. It is with these words that the Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, present on the 8 p.m. news on TF1, justified the executive’s choice to implement a new unemployment insurance reform. This would come into force “in the fall” announced the head of government. Time for the office of the Minister of Labor, Catherine Vautrin, to prepare the details “in the summer”, then a negotiation at full speed by the social partners.
This new reform will be a new turn of the screw. Gabriel Attal revealed several possible avenues. Among them, the reduction in the compensation period, currently of 18 months maximum. It could go to 14 months or less. The head of government, however, expressed his desire not to go “under 12 months”. Another possibility would be to tighten the conditions to be met in order to receive unemployment compensation, as has already been done for the first time in 2021. You must now have worked 6 months in the last two years to be eligible, compared to 4 previously. Last avenue mentioned: accentuate the degression or lower the level of compensation, even if this option “is less my preference than the previous ones” underlined the head of government.
On the union side, this announcement is not really a surprise. It still remains a slap in the face. “Once again our unemployment insurance system would be too protective and would prevent employers from finding employees (…) when the opposite has been demonstrated,” lamented Michel Beaugas, confederal secretary of Force Ouvrière (FO ). He expects the new framework letter to be “untenable”, which would allow the State to regain control of the management of the system.
The State is in fact currently not free to adjust support and compensation for job seekers as it wishes. This power is in the hands of Unédic, managed equally by the unions and employers. Only the latter decide on the measures to be taken and the means of financing. The State is currently limited to providing the broad outlines once every three years in a framework letter. Unless union and employer organizations cannot agree. In this case the executive can freely take control.
On the other hand, the idea of a definitive takeover by the State, as desired by the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, seems to be rejected. This would require passing a law. However, the chances of seeing a majority emerge in this direction in both chambers of parliament seem slimmer than ever.
