France's parliament has passed a law which effectively ends the country's compulsory 35-hour working week. The new law will allow companies to strike individual deals with unions on working hours and overtime. Since coming into office last year, President Nicolas Sarkozy has blamed the 35-hour week for damaging France's economic competitiveness. Introduced 10 years ago by the then Socialist government, polls show most French still support the 35-hour week.
France's parliament has passed a law which effectively ends the country's compulsory 35-hour working week.
The new law will allow companies to strike individual deals with unions on working hours and overtime.
Since coming into office last year, President Nicolas Sarkozy has blamed the 35-hour week for damaging France's economic competitiveness.
Introduced 10 years ago by the then Socialist government, polls show most French still support the 35-hour week.
Aimed at cutting unemployment, it was credited with creating some 350,000 new jobs between 1998 and 2002 - but the state had to provide billions of euros in aid.
Funny that they should not mention that it will now - yet again - cost billions in State aid to eliminate the 35-hour week.
And funny how a measure "credited" with significant job creation (a 15% drop in unemployment all on its own) is seen as such a horrible thing everywhere...
Unions say the new measures will mainly affect smaller and medium-sized firms. "In the big companies, no-one wants to renegotiate the 35-hours and re-open Pandora's Box," said Philippe Jaeger, of managers' union CFE-CGC.
"In the big companies, no-one wants to renegotiate the 35-hours and re-open Pandora's Box," said Philippe Jaeger, of managers' union CFE-CGC.
Eliminate protection for the weak, while the strong manage fine: the right in a nutshell. Funny that frame doesn't get mentioned. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
