HomeEconomySocial tensions around wages: are review clauses the solution?

Social tensions around wages: are review clauses the solution?

To limit the loss of purchasing power of employees, the CFE-CGC advocates the mandatory introduction of a revision clause when the minimum wage is increased twice in the same year. If they do not prevent employees from going on strike, these clauses promote social dialogue.

When we look at the specific case of TotalEnergies, what do we see? That the management for a long time insisted that it did not want to negotiate before the date scheduled for the mandatory annual negotiations. In normal times, when it comes to negotiating an increase in purchasing power, this idea that wages are negotiated once a year is not really a problem. This has also been the case in recent years at TotalEnergies.

But in times of high inflation, the annual meeting goes wrong, employees see their purchasing power eroded month after month by an ill-expected price increase. That is why, in all the professional branches, so much emphasis is placed, by the trade union, on the importance of revision clauses, which allow course to be adjusted when inflation exceeds forecasts.

Review clauses provided for in Crédit Mutuel and Crédit Agricole

The CFE-CGC would even like these clauses to become mandatory with an automatic trigger when the SMIC is increased twice in the same year. Because it is clear that even in large companies, review clauses are currently relatively rare.

Among the banking heavyweights, if Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale and Crédit Agricole have introduced review clauses in their latest salary agreements, this is not the case with BNPParibas. The unions of the leading French banking group intend to obtain one during the mandatory annual negotiations that have just begun.

In fact, the revision clause promotes social dialogue, although it does not prevent the use of strike action. We can take the example of Carrefour. The group negotiated a 2.8% increase at the beginning of the year, accompanied by a revision clause. The latter gave rise to discussions in September. Tense discussions with strike calls in some stores and warehouses. But quickly an agreement was reached. With an additional increase of 2.5%.

At Air France, raises granted well before the annual negotiation

That said, even if there is no review clause, nothing prevents businessmen from advancing in the annual negotiations to extinguish any risk of social conflagration. The most emblematic case is that of Air France.

Without waiting for the annual negotiations scheduled for next May, management announced salary increases in three stages: 2% in November, 2.5% in February and 0.5% in May. Knowing that this 0.5% was actually a minimum first base for mandatory annual negotiations discussions. And the result is that Air France, unlike many other carriers, including low-cost champions Ryanair and easyJet, has not had to face any strikes.

Author: pierre kupferman
Source: BFM TV

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