The warning to the government is firm. Moderating or lowering wages to help companies overcome the coronavirus crisis would be "the worst thing," FO secretary general Yves Veyrier warned on Saturday. The government should not "orchestrate" this "little music", he also warned at the microphone of Europe 1.
Using the pretext of the health crisis to lower wages in companies in great difficulty, "this is what we fear, this is what we do not want," added the union leader.
Lower wages to boost the economy? FO "refuses this type of blackmail" https://t.co/XqcXps5Kgd
- Europe 1 🎧🌍📻 (@ Europe1) June 6, 2020“This little music of wage moderation in the face of the situation emerging from the health crisis and the gradual resumption of activity would be the worst thing. I do not want it to be orchestrated by the government through the partial activity system, "which supports 84% ​​of net salary in the majority of cases," he added. If employers presented lower wages as the only alternative to layoffs, it would be an "unacceptable" form of "blackmail," he said.
Collective performance agreements
Labor Minister Muriel Pénicaud recently called on companies to limit “job risks”, possibly negotiating “collective performance agreements”, a possibility opened up by the 2017 labor ordinances. Through this, employers can , through an agreement with trade union organizations representing the majority of staff, reduce working hours and pay in times of crisis.
For Yves Veyrier, "the State, whatever the cost, must also get involved to protect employment, but also the purchasing power of employees". Lowering wages would also be detrimental to consumption, and therefore to recovery, he argued.
"If you take a few dozen, even a few hundred euros" from employees, whose median salary is around 1,800 euros net per month, "it should not be expected" that they can buy a car or go more in restaurants, he observed, while France began the second phase of deconfinement on June 2.
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