FRENCH trade unions are continuing their fight against the Macron government’s increase in the retirement age from 62 to 64 which was forced through the National Assembly (parliament) without a vote.
The trade union federation Force Ouvriere (FO) has issued the following Statement by the Executive Board of July 20, 2023:
‘The Executive Commission meeting today reaffirms that FO is not turning the page on pension reform and will continue to fight it by all means.
‘For FO, this unfair, unjustified and illegitimate reform must be withdrawn: no extension of the legal retirement age, no extension of the contribution period, maintenance of all plans!
‘This is what we reaffirmed on July 12 during the multilateral meeting in Matignon.
‘Wage growth is not enough to offset inflation.
‘The Executive Commission denounces the ridiculous increase in the Civil Service index point, conceded by the government, limited to 1.5% on July 1st for inflation estimated at more than 5% in 2023.
‘It demands a minimum increase in line with inflation as certain sectors have obtained, calls for relaunching negotiations in the Civil Service, branches and companies, activating the review clauses to obtain real salary increases and recalls its demand for a significant rise in the Smic (minimum wage) and the return to the sliding scale of wages.
‘The Executive Commission also recalls its demand for an increase in pensions and social minima.
‘The Executive Committee denounces the increase in electricity prices and its impact on the purchasing power of employees.
‘The new episode of heat wave that we are experiencing reminds us of the extent and speed of the climate change that is underway.
‘While electricity appears to be the energy that must be at the heart of the decarbonisation and climate transition strategy, the increase in its price for citizens is an economic, social and environmental injustice and nonsense.
‘The Executive Commission recalls that in addition to energy prices, the prices of food and a large number of goods and services continue to fuel inflation and reduce purchasing power.
‘For the Executive Commission, we must restore the place it deserves to collective bargaining and take things “from the right end”, that is to say the questions of employment throughout life, professional careers, retraining, employment of seniors and progressive retirement.
‘As part of its demands, FO will approach the cycle of negotiations which must open at the start of the school year with rigor and determination, whether it concerns the autonomous social agenda or the negotiations which will open within the framework of L1 of the Labour Code.
‘FO will position itself to regain ground for joint action, which produces effective rights for employees and has been greatly weakened by recent reforms.
‘FO is in favour of new negotiations which are not within a framework imposed by the executive and which make it possible to improve the contractual rights and guarantees of employees.
‘As such, FO demands the repeal of the law on unemployment insurance which reduces the rights and compensation of job seekers and the return to real joint management and governance of unemployment insurance. FO will mobilise against any social setback.
‘The Executive Commission is concerned about the authoritarian excesses of the State, denounced in particular by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in its report of June 30, 2023 on the subject in particular of the pension movement.
‘The Executive Commission recalls its unwavering attachment to democratic, individual and collective freedoms, in particular the right to strike and to demonstrate.
‘Finally, the Executive Commission warns against austerity policies while the signals sent by the government are multiplying on the reduction of expenditure, even though public services are in a disastrous situation. From the start of the school year, FO remains mobilised to achieve its demands.’
The statement is signed by Frederic Souillot, General Secretary of Force Ouvrière.
A statement posted by the CGT union federation last Thursday said: ‘At age 60, 28% of workers are neither employed nor retired.
‘While the pension reform was rammed through, raising the statutory retirement age will either lead to an increase in that proportion of workers who are neither employed nor retired, or an increase in the amount of time spent in that situation.
An unfair pension reform
‘For several months of battle against the pension reform, many arguments have been put forward to oppose this anti-social reform.
‘This is particularly the case of the notion of precarious SAS (société par actions simplifiée – simplified joint stock company) in which far too many workers are found between 55 and 69 years old.
‘According to data produced by the National Institute of Economic Statistics (INSEE), one in six workers is neither in employment nor retired (NER) in this age group.
‘For the government, it would therefore be preferable to leave people in precarious situations rather than allow them access to a well-deserved retirement.
‘The opportunity to return to this SAS concept of precariousness and to show that the situation of seniors in the wage relationship is today far too often precarious, with little prospect of returning to work.
‘Postponing the age of entitlement will only have the effect of keeping them in these precarious situations.
‘What is the precarious sas, and what are the NERs?
‘The precarious SAS corresponds to a period of precariousness before retirement, that is to say a situation where the workers are neither in employment nor in retirement (NER).
‘These are therefore people who are either inactive and without income or unemployed.
‘Concretely, the periods of precariousness at the end of the career are greater for blue-collar workers and white-collar workers than for executives and intermediate professions.
‘Too often, these unemployed workers find themselves in long-term unemployment, then on social minima and even leave the field of “job seekers”.
‘Of course, for different reasons, some people may choose to interrupt their job search and wait for their rights to be opened.
‘But this is a negligible amount. Overall, it is indeed workers who suffer from this situation.
‘Info to remember:
- In most cases, precarious SAS is a condition suffered. Being unemployed or retired is not a choice.
- At age 60, if we add the category inactive and unemployed, it is 28.2% of 60-year-old workers who are NER and 27.9% of 61-year-old workers.
- Between 2014 and 2021, the number of NERs at age 61 increased by 11% while the number of retirees fell by more than 26%.
‘Rather than keeping the workers in a precarious SAS, it is the return to retirement at 60 that we collectively need and that is what the CGT is demanding.’
• ‘After months of negotiations, SUD (Solidaires Unitaires Democratiques – Solidarity Democratic Union) has signed the new telework (TT) agreement,’ the union announced last Wednesday.
‘It is a permanent agreement whose provisions will be integrated into the 2017 workplace agreement, and its entry into force is backdated to July 1st.
‘Overall, this new agreement on working from home extends the provisions from the temporary agreement signed in late 2020. But there are above all some improvements.
‘Here are the main elements of the new agreement:
- Two days of TT per week for most staff
- 10 floating days of additional TT per year for unforeseen events
- Reimbursement for daily expenses up to 50 days of TT per year, at 2.60 euros per day (130 euros per year max)
- Immediate possibility allowing the obtaining of a maximum of 250 euros for equipment
‘Why did SUD sign?
‘
- There are advances, such as the 10 floating days per year and compensation.
‘• There are very few setbacks.’
