Jostled by Macron, employers and unions show a united front

Paris – Feeling little heard by Macron, the leaders of the eight main employers 'and workers' organizations, meeting exceptionally together on Wednesday, agreed to a new meeting in September to try to work hand in hand around priorities municipalities.
  

From the memory of trade unionists and entrepreneurs, this is the first time that the union and employer leaders of the representative organizations manage to speak together.

" The time is serious ", badyzes the historian Stéphane Sirot, who sees " the consequence of the practice of power Emmanuel Macron, where the dialogic social does not exist ", contrary to the previous five years.

Under François Hollande, the social partners " were co-legislators " and had autonomy, with the possibility of negotiating interprofessional agreements subsequently translated into laws, " Macron broke with that ", continues the historian.

" The Macron method was one of the triggers of this meeting ", recognizes Philippe Louis, president of the CFTC.

Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux (Medef), Philippe Martinez (CGT), Laurent Berger (CFDT), François Asselin (CPME), Pascal Pavageau (Workers' Force), François Hommeril (CFE-CGC) and Alain Griset (U2P). The closed meeting opened around 08:00 at the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE) in Paris.

Everyone comes with their own grievances and hopes of finding points of convergence with others, an ambitious goal, as organizations are traditionally divided.

" The meeting is unprecedented with much hope ", commented on his arrival François Hommeril, wishing " that something concrete ".

" We will test ourselves collectively to see if we are able to move towards a shared agenda to build progress ," said on Clbadical Radio Laurent Berger for whom " format is original, but the interest is the content ".

On the union side, FO and the CFDT want to defend the setting of a common social agenda, independent of the one wanted by the government. Among the topics to be addressed, according to Laurent Berger, the quality of life at work, the working conditions in the platforms.

– Appointment on July 17 at the Elysee –

Philippe Louis wishes him more systematic summit meetings " to take stock " on the files.

On the employers' side, Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux goes " to try to share some common concerns ", particularly around the creation of employment, wealth and French growth.

Prudent, the new boss of the Medef sees this appointment rather as a " making contact " and does not plan to come out with " a common calendar ". He does not spare the government, criticizing the multiplication of reforms.

Alain Griset, president of the U2P (crafts and liberal professions), wants to make the point " on the methods used, the results obtained ".

CPME, one of the initiators of this project with FO, remains discreet about its expectations.

However, an internal source had explained Friday that this meeting was decided because the participants made the " finding that the intermediate bodies are considered as a kind of stooges " by the government and not " as indispensable partners ".

Chance of calendar or not, the day of its announcement, the Elysee has revealed that Emmanuel Macron will receive the social partners on July 17th.

This meeting, demanded by the CFDT and FO, will be the occasion of " to lay the bases of a new social contract, that of the century which opens ", explained Monday before the Congress The head of state.

There will be talk of occupational health, the future pension reform, the poverty plan to be announced in September, but also unemployment insurance.

On this last point, the government took the social partners by surprise, announcing that it would ask them to reopen negotiations as early as September, while a reform is under consideration in Parliament. Wednesday morning, Laurent Berger warned: " If it is to go and trim the rights with a letter of framing of the government which is already the conclusion of the negotiation, it will not work ".