The government sends the social partners the framework for negotiations on unemployment insurance

On Tuesday, August 1, the government sent the social partners the "framework letter" on unemployment insurance, a roadmap setting the framework for the negotiations scheduled by mid-November on the rules for unemployment compensation applicable from 2024.

Employers and unions will have to try to agree on this thorny issue "by November 15", according to the document consulted by AFP.

Unédic, the organization in charge of unemployment insurance, is managed by the social partners. But since the 2018 law, their margins of negotiation have been restricted by such a “framework letter”.

Its dispatch was preceded by bilateral consultation sessions. “Several objectives are targeted”, underlined to the press the cabinet of the Minister of Labor Olivier Dussopt, including “building on the achievements” of the last two reforms which “contributed significantly to the reduction of the unemployment rate” (currently at 7,1%).

These "acquis" are on the one hand the method of calculating unemployment compensation - less favorable since 2019 to jobseekers alternating between unemployment and short contracts - and on the other hand "countercyclicality", i.e. say the modulation of the rules of compensation according to the economic situation. Since February 1, the duration of compensation has thus been reduced by 25% and will only be extended in the event of severe economic deterioration.
and social.

The unions will therefore not be able to question these two rules during the negotiations, which they nevertheless strongly contest.

As for the minimum duration of employment to open a right to compensation, increased from 4 to 6 months, it must remain "sufficient incentive for employment".

In terms of financial objectives, the document sets a trajectory which is in line with "the achievement of full employment by 2027" and asks Unédic to contribute more to the financing of France Travail which will replace Pôle emploi.

Currently, Unédic finances Pôle emploi via a contribution of 11% of its revenue. The objective is for this rate to reach between 12 and 13% in 2026.

In addition, specifies the framework letter, Unédic's revenues will be cut each year (by 2 billion from 2023) to finance the policy "in favor of skills development and employment", in particular the objective of one million apprentices in 2027.

The goal is also to participate in the deleveraging of the unemployment insurance scheme with a "prospect of halving" the debt at the end of 2026 compared to the end of 2022, where it reached 60,7 billion euros.