The Minister of Labor, Elisabeth Borne, whom we met in her office this Friday, July 17, presented to us her vision of social dialogue, which implies that "everyone is able to take a step towards the other". She returned to the postponement of the new unemployment insurance rules and the pension reform announced by Prime Minister Jean Castex.
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE
Have you weighed in the arbitration on the postponement of the new unemployment insurance rules?
ÉLISABETH BORNE. I brought to the Prime Minister the fact of adapting the unemployment insurance reform, the meaning of which is to support employees, but also to promote the return to employment and to empower businesses. It is a good reform, but we see that the context has totally changed. I think it was important to postpone its application in these different components in six months.
Which measures are offset?
The second part of the reform, which was scheduled for September 1, is postponed to January 1, 2021. We also come back to the first part of the reform, which came into force last November, with the opening of rights, the degression of executive compensation, the bonus-penalty system for employers.
Why not go towards an outright abandonment of the reform, desired by several unions?
Because that's what social dialogue is! Not everyone agrees, but at some point, there is a compromise. And I think it's a good compromise.
SOCIAL DIALOGUE
You are a woman from the left. For the previous government, revival first went through the economy, before the social. And for you ?
I am convinced that the recovery starts with the social. We are living in an unprecedented crisis. Inevitably, the French have a lot of concerns. There is the destruction of social ties, jobs ... We must do everything so that nobody stays by the road and help the French to bounce back after the crisis.
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How do you intend to appease the social climate marked, before the coronavirus, by the movement of yellow vests and repeated union demonstrations?
With regard to the social climate, I note that the social partners are showing great responsibility. The French expect us to demonstrate our ability to work together. You have to carry a message of trust.
What is your definition of social dialogue?
It means listening, hearing the point of view of others. We may tend to consider that we are the only ones who are right, yet there are arguments that deserve to be listened to. Everyone must be able to take a step towards the other. I believe a lot in the culture of compromise.
What will happen in January 2021 if unemployment has exploded? Another postponement?
There are many uncertainties in the current situation, which is why it is important to have regular meetings. We will be doing a new social conference in October.
VIDEO. Castex pauses pension and unemployment insurance reforms
Jean-Claude Mailly, ex-number one of FO, will he join Matignon? Was he present this morning?
No, he was not there (laughs) . I believe that Jean-Claude Mailly is keen to bring his stone to the reflection on the "second lines", people whose fragility emerged during the crisis as employees of e-commerce platforms or workers detached.
EMPLOYMENT OF YOUNG PEOPLE
Will the “youth plan” be sufficient to face the challenge of 700,000 young people on the job market in September?
Our objective is clear: no young people without a solution. We asked a lot of sacrifices from our youth during confinement to protect our seniors, we have to send the elevator back to them. For young people ready to enter the job market, there will be a boost of 4,000 euros per year for hiring on permanent or fixed-term contracts. Three months ? Six months ? I reopen the consultation on Monday with the social partners to adjust all the parameters. This plan will be finalized next week for quick implementation.
What will be the other measures? You return to the subsidized contracts which Emmanuel Macron terminated in 2017! ?
In addition to 100,000 additional civic services, we are going to create 300,000 integration contracts, which will go through the “youth guarantee” system or, where appropriate, through subsidized contracts. As they are conceived in this quinquennium, they will not be a siding. For the tens of thousands of dropouts, 16-18 year olds whose education was totally disrupted by the health crisis, I proposed to the Prime Minister a specific training action. We will go and get them with the National Education.
PENSIONS
What is the timetable for pensions?
The government remains determined to carry out the structural reform, which corresponds to Emmanuel Macron's campaign commitments, to its end. The objective is to set up a fairer, more readable universal system which corresponds more to the reality of professional careers. It is no coincidence that this file is now attached to the Ministry of Labor; it is important to also have a vision on the end of career and the work of seniors.
When will the discussions resume?
During the fall. It is important that they take place in serenity and not to hang on the answer. We must succeed in sharing the aims of the reform.
With possible modifications compared to the text voted in March?
If we open a new consultation, it is because we are ready to move.
For example, by deferring the application of the reform with an integral grandfather clause?
I do not arrive in a concertation with preconceived ideas. Everything is to be discussed. Then there will be the other subject to open, that of the financial balance of the current system. The entire social protection system was hit by the crisis, it is true of the sickness branch, the pension branch of the general scheme and the Agirc-Arrco managed by the social partners. As of July, we are going to contact the Pensions Orientation Council (COR) so that it can take stock of the financial situation and prospects. We are faced with an aggravation of the situation, but we must distinguish the impact of the coronavirus crisis and the possible structural imbalances of the system.
When will this report be submitted?
In autumn. We need to make an inventory shared with the social partners.
Jean Castex said that the debt due to the crisis will be treated separately. Its reimbursement would be spread over the long term with specific resources ... Will this also concern pensions whose deficit linked to Covid-19 is estimated at 25 billion euros?
All the countries around us do the same. We are facing an unprecedented shock which calls for special treatment. In the past, we have already used amortization on social debt.
So the savings measures could wait?
Let us not anticipate the work that we must carry out on the retirement branch, as on the sickness branch.
Unédic will also show a deficit of 30 billion euros at the end of the year, two thirds of which linked to the Covid?
On all social protection, the impact of the Covid will have to be assessed.