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New French govt takes first steps towards labour code reform

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Paris: The French government on Wednesday discussed a draft law that would enable the government to push through controversial reforms to the labour code by decree.


The government discussion was the first step towards bringing the enabling law before the parliament, which on Tuesday met for the first time since elections earlier this month.


President Emmanuel Macron has made reforming France’s complex and highly protective labour code one of his top priorities, and has vowed to have the changes in place by the end of September.


Trade unions and the left have reacted angrily to the proposals, with the hardline CGT union on Tuesday announcing a one-day strike for September 12.


Government spokesman Christophe Castaner emphasised that while the draft law discussed on Wednesday set out the framework for enacting the reforms, their actual content would be negotiated in ongoing meetings with business groups and trade unions.


The mooted measures include shifting responsibility for agreeing certain working conditions from the sector to the workplace level and capping the damages payable for wrongful dismissal.


Macron’s commitment to reforming the labour code had been “validated twice by the votes of the French people,” in this year’s presidential and parliamentary elections, Castaner said.


The president considered that the code, as it stood, “does not correspond to today’s economic life,” puts a brake on enterprise, and does not protect employees, he added.


The reform of the labour code was just one of a series of measures aimed at getting unemployment down from about 10 per cent to 7 per cent over the course of Macron’s five-year term, Castaner said.


He cited other planned measures including reforming the apprenticeship system and extending unemployment insurance to the self-employed. — dpa


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