Third meeting of consultations between unions and employers, MEDEF proposes to harden the long career starting system

Unions and employers expressed positions still as antagonistic, Thursday, March 13, during the third meeting of consultations on pensions. The MEDEF proposed to harden the long career starting system and thus save money, to which unions are opposed.

On the proposal of Matignon, the social partners were engaged in three months of discussions aimed at ” improve “ The pension reform of 2023, which shifted the legal age of departure from 62 to 64 years. In his mission letter, Prime Minister François Bayrou, however posed a “Requirement” : a return to “Financial balance” of the system by 2030, which requires the social partners to find 6 billion euros in savings, or new revenues.

Main claim of unions, a return to 62 would cost some 10.4 billion euros additional by 2030.

A device “far from its initial target”

On Thursday, the meeting mainly focused on the employment of seniors and the “long careers” system, a derogatory mechanism which allows employees who started their young career to leave earlier, extended during the reform of 2023.

This system concerns today “22 % of departures” with beneficiaries who generally have good life expectancy, and so he “Distant to his initial target”the Medef negotiator, Diane Milleron-Deperrois told the press, leaving the meeting.

The employers’ organization would therefore like “Refocus it” on those who really have “Started early” And not only carried out a few quarters (summer jobs, students) when they were young. “It is a principle of equity” but also a “Economy track”she defended.

The unions completely oppose it. Enlargement of the system “Is one of the rare positive points of the 2023 reform that we do not intend to see again”decided, for the CFTC, Pascale Coton.

Approach the subject of arduousness

“We said we closed the door to this discussion”also announced the CFDT negotiator, Yvan Ricordeau. For him, the debate on long careers can only take place next week, when the arduousness is addressed.

For the CGT, the long career device must on the contrary be “Improved”to open up to people affected by periods of unemployment, work stoppage or occupational disease, who are today often excluded because they cannot justify a “Complete career”.

The Confederation of Small and medium -sized enterprises (CPME) estimates that the system is “Expensive” and that we can “Clearly save” in “Making him more equitable”. These savings could be reused to improve the rights of employees concerned by professional wear, suggested the CPME negotiator Eric Chevée.