First approval of text in sight in the National Assembly in this new school year: the deputies are preparing to vote on Tuesday in first reading an emblematic bill that initiates a new reform of unemployment insurance, thanks to the voices of the LR . Interlude in the hemicycle between questions to the government and epic discussions on the budget, at the end of the afternoon there will be a solemn vote on these “emergency measures” with a view to “full employment.”
Despite the heated debates on the possibility of lowering unemployment benefits in a period of boom for employment, fiercely contested by the left-wing alliance Nupes, the Macronists do not expect to be in trouble for this election. They will be able to count on the support of the LR pivotal group, even if it considers the bill insufficient.
Entry into force in 2023
The bill, which was debated by the Assembly last week and will be in the Senate starting Oct. 25, initially plans to extend current unemployment insurance rules, the result of a hotly contested reform from the first five-year term. of Macron. It also triggers the possibility, by decree, of modulating unemployment insurance so that it is “stricter when there are too many vacancies, more generous when unemployment is high,” in the words of Emmanuel Macron during the presidential campaign.
After a phase of consultation with the social agents starting next week, the Government will decide by decree the form that this modulation of unemployment insurance will take, so that it enters into force at the beginning of 2023.
A first step towards the goal of full employment in 2027
Such a reform is approved by a narrow majority of French: 53% against 47% according to a survey by Odoxa for Challenges and BFMBusiness. The executive insists that it is urgent, due to hiring difficulties in the hotel, restaurant or construction sectors. He sees it as a first brick to achieve the goal of full employment in 2027, that is, an unemployment rate of around 5% compared to 7.4% today.
The left has continued to demonstrate against a bill that “declares war on the unemployed” according to Mathilde Panot (LFI), and gives “a finger of honor to social dialogue” according to Jérôme Guedj (PS). “You are making unemployment insurance an adjustment variable when its only objective is to protect socially”, launched the communist Pierre Dharréville.
RN deputies joined this challenge to an “unfair reform that targets the unemployed.” They put their “national priority” proposals on the table, with amendments in particular to reserve unemployment benefits for “French citizens”, a “return to their old moons” according to the majority. At the end of this sometimes eventful examination, the rapporteur Marc Ferracci (Renaissance) is pleased that there were no “unpleasant surprises”, despite the sometimes close votes, and that the bill was not ” denatured”.
Extension of VAE to caregivers and family caregivers
With the approval of the Minister of Labor, the deputies voted for a “very differentiated application” of the modulation abroad, the one most affected by the strike. Through Renaissance, Modem, Horizons and LR amendments, they decided that “post abandonments” will be assimilated to resignations, to limit access to unemployment insurance.
Another part of the bill plans to extend the validation of acquired experience (VAE) to “close caregivers and family caregivers”, to facilitate their access to the professions of old age. The Assembly approved the creation of a “true public service” of the VAE, still little used due in particular to its complexity. A “single window” will be offered through a digital platform.
Source: BFM TV
