Is the parliamentary winter set to be colder than winter itself? Difficult to answer, but we feel that history repeats itself with disconcerting regularity. Twenty years after the establishment of the first day of solidarity, senators are bringing out the same recipe, this time hoping to double the stake. This is with the aim of replenishing the Social Security coffers, because this measure could generate 2.5 billion euros in additional revenuethanks to an employer contribution increased to 0.6%.
Between economic necessity and doubtful applicability
The business world welcomes this initiative with a mixture of understanding and circumspection. If the CPME (Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises), through the voice of Eric Chevée, welcomes the principle of an increase in working hours, it points out the practical difficulties of its implementation.
This measure comes in an already delicate context where the government is considering to reduce exemptions from employer contributions. Faced with this threat, the senatorial proposal appears to be a lesser evil for certain business leaders, although it raises many questions about its real effectiveness.
Small structures, in particular, are questioning the relevance of a system which, in the absence of RTT, would result in a daily sprinkling of additional minutes.years tangible impact on productivity. The U2P (the National Union of Liberal Professions), represented by Michel Picon, openly expresses its reservations in the face of what looks more like a new levy than a substantive solution to boost economic activity. “ What changes is 0.30% more deduction from salaries, but salaries are already sufficiently loaded » explains the president of the organization.
In the background: the endless debate on French competitivenessregularly singled out for its hourly volume worked below the European average.
The gray areas of a contested reform
The flexibility given to companies in the application of this measure, although it may seem attractive on paper, does not mask the practical difficulties. The absence of elimination of a specific public holiday complicates the organization, particularly in establishments where physical presence is essential. Has the government forgotten that teleworking is not systematic?
Human resources professionals, like Benoît Serres, warn of the mathematical reality of the measure: an increase in working time at a constant salary mechanically equivalent to a reduction in hourly remuneration. Work more to earn less, in short.
Prime Minister Michel Barnier himself displays notable caution on this issuedeclaring himself “ very reserved » while keeping the debate open. The senatorial proposal implicitly reveals the contradictions of the French social model. While France already displays hourly productivity among the highest in Europe, this attempt to increase working hours could potentially lead us to a productivist misinterpretation. If the measure is adopted of course; otherwise, it will join the long list of proposals that have remained a dead letter.
- The senators propose increasing working hours to replenish Social Security coffers, but the measure raises doubts.
- Small businesses point out the practical difficulties and denounce an additional levy on already heavily taxed salaries.
- The real impact of such a measure on national productivity still remains uncertain.
