2023-05-16 18:47:30
The fourteenth meeting will have been the good one. Employers and unions left at almost 3 am in the night from Monday to Tuesday with a draft agreement on the branch of work accidents and occupational diseases. This file is the sixth to be completed out of the nine that comprise the autonomous social agenda adopted by the social partners at the beginning of 2021. It is also the third signed since the beginning of the year, after that on the sharing of value and that on ecological transition and social dialogue .
This conclusion was reached on the wire, a few hours before the opening of the meetings between the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, and the social partners. This is obviously a very political signal sent to the executive, accused by the unions and, to a lesser extent, by the employers of leaving insufficient room for social dialogue.
Very political signal
The position of the executive on the content of the agreement will be a test in this area: one of the three main axes of the agreement consists of the takeover of the management of the branch by the social partners. Currently, the ATMP branch is managed by the National Health Insurance Fund. The agreement provides for the establishment of a “strictly joint board of directors”, “composed of only trade union organizations of employees and only trade union organizations of employers representative at the national and inter-professional level”.
“This point very quickly made consensus”, underlined Catherine Pinchaut, the negotiator of the CFDT. On the other hand, the discussions stumbled in the home stretch on the mechanism for recognizing occupational diseases which are examined on a case-by-case basis.
Lowering of the minimum invalidity rate
The employers have agreed to a lowering of the minimum permanent disability rate required to have the occupational origin of a disease not listed in a table of occupational diseases recognized, so that the file can be examined by the Regional Committee for the Recognition of Occupational Diseases (CRRMP). This rate will be lowered by 5 points to 20%. This remains far from the 10% demanded by the unions, but “at the start the employers’ proposal only concerned the carrying out of a study”, underlined Mireille Dispot of the CFE-CGC.
The discussions were also nourished on “primary prevention”, aimed at avoiding occupational illnesses and accidents at work. “It complements the agreement on health at work which has also strengthened the prevention component”, welcomed Eric Chevée, the CPME negotiator.
Increase in staff
” The pricing structure [les cotisations versées par les entreprises en fonction de la sinistralité, NDLR] responds to a punitive logic; this second pillar is an essential element and it is planned to strengthen it by increasing the human resources of the branch”, underlined Yves Laqueille, the leader of the Medef. The agreement provides, in fact, to increase the number of prevention specialists and consulting engineers (target: +20%). This will represent an expenditure of 100 million euros per year.
The ATMP branch has the means since it has been systematically in excess since 2013 (except in 2020 with the Covid), despite the puncture made by Health Insurance. In 2022, this surplus even rose to around 2 billion euros.
Catherine Pinchaut, CFDT negotiator, issued a favorable opinion on the text, the decision to be taken Wednesday afternoon by her national office. His CFE-CGC counterpart, Mireille Dispot, too, with a final answer on Monday. Eric Gautron of Force Ouvrière reserved his response, but underlined the “beautiful victory” of lowering the disability rate for CRRMPs. Pierre-Yves Montéléon of the CFTC gave a “rather favorable” opinion. Jérôme Vivenza of the CGT announced that he was going to consult his authorities. The unions have until May 31 to decide.
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