Nobody had appreciated this “very bad Christmas present”. A draft decree which modified the rules for unemployment compensation was unveiled on December 23. The latter provided for a 40% drop in the duration of compensation if unemployment fell below 6% (against 7.3% currently). Elisabeth Borne announced on Tuesday the withdrawal of this controversial part of the decree.
“We wanted to be transparent by displaying all the situations and the rules that would apply, including if the unemployment rate drops below 6%. I hear that this point may not have been sufficiently discussed, so we will remove this third level from the decree which will come into force on February 1, and we will put this subject back in the consultation on the future rules unemployment insurance”, declared the Prime Minister on Tuesday on Franceinfo.
As announced at the end of November, the project provides for a 25% reduction in the duration of compensation for all jobseekers who open rights from February 1 in mainland France. But a new fact, it was envisaged that the duration of compensation would be reduced by 40% and not 25%, when the unemployment rate drops below 6%.
“The decree is not a surprise. It’s been months that the Minister of Labor has been consulting with employers’ organizations and trade unions on a principle that we want to introduce for unemployment insurance, which is to say that the rules evolve according to the situation of the labor market ” , also said Elisabeth Borne.
“Our intention is transparent: if unemployment is less than 6%, then we think this is the right compensation rule. But in the decree which will come into force on February 1, as we are not at 6% unemployment, we are withdrawing this rule, we will put it back in the consultation for the future rules of unemployment insurance, ”a- she concluded.
“Not a solution to achieve full employment”, lamented the CFDT
In presenting the reform, the Minister of Labor Olivier Dussopt had mentioned the possibility of a hardening, but in the event of unemployment below “5%”, that is to say the level at which one can speak of “full employment”.
“The modulation of unemployment insurance according to the economic situation is not a solution to achieve full employment, for its part lamented the CFDT, in a press release published on the eve of Christmas. This drastic and unprecedented reduction in the rights of job seekers will in no way improve their entry into the labor market and will only aggravate the difficulties encountered by these people. »
“Doing this on the sly on December 23 proves that they do not have a clear conscience”, accused Jean-François Foucard, confederal secretary of the CFE-CGC, to Le Monde. This announcement came as Unédic had drawn up, a few days ago, an initial assessment of the previous reform of unemployment insurance. This showed a drop of 16% on average in daily allowances for the unemployed people concerned.