Youth employment and management quality examined at the Work and Pensions conference

Initiated by the Prime Minister following the announcement of the suspension of the 2023 pension reform, this conference, which brings together the private sector and the public service, is intended to inform the public debate in the lead-up to the 2027 presidential election. One day of workshops per month is planned until June.

The workshops are attended by trade unions and employers' organizations, with the exception of the Medef (French Business Confederation), which has chosen not to participate, as well as by professional organizations. Experts and professionals from various sectors come to share their experiences and contribute to the discussions, which are not open to the press.

In the current "climate of ultra-polarization", it is useful to "show organizations that talk to each other and are able to agree on a number of tasks", stressed the head of the CFDT, Marylise Léon, on Public Sénat Friday morning.

On Friday, during the workshop on employment, the issues of guidance, reorientation and interventions by professionals with young people were discussed, as well as the issue of "quality due to the massification of learning in higher education", explained the president of the National Agency for Adult Vocational Training (Afpa), Jean-Marie Marx, during a press briefing at the end of the day.

NEETs, young people who are neither in school, nor in employment, nor in training, are a source of concern, with a consensus emerging on the need to increase support for people far from employment, he said.

Thomas Vacheron, from the CGT, raised the issue of "the stagnation of all wages (...) which is the opposite of what should be done, namely raising qualification levels for the jobs of the future".

On pensions, the CGT said it was participating to continue demanding the repeal of the 2023 reform, while the CFDT highlighted a consensus around the need to address the issues of occupational wear and tear and the transition between work and retirement.

For Pascal Lagrue of FO, "it is important to talk about management systems, but what all public services expect is staffing levels; managers are asking for increased staffing levels to allow for the proper execution of all tasks."