La France resorts to the hard line. The much-discussed labor reform is about to become law, but only thanks to a coup by the government which has decided to make use of the so-called "49.3", an article of the Constitution which provides, in exceptional cases, that the text is not submitted to the vote by Parliament, under the responsibility of the Prime Minister (except for a motion of no confidence that MPs must present within 24 hours). A choice dictated by the absence of a majority in parliament and the failure of negotiations with the unions. Manuel Valls has thus decided for the third time in this legislature to resort to this sort of legislative decree to approve the French-style Jobs Act, which for months has been sparking street clashes and heated controversy even within the majority itself as well as from the left government and by the opposition.
The aim of the reform is to counter the record level of unemployment, making the labor market more flexible. Perhaps too much, according to the trade unions and young, which recognize too many elements of precariousness. In recent days, the social-liberal premier had hinted that he was ready to do anything to guarantee the passage of the law El Khomri, from the name of the young Minister of Labor to whom she was entrusted amidst a thousand controversies. Today we are witnessing the "denial of democracy", the socialist Laurent Baumel hotly protests. "A sad symbol, the admission of a failure", exacerbates Aurélie Filippetti, the former Minister of Culture of Italian origins, who resigned from the executive in the name of the values of left.
New protests are now being announced, so much so that seven sindacati (Cgt, Fo, Fsu, Solidaires, Unef, Fidl, Unl) have announced a fifth day of mobilization and protests for Thursday 12 May. 5.000 amendment proposals were presented on the law, over 2.400 of which from left front, the opposition left that has been waging a battle in the squares for the past two months, together with students, trade unions, and the militants of the movement Nuit Debout, Indignados transalpines who have occupied Place de la République since the end of March, invoking not only the stop to the law but in general "a better world".
THE MOST CONTESTED POINTS
But what are the most contested aspects of the reform? First, the totem of “35 hours” of work per week, which the workers of half of Europe envy in France and which were commissioned in 2000 by then Prime Minister Lionel Jospin to better distribute work among the population, and in this way create more. The mission has not been fully accomplished, on the contrary, but the French consider this rule untouchable. Formally, the regime will remain the same even with the reform but with the possibility, through company-union agreements, of establishing overtime hours which, however, according to the protesters could be underpaid: the current law provides that the first 8 extra hours are paid on the 25th %, from the ninth onwards to 50%. With the new law, extra hours could be paid at 10% of the "normal" working hour. But above all, the additional weekly hours can reach a total of 60 from the current 48 (even if only in "exceptional circumstances"), and the daily ones increase from 10 to 12. Not only that: companies with fewer than 50 employees can offer the individual employee to derogate from the 35 hours even without collective agreements. The right to 11 consecutive hours of rest is also at risk, even if the government has agreed to make changes on this point.
Another issue is that of dismissals: the El Khomri law broadens the range of causes for dismissal without reinstatement of the worker indicating the economic reasons for a drop in orders or sales for several consecutive quarters and productivity losses for several months, but also changes in the business from a technological point of view or simple company reorganisation. As happened in Italy, the intention is to reduce the judges' discretion to a minimum and to make dismissal less onerous as possible. There is talk of "economic dismissal" but also of "offensive agreements", according to which a company can change the employee's working hours and conditions (but not the monthly salary): these will only be possible if signed by unions representing at least 50 % of the company's workforce. At that point, if the worker refuses the agreement, he can be fired for just cause.
Then there was the question of taxation of fixed-term contracts (so-called CDD) on which, after the pressure received from companies, the government backtracked: the ratio of the law was the fight against precariousness by making the cost of short-term contracts higher. "A stab wound", the entrepreneurs had defined it, arguing that a fixed-term contract "is part of the business and responds to seasonal or replacement needs". Medef, the French Confindustria, has expressly asked to withdraw this provision, preferring that it be postponed to negotiation with the social partners. The trade unions and especially the young, who cry out for the risk of precariousness, are very insistent on this point. As far as young people are concerned, however, the law provides, at least on paper, to extend the project to the whole national territory “Youth Guarantee”, which allows young people between 18 and 25 years of age to enter the world of work through a monthly public contribution. Previously it was necessary to take an exam in front of a commission, in the near future it will be enough to fill out a form having the required requisites.
