The meeting came to confirm the fears of the unions. The government wants to make rapid progress on the pension issue and the idea of going through it by force has not yet been abandoned. In fact, two options have been discussed. The first would be to take the measures by amendment, within the framework of the PLFSS, which could then be adopted via 49.3. The second option would be to launch a query but here again, with the will to succeed quickly.
However, on the merits, the executive did not provide any details. Is it a matter of extending the contribution period faster than expected, of raising the legal retirement age, or of mixing the two solutions? For the unions anyway, nothing changes. They are all opposed to any age measure and want to improve the employment of older people or even hardship first. So many issues that would be relegated to later if the government decided to introduce an age measurement in the PLFSS.
“A mobilization on pensions could very quickly degenerate into a social crisis”
Unions are suddenly not taking off. Laurent Berger, the secretary general of the CFDT, again warned the government this weekend. If the executive decides to reform pensions by amendment, he promises “frontal opposition.” The CFDT threatens to withdraw from the CNR, the national council for refoundation. Enough to cut short all other discussion topics with the government. Nor will he hesitate to mobilize with all the unions. However, the unions are unanimous: “if there is an issue where we have the ability to get people out on the streets, it is pensions and given all the tension over purchasing power, a mobilization on pensions could degenerate very quickly in a social crisis. all union leaders insist.
This is also what worries Medef and some within the majority. Others, on the other hand, point out that it is always more complicated to mobilize, once the measure is approved. And that may be the whole bet of the government: to nip the challenge in the bud by delaying the retirement age as quickly as possible and presenting the unions with a fait accompli. A risky bet that Elisabeth Borne will decide in the next few days.
Source: BFM TV
