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Latest update: a 2 year probation period for everyone now ?

by Agnes a Paris Fri Feb 10th, 2006 at 05:19:20 AM EST

Update [2006-2-13 11:10:43 by AgnesaParis]:

The French PM "refuses that France remains lagging behind the other EU countries as far as unemployment is concerned."
Villepin urges the Left and the trade unions to understand that securing the jobs (!) cannot be achieved without changes.
This statement is not only an insult to job seekers and those currently employed, it is also a demonstration of blatant disregard for the French population, taking us for dumb fools.
Even the less educated can easily make out that the CPE (renamed "precarity exclusion contract" by the Left) is everything but a scheme ensuring stability in the job market place.

A leftist leader claimed that the law project is against the Constitution ; it for sure goes against the basics of the Code du Travail, which provides for a minima job market regulations in France.
All the opposition and the trade unions can do is call for public protest against this attempt at deconstruction of the French social system. It is worth bearing in mind that this has been a project nurtured for a long time by Nicolas Sarkozy, President-to-be if the Right wins the next Presidential elections.
If France goes back to the social middle age, other European countries are bound to be impacted. Let us keep that in mind on ET.

From the diaries ~ whatabooutbob


For record purposes, my last thread on the topic :

It has now been officially confirmed that the government is planning a major overhaul of the job market regulation with the aim of enacting a two year probation period for all new contracts, irrespective of the age range.

This will push further the precarity of the French job market.

It is a deep-rooted belief that the French job market is not "flexible" enough.
Good god, but it is ! Young graduates often pile up 3 years of traineeships (stage) in different companies. Fixed-time contracts (12 months) are current pratice, with some of them being renewed 2 or 3 times. So much for the company not being able to adjust "variations in customer demand and shifts in market mood" !

Furthermore, this new law is bound to have a disastrous effect on the moral of all job seekers, let alone the job conditions for all those who have not yet passed the 2 year exam.

Good time for management squeezing productivity out of employees uncertain about their future.

Link to the previous developments A two year probation period for everyone now ?

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If I understand you correctly, this guy is a real enemy of the younger worker then, if he'd quit rather than give them decent working rights. And where is the Left on this????

"Once in awhile we get shown the light, in the strangest of places, if we look at it right" - Hunter/Garcia
by whataboutbob on Thu Feb 9th, 2006 at 01:46:20 PM EST
The lest is at home watching the evening programming, obviously.

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Feb 9th, 2006 at 01:49:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I hope that you are able to resist this, over here in USA this has been going on for a long time and it is just another failure to stand together and resist the hegemony of the corporations.  We are about to get a good dose of it here as the post-WWII generation starts to retire and we quickly eat up all the under-funded pensions.  Assuming, and I think there are good reasons for the assumption, that we can oust the Republican party from the Presidency and the Congress over the next couple of elections we will be looking to Europe for ideas.

"I said, 'Wait a minute, Chester, You know I'm a peaceful man...'" Robbie Robertson
by NearlyNormal on Thu Feb 9th, 2006 at 02:59:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
the bulk of leftist leaders are decent people (by a politician's standards), ie not ready to rip off all their formers friends and allies to get one step higher.
It may be that they are just not mischievous enough to play along the rules of the current Right.

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill
by Agnes a Paris on Fri Feb 10th, 2006 at 05:05:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]
My experience of student politics is that leftist are more interested in principles and rightists are more interested in power. Leftist are idealists and rightists are pragmatic. Leftists bicker and infight, while rightists just insert themselves as cogs in the machine and make their way up.

It's actually amazing (and encouraging) that the left actually manages to win elections sometimes. When they do, they honestly try to do the best thing even if it spoils their chances of re-elections.

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Feb 10th, 2006 at 05:10:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I has been confirmed that the French government is actively working on a major overhaul of the social legislation pertaining to employment contracts. Their wish is to establish a two-year probation periods for all contracts, irrespective of the type of employment (part-time, fixed term, etc).

They will be trying to have the amendments enacted in second HY 2005.
You'd better have a job by year-end 2005, and get ready to cycle or roller blade to and back from work (major public protest action ahead).

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill

by Agnes a Paris on Fri Feb 10th, 2006 at 09:25:16 AM EST
I'm curious to what degree the press links these changes to the "Camdessus report" which came out several years ago.  As you might now, labor market policy reforms in Germany were overwhelmingly linked to the work of an expert commission ("Hartz").  I'll have to take a look at my copy of the Camdessus report and see if this particular recommendation is in there.
by KB on Fri Feb 10th, 2006 at 11:14:21 AM EST
Excellent idea! I am looking forward to the result.

