The day after a dinner at the Elysée on the subject, Elisabeth Borne receives separately this Thursday morning at Matignon several union leaders. Starting with the bosses of the CGT Philippe Martinez and the CFDT Laurent Berger, a few days before his presentation of the pension reform.
The Prime Minister, who defends a method based on dialogue, receives Philippe Martinez, secretary general of the CGT at 8:30 a.m., then Laurent Berger, secretary general of the CFDT at 9:30 a.m., according to her agenda made public Thursday evening. She will then meet with the president of the CFE-CGC François Hommeril and that of the CFTC Cyril Chabanier.
According to the latter, “it is a question of taking stock of the first two aspects” of the reform, which concern the employment of seniors and the arduousness on the one hand, the special regimes, the minimum pension and the public service of on the other hand, “but that we would talk less about the third component”, concerning funding and the legal retirement age.
“There are a series of questions on which we are waiting for answers,” added Mr. Chabanier to AFP, indicating that these meetings are held in parallel with bilateral meetings at the Ministry of Labor.
Thursday’s meetings at Matignon take place the day after a dinner for the majority at the Elysée, notably devoted to pensions, around President Emmanuel Macron and Ms. Borne, with the heads of the parliamentary groups and the Renaissance, MoDem and Horizons parties. .
A “first date of unit mobilization” in January?
The representatives of various parliamentary groups – majority as opposition – will be received next week, before the presentation of the main lines of the reform by Ms. Borne around December 15, added the entourage of the head of government.
The CFDT, CGT, FO, CFE-CGC, CFTC, Unsa, Solidaires and FSU unions reaffirmed their opposition on Monday evening to “any decline in the legal retirement age as well as any increase in the contribution period”, and warned that they would decide on a “first date of unit mobilization” in January “if the government remained propped up on its project”.
Emmanuel Macron had defended during the presidential campaign a postponement of the legal age from 62 to 65, before evoking once re-elected a decline to 64 years coupled with an increase in the contribution period.
These points are currently the subject of consultation between the government and the social partners which is due to end on Friday. A bill must then be presented in January, before a review in Parliament.
It remains to be seen whether, with a relative majority in the Assembly, the executive will be able to dispense with the use of Article 49.3 of the Constitution, which allows a text to be adopted without a vote, except for a motion of censure.