The anger against the pension reform continues everywhere in France. After the strong mobilization of March 7, several sectors have already started a renewable strike over a few days and the inter-union announced two new days of mobilization. In the Senate, elected officials continue to debate the bill in an electric climate after two weeks of chaos in the Assembly. The government hopes to have its reform voted by the upper house next weekend.
In this highly explosive context, the Senate voted on Monday March 6 to create a new type of “end-of-career” permanent contract (CDI) to promote the recruitment of employees aged at least 60 years. The senators adopted by 202 votes against 123 an amendment to this effect brought by the rapporteurs LR René-Paul Savary and Elisabeth Doineau (centrist) to the pension reform project. Even if the government has repeatedly tackled this tool, the adoption of this amendment in the upper house is all the more essential for the executive because it is counting on the LR votes to pass its contested pension reform without resorting in article 49-3.
A contract exempt from contributions
The amendment carried by the right and the center provides in particular that “as part of this open-ended contract, the employer will be exempt from family contributions, in order to compensate for the cost of a senior employee who, given his experience, can claim higher remuneration than a young worker . » The rapporteur clarified that the amendment “was drawn up on the proposal of a number of social partners”.
It is provided that companies can terminate the contract if the employee meets the conditions for benefiting from a full pension. Before the implementing decree, the social partners must be consulted “They will then be able to determine, by branch agreement, the activities concerned, the measures to inform the employee about the nature of his contract and the counterparties from which he can benefit in terms of remuneration and retirement compensation”.
An estimated cost of between 800 million euros and 2.2 billion euros in the event of a windfall effect
Barely adopted, this amendment made the ranks of the government cringe. The Minister of Public Accounts Gabriel Attal denounced “a windfall effect that leads our family branch into the red”. According to Bercy, « 100.000 CDI » are signed each year for employees over 60, he explained. If all were signed with the new contract, the cost is estimated at “800 million euros for the family branch”. And might even reach up to “2.2 billion euros” in the event of a windfall effect.
For the government which continues to justify its pension reform to ensure the financing of the pay-as-you-go system, this amendment is hard to swallow. Indeed, the majority explains since January that this reform is necessary to reduce the deficit of the pension system. However, the adoption of this amendment could deal a blow to the financial argument of the executive to legitimize its reform.
Senior fixed-term contracts widely criticized by unions and the Court of Auditors
The proliferation of contracts derogating from common law in recent decades has not really been effective. Most unions have denounced the creation of this type of contract in recent days. General secretary of Force Ouvrière Frédéric Souillot interviewed by the Tribune earlier this week explained that “The senior CDI recently proposed should not change much. The CDD senior set up since 2006 has not changed anything”.
In a summary unveiled in 2019, the Court of Auditors drew up a particularly severe assessment of fixed-term contracts for the oldest and of the generation contract implemented in 2014 under François Hollande. “Senior fixed-term contracts and professionalization contracts for job seekers over 45 only benefit a very limited public. In the absence of statistical monitoring, no evaluation of the CDD seniors was carried out. However, this would have made it possible to identify the relevant adjustments”, regret the magistrates. On the side of the Ministry of Labor, it is difficult to find figures on CDD seniors.
Contacted by the Tribune, the statistical department of the ministry (Dares) explains that it has absolutely nothing on senior fixed-term contracts. For its part, the CFTC has identified only 20 contracts signed in 2007 just after the implementation of the device. In a technical note, the reformist union is particularly virulent with regard to this amendment. “The challenge with regard to the employment of seniors is to properly retain skills in companies, and to maintain seniors in employment because they are competent. The CFTC regrets that the reasoning behind the measure is the search for savings for the employer”. The adoption of this measure could once again fuel the protest as the government hopes to move very quickly on the vote on the pension reform in Parliament.