Approval of specialized work contracts for individuals aged 60 and above by the Assembly
The French parliament has taken a significant step towards addressing demographic employment challenges by approving measures aimed at increasing the employment of senior citizens. The bill, which has already been adopted in the Senate, has garnered support from four unions - CFDT, FO, CFE-CGC, and CFTC - while facing opposition only from the CGT.
Minister of Labour, Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet, has emphasