France unveils labour reforms in first step to re-shaping economy

[webfact]

France unveils labour reforms in first step to re-shaping economy

By Leigh Thomas and Ingrid Melander

 

Journalists gather at the prime minister's Hotel Matignon office in Paris before the presention of the government's labour reform bill to the union leaders, France, August 31, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Platiau

 

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron's government announced reforms to loosen labour regulations and drive down unemployment, drawing criticism from unions but limited support for the street protests that have hindered previous reform bids.

 

After weeks of negotiations with unions over the summer, the centrist government revealed measures including a cap on payouts for dismissals adjudged unfair and greater freedom to hire and fire. The plan would also give companies more flexibility to adapt pay and working hours to market conditions.

 

The labour code reform is the first big test of Macron's drive to to re-shape the euro zone's second biggest economy with its near double-digit jobless rate, double that in Britain and markedly higher than Germany. He also seeks a "grand bargain" with Germany over broader reforms of the euro zone.[L8N1LH36C]

 

For decades, governments of the left and right have tried to reform France's strict labour rules, but have always diluted them in the face of street protests.

 

The reform makes no direct reference to France's 35-hour week but gives employers more flexibility to negotiate deals with employees to work around it.

 

Labour Minister Muriel Penicaud described the five decrees laying out the reforms as "a transformation of labour rules on an unprecedented scale".

 

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said they were necessary to fight France's stubbornly high unemployment.

"The truth is that for bosses, especially of small companies, and foreign investors, the existing labour law is seen as a brake on hiring and investment," Philippe said.

 

Trade unions were less upbeat at what they perceived as the loss of long-cherished workers' rights.

 

"All of our fears have been confirmed," said Philippe Martinez, head of the hard-left CGT union, after the government presented the decrees to unions and employers.

 

He said the union would press ahead with its plan for a protest on Sept. 12.

 

But Macron's assiduous courting of the unions over the summer appeared to have born fruit.

 

France's biggest union, the reformist CFDT, said it was disappointed with what amounted to a missed opportunity to improve labour relations. But both the CFDT and the smaller Force Ouvriere, one of the spearheads of last year's anti-reform protests, said they would not be joining the CGT's protest.

 

"This reform does not rise to the occasion", CFDT leader Laurent Berger told reporters, but he added: "Taking to the streets is not the only mode of action for unions."

 

It sets a cap on compensation for a dismissal judged in a labour court to be unfair. This will be set at three months of wages for two years in the company with the amount rising progressively depending on how long a worker was with the firm.

 

In a concession to unions, normal severance pay would be increased from 20 percent of one month's wage for each year in a company to 25 percent.

 

Economists drew parallels with Germany and Spain.

 

"This very much ressembles the labour reform carried out in Germany in 2004-2005," said Florian Hense, European economist at Berenberg Bank. "This could very well propel France to a golden decade like Germany had."

 

Dutch bank ING said: "The ceiling on dismissal compensation is a milestone in labour flexibility and a real positive for permanent contract creation. In Spain, a similar reform kick-started an unprecedented labour market recovery."

 

RISING DISCONTENT

 

Pierre Gattaz, the head of the MEDEF employers federation, described the reforms as an important first step which would boost confidence within companies.

 

The CPME, a small business lobby, was even more positive. "At last!," it said in a statement. "After months of negotiations, we got results. The reform we had been waiting for so long is there."

 

The labour reforms comes as the 39-year-old president suffers a steep drop in popularity ratings. Early policy announcements including an overhaul of the wealth tax and cuts to housing assistance have left a swathe of voters feeling his policies favour the rich, pollsters say.

 

The government plans to start talks on overhauling unemployment benefits in October before tackling pension reform next year.

 

Parliament, where Macron's Republic on the Move party has a commanding majority, has already voted to allow the government to issue the decrees without a vote in the assembly. The government plans to adopt the decrees on Sept. 22.

 

(Reporting by Caroline Pailliez, Michel Rose, Ingrid Melander, Richard Lough and Jean-Baptiste Vey; writing by Leigh Thomas; editing by Richard Lough and Ralph Boulton)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-09-01

[bert bloggs]

Labour reforms in France? best of luck with that .

[Baerboxer]

4 hours ago, bert bloggs said:

Labour reforms in France? best of luck with that .

 

Queue protests, strikers, grumpier protests, fighting with police, fighting with riot police, more strikes, more protests - and watch make-up man's ratings plummet. And all in record time!

