“The cup is full » for the France Travail unions. The latter denounced this Tuesday the draft 2025 budget, which provides for the elimination of 500 positions at the public operator.
During a rare joint press conference, the ten unions of France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi) – CFDT, CFE-CGC, CFTC, CGT, FO, FSU, SNAP, Sud, STC, Unsa – expressed their ” worry “ on the workforce but also the purchasing power of some 54,000 agents or the increased use of outsourcing, while the finance bill is currently being examined in Parliament.
“There are already not enough of us (…), with an economic situation that is turning around”argued a representative of the FSU, while most economists expect a rise in unemployment.
If the government has put forward funding “stabilized” for France Travail to the tune of 1.35 billion euros, the unions point out that this does not take into account inflation, which in reality implies “a mechanical decline”according to them.
Wages are struggling
Other sources of concern highlighted by the unions: the law “full employment”which provides in particular that RSA beneficiaries are all automatically registered with France Travail – which will increase the burden on advisors -, and the reform of unemployment insurance to come.
On the salary side, both public law and private law agents are struggling, underlined an elected FO, citing for the latter a 5.5% increase since 2018 to be compared to +16.3% inflation. Several representatives considered that “the cup is full”.
The unions have announced a petition and eight of them have launched a call for a strike for December 5, the CFDT and the CFE-CGC, essentially believing that this call comes “a little too early”.
(With AFP)
