To the anger of the unions, the government claims to have consulted widely to develop its pension reform. On BFMTV this Sunday, the general secretary of the CFDT, Laurent Berger, once again denounced a labor reform carried out “without the workers.” In the evening, Labor Minister Olivier Dussopt responded that the government had “listened a lot” to the unions on the pension reform and had integrated “many demands.”
“Things that were expected, that were requested, by the unions have been integrated” into the bill, he explained on BFMTV.
The minister gave as examples the question of the hardships and the high indexes: “we heard in the debate, in the expressions, the demand of certain union organizations” about the companies that “do not play the game” and do not hire people in the end of their careers.
The Senate approved the creation of a senior index in companies with more than 300 employees. In accordance with the provisions voted by the senators, employers will be subject to pecuniary sanctions in the event of not publishing this index, but no obligation of result has been established regarding the employment of older people.
“If it’s just to say ‘you’re not nice,’ it’s not going to change much,” CGT chief Philippe Martinez said in January on BFMTV, demanding sanctions for the companies targeted by the index.
“Lots of discussions” with LR
The unions are not the only ones arguing with the government. The right, rather favorable to the pension reform, has carried out certain negotiations with the Executive.
“So far there have been many discussions” with Les Républicains on the pension reform, confirms Olivier Dussopt on BFMTV this Sunday. “That does not mean that they are a majority, that we are on the same side,” continued the Minister of Labor.
“But there is a desire, often shared, to have an effective pension reform,” he explained.
Towards a recourse to 49.3?
But among the LR deputies, the approval of the reform is not shared by all. Even within the presidential camp, some deputies have expressed reservations about the pension reform.
“Today we are building this majority, deputy by deputy, voice to vote,” Olivier Dussopt said on Sunday.
This lack of majority gives rise to the specter of resorting to 49.3, a constitutional device that allows a text to be adopted without the vote of the deputies. Asked about this, Dussopt said that “ensuring ‘never for life’, when it is a constitutional tool, that would be quite stupid”, before declaring: “we don’t want 49.3”.
Source: BFM TV