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill
by Agnes a Paris on Fri Feb 10th, 2006 at 11:39:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Here's the relevent part of the text from the Camdessus report, from p. 92 (sorry paragraph breaks were lost):

Cette dualisation du marché du travail ne serait qu'apparente si les individus étaient égaux dans leur chance de voir leur CDD transformé en CDI. Pour les jeunes, on l'a dit, mais aussi les femmes et les peu qualifiés, le CDD ne constitue pas toujours un tremplin vers le CDI. Ces personnes sont alors souvent vouées aux emplois temporaires. Des inégalités se retrouvent aussi au niveau sectoriel. Les CDD rempliraient ainsi un rôle d'ajustement de l'emploi suivant l'activité dans l'industrie, offrant peu de perspectives d'intégration à l'entreprise, alors qu'ils constitueraient plutôt un moyen de sélectionner la main d'oeuvre dans les services. On assiste ainsi à une concentration des risques sur les publics fragiles dans les secteurs les moins porteurs. Le groupe considère qu'une piste intéressante sur laquelle les partenaires sociaux devraient réfléchir est la création d'un contrat unique. Convenablement conçu, il permettrait de résoudre de fait la dualisation du marché du travail. La forme précise de ce contrat est naturellement à débattre. Mais une idée peut être avancée : la suppression du CDD et la création d'un contrat unique à durée indéterminée dans lequel les droits relatifs à la protection d'emploi et à l'indemnisation se renforceraient progressivement. Sans tenter ici de préciser exagérément les contours d'un tel contrat, on voit bien que les anciens cas de recours aux CDD constitueraient des cas de motif réel et sérieux de rupture dans les premiers temps du contrat. Ainsi s'intégreraient sans heurts les embauches antérieurement opérées en CDD et cette nouvelle souplesse faciliterait l'insertion durable dans l'entreprise. Les procédures de licenciement connaîtraient une progressivité comparable, permettant à l'entreprise de gérer son personnel en fonction de ses besoins réels et non par des pratiques contestables de ruptures successives. En cas de rupture précoce, l'actuelle prime de précarité pourrait être majorée.

Of course, I don't buy this line of reasoning about healing the duality of the labor market through progressive contractual commitments by employers.  Without some teeth in the regulation of short-term commitments to labor, this is just one more step down the slippery slope of low job security.  But, for me, that isn't really the point.  To what degree can public understanding of the new law be traced back to something like this report?  Are people aware of "Camdessus" and was this awareness incorporated into governmental rhetoric prior to the passage of the new law?  It's a relatively narrow question, and I just don't have the expertise on France to answer it.

by KB on Sat Feb 11th, 2006 at 10:54:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Are the socialists just bending in front of this late night tactic, or am I perceiving this wrong?
by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Fri Feb 10th, 2006 at 04:56:44 PM EST
Well the socialists filed in a "motion de censure" which basically is a motion of distrust.
Id' say they are not ezactly bending, but fro sure being outnumbered and at a loss as to a decent leader standing up to the right with the proper amount of credibility.

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill
by Agnes a Paris on Fri Feb 10th, 2006 at 05:02:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]
What do you think the likely next policy to be attacked by the right as a consequence of this?

Usually in my view, a social system is a bundle of different policies. Once one is removed, others become vulnerable. What comes after this one?

by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Fri Feb 10th, 2006 at 05:07:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]
The right to be paid a salary in exchange of getting the job done ? :)
 
The social security safety net is already being dismantled, and so is the pension regime.
I am truly worried seeing how things have evolved since I first moved to France 15 years ago.

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill
by Agnes a Paris on Fri Feb 10th, 2006 at 05:21:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Well, I am sure that right will come under attack eventually if they get that far, but surely some other things are more immediately under threat?
by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Fri Feb 10th, 2006 at 05:22:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I'll dive into the swamp of the gloomy news ahead of us to find it out for you.

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill
by Agnes a Paris on Fri Feb 10th, 2006 at 05:27:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Well, I don't want to push you further into the gloom, just trying to wonder if a line can be drawn here to prevent further erosion...
by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Fri Feb 10th, 2006 at 05:29:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Oh, I had forgotten : the "selective immigration" scheme : quotas are going to be set, per country/ethnic origin/industrial sector in order "better to match the immigration flows with the country's actual needs in workforce".

The "family regrouping" scheme, which in broad terms allows a wife and his children to join a man who has immigrated to France, will be subject to drastic limitations, if not altogether abolished.

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill

by Agnes a Paris on Fri Feb 10th, 2006 at 05:39:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]
"European values"

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Feb 10th, 2006 at 05:41:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]
When listening to the French policy statements over the past years, it sounds like a distorted translation of a UK or US policy heading 10 years backwards.
They think they are getting the inspiration, but they get it all wrong.
Flexibility in France is the right for the economically stronger to rip off the weaker.

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill
by Agnes a Paris on Fri Feb 10th, 2006 at 05:26:25 PM EST


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