2024-01-18 20:11:12
Published on Jan 18, 2024 at 6:56 p.m. Updated on Jan 18, 2024 at 7:11 p.m.
In parallel with his meetings with political party leaders, Gabriel Attal began to receive union and employer leaders one by one. Marylise Léon, from the CFDT, was the first on Tuesday, followed on Wednesday evening by Sophie Binet, her counterpart from the CGT. This Thursday, it was the turn of two of the three employer leaders, Patrick Martin from Medef and François Asselin from CPME, to go to Matignon.
By all accounts, the talks were cordial. “A pleasant contact”, “a Prime Minister who wanted to be attentive, available and open”, everyone commented.
On the side of management officials, contact was already established. The then Minister of National Education went to the Medef Permanent Assembly on the occasion of the “school-business” week last October. He also went to the CPME’s Planète PME meeting at the end of November, again with his sights set on the two-week internship that the government wants to establish for second-year students.
Contact already established with employers
Although they were therefore on familiar ground, business leaders did not learn more than their union counterparts about the new Prime Minister’s projects. Gabriel Attal mainly listened, referring his announcements to his general policy speech on January 30.
On the business side, we first talked about the economic situation. Doubting growth forecasts, Patrick Martin insisted on the very clear tightening of international competition and the failures of companies which are taking off again sharply. Be careful not to stop the supply policy, he insisted. The two employers’ number ones also welcomed the announcement by the Head of State of Act II of the labor market reform as well as that of the new set of simplification measures.
The CPME offers an “SME test”
Medef intends to soon make proposals on the subject. The CPME has already done 80, including one that it is particularly keen on: submitting any planned measure, legislative or regulatory, to the “SME test” to assess its consequences on small and medium-sized businesses.
The leaders of the first and second French unions insisted on the issues of purchasing power. “Salary is a priority, we would not be satisfied with declarations of principle and media posturing,” insisted Sophie Binet, demanding the summons by Gabriel Attal of the bosses of the CAC 40. She and Marylise Léon denounced Emmanuel’s will Macron to further tighten the conditions of compensation for the unemployed.
“Alarm signal” on the civil service
The boss of the CFDT also sounded “the alarm” on the civil service, expressing fear that the upcoming reform will not be concerted. She also insisted on the need for the executive to respect the result of the ongoing negotiations between employers and unions on the employment of seniors. She asked the Prime Minister to commit to a faithful transcription in the event of agreement and that passage through Parliament is not accompanied by “surprise” measures. “Gabriel Attal told us that he was attached to the work of the social partners,” she noted.
As for Sophie Binet, she came with the “100 proposals” that she had given to Elisabeth Borne in July. “I will judge on the evidence”, concluded the leader of the CGT who remained unsatisfied, except on the regularization of foreign doctors which Gabriel Attal undertook to treat quickly.
#formal #contact #Gabriel #Attal #social #partners