Unions await clarification after Bayrou's comments on pensions

Social partners are due to meet again on Wednesday to discuss civil servants' pensions.

François Bayrou, who reopened the pension reform file in January, had entrusted the social partners with the task of finding a new balance in the system and of re-discussing "without any totem" or "taboo" the highly contested retirement age at 64.

Alas. François Bayrou closed the door on Sunday to a return to the retirement age of 62, jeopardizing the future of the "conclave."

Public Accounts Minister Amélie de Montchalin said on Monday that it was "unrealistic" to restore the retirement age to 62.

The CFTC requested "clarifications from Matignon" on Monday, and the CFDT, "committed to a change in the age limit based on 62 years," plans to ask the Prime Minister "if he confirms his comments" during a meeting between the union and Mr. Bayrou scheduled for Tuesday.

"The Prime Minister's statement is incomprehensible. Everything was supposedly on the table. (He) has just changed the rules," the CFDT denounced in a message sent to AFP.

Dominique Corona, deputy secretary general of the UNSA (Union for a Popular Movement), believes that Mr. Bayrou's departure "further jeopardizes the chances of emerging from the pension discussions on a positive note." Ultimately, the government "does not trust the social partners," he believes.

"This is another blow to the conclave," added CFTC leader Cyril Chabanier.

"We had a mission statement with a single obligation, namely to return to equilibrium by 2030. We must therefore stop the interference, the interference that makes our negotiations even more complicated," he demands.

CFE-CGC leader François Hommeril says he "makes fun of Bayrou's remarks." However, "the age shift to 64 remains a bad measure," and "we can't say, 'We're not discussing it,'" he adds.

The same observation applies to the CFDT and the CFTC, which are maintaining their participation in the negotiations.

"The topics discussed, such as equal pay, family rights, long careers, and arduous work, are important, and all of these issues deserve the opportunity for the conclave to continue," added Mr. Chabanier.

The CGT is questioning its authorities, which met on Monday and Tuesday, on the continuation of the negotiations.

The unions are due to meet this week in an inter-union meeting to "consider a response to the recent statements by the President of the Republic" on the effort required in the context of the war in Ukraine, "but not on whether or not to continue in pension negotiations," Mr. Hommeril said.

The first of the information meetings of the civil service unions (FSU, Solidaires, Unsa) on the "conclave" is scheduled to take place on Wednesday at 14:30 p.m. Two more such meetings are planned before the end of May.