 

[andersonat]

I anticipate an early blocking of the Channel ferry-ports.

[Aforek]

CGT, as usual, is not satisfied, but small entreprises ( less than 50 people ) are very satisfied; don't forget , most of workers stay in small enterprises and CGT is not the first trade union anymore 

[Pdaz]

Yes, there's no way they will be forced to work 36 hours a week..

[manarak]

6 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Queue protests, strikers, grumpier protests, fighting with police, fighting with riot police, more strikes, more protests - and watch make-up man's ratings plummet. And all in record time!

 

the ratings are irrelevant.

let's hope he gets more reforms through.

if he does this job and in the end is not re-elected, he will have succeeded.

[RuamRudy]

On ‎01‎/‎09‎/‎2017 at 5:21 AM, webfact said:

The CPME, a small business lobby, was even more positive. "At last!," it said in a statement. "After months of negotiations, we got results. The reform we had been waiting for so long is there."

 

The labour reforms comes as the 39-year-old president suffers a steep drop in popularity ratings. Early policy announcements including an overhaul of the wealth tax and cuts to housing assistance have left a swathe of voters feeling his policies favour the rich, pollsters say.

 

There we have it - the true face of contemporary capitalism. With the one hand, Macron takes a sledgehammer to workers' rights, with the other, tax cuts for the rich to continue the lie that trickle down economics is anything other than state theft in favour of the few.

 

I am sure that the French will protest a bit, burn a few cars and lorries etc, but if the rest of the western world is an indication of how this will play out, they will also cave in and accept this corrupt, mendacious, bastardised form of capitalism that would make Adam Smith turn in his grave. Another nail driven into the coffin that contains the festering remains of workers' rights - and so many of those workers celebrate. The mind truly boggles.

[baboon]

On 02/09/2017 at 10:44 AM, RuamRudy said:

 

There we have it - the true face of contemporary capitalism. With the one hand, Macron takes a sledgehammer to workers' rights, with the other, tax cuts for the rich to continue the lie that trickle down economics is anything other than state theft in favour of the few.

 

I am sure that the French will protest a bit, burn a few cars and lorries etc, but if the rest of the western world is an indication of how this will play out, they will also cave in and accept this corrupt, mendacious, bastardised form of capitalism that would make Adam Smith turn in his grave. Another nail driven into the coffin that contains the festering remains of workers' rights - and so many of those workers celebrate. The mind truly boggles.

....and thank the bastards for their poverty as they struggle to feed this insatiable beast called 'The Economy', who will never be satisfied no mater what.

How do you make the rich work harder? Give them more. 

How do you make the poor work harder? Give them less.

[manarak]

On 2.9.2017 at 5:44 AM, RuamRudy said:

 

There we have it - the true face of contemporary capitalism. With the one hand, Macron takes a sledgehammer to workers' rights, with the other, tax cuts for the rich to continue the lie that trickle down economics is anything other than state theft in favour of the few.

 

I am sure that the French will protest a bit, burn a few cars and lorries etc, but if the rest of the western world is an indication of how this will play out, they will also cave in and accept this corrupt, mendacious, bastardised form of capitalism that would make Adam Smith turn in his grave. Another nail driven into the coffin that contains the festering remains of workers' rights - and so many of those workers celebrate. The mind truly boggles.

 

I guess you have no idea of the extent of how French laws hamper economic activity - its labor laws are completely crazy. Even leftists complain about them when they are suddenly subjected to them from an employer standpoint.

[RuamRudy]

6 hours ago, manarak said:

 

I guess you have no idea of the extent of how French laws hamper economic activity - its labor laws are completely crazy. Even leftists complain about them when they are suddenly subjected to them from an employer standpoint.

I appreciate that you don't get it - the majority, unfortunately, don't get it, or society wouldn't allow our electoral systems to present us with a never ending conveyor belt of nothing other than slightly different versions of the same sh!t sandwich.

 

As I stated, the economic model we are being crushed by resembles nothing like the egalitarian free market economy described by Smith. Quite the opposite - there is nothing free about our markets; they are rigged every step of the way, and the ones who benefit are those doing the rigging. So, to go back to your point - economic activity may be hampered by French labour laws, but the economic activity you yearn for is the thing that is keeping us all down through corruption on a scale most cannot fathom. Vive la révolution!