End of the first “social round” of the Castex era

It took Jean Castex two days to overcome the marathon of bilateral meetings that his cabinet had written on his agenda: 11, Thursday, and 3, this Friday, or 14 meetings with union and employer representatives to take stock of the economic and social records of the moment. And to mark the break with his predecessor, the Prime Minister even invited Matignon - he ended up with them, quite a symbol - the leaders of Union Syndicale Solidaires (ex-SUD unions).

Read also: Pensions: Castex wants to relaunch negotiations around funding

"Given the composition of the delegation opposite, we mainly talked about social issues," says an employer leader received Thursday. And for good reason: Jean Castex was surrounded by his director of cabinet, Nicolas Revel, the former DG of the CNAM, Elisabeth Borne, the new Minister of Labor, Pierre-André Imbert, the social advisor to the president of the République, and Florence Sautejeau, that of the Prime Minister. "Tropism in Matignon is social ," confirms another guest. To believe that the economy is left to Bruno Le Maire, who will manage his files with the Élysée, and that Matignon will be a kind of super ministry of Labor… ”

In addition to the pension file (see our editions of July 10) which occupied part of each interview, the protagonists spoke of all the other explosive subjects linked to the crisis: the employment of young people, for which Muriel Pénicaud left a very expensive plan before leaving Rue de Grenelle; unemployment insurance, of which several new compensation rules have been suspended and whose unions are asking for cancellation; social plans in preparation which will feed part of the 900,000 job destruction expected this year ... "There is unanimity on the fact that the priority for the coming months is to get our country going again, to get our business going again and to save as many jobs as possible and create new ones , assured Élisabeth Borne. The priority is recovery. "

The speed of recovery

Of which act. The fact remains that the social partners refuse to reopen the debate on pension reform, which they do not consider to be a priority, and that disagreements remain on the timing and speed of the recovery to be deployed. "We have to go fast ," pleaded Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux, president of Medef, to Jean Castex. If the stimulus is presented at the end of August and voted on in November, its measures, notably the reduction in production taxes, will not take place before 2021. It is too late. The impact must be felt now. ”

Same questioning on the employment of young people, whose hires must be boosted at the start of the school year thanks to a bonus or exemption from charges. "If the government does not put the means, the recruitments will remain very limited" , already warns a trade unionist. "The priority today is jobs," continued to hammer Laurent Berger, the secretary general of the CFDT.

Read also: Hiring young people, unemployment insurance, pension reform: Jean Castex's announcements

And after? The first elements of response, particularly on the "way" to the end of the five-year term, must be brought on July 14 by the President, then the following day by the Prime Minister in his general policy speech to the Assembly. Jean Castex then planned to bring together, next Friday, all the union and employer representatives he met these two days, in a "social conference" in Matignon, to explain to them the result of the consultations he conducted: namely "Priorities, method and timetable" for the coming months. A real “social agenda” like in Nicolas Sarkozy's time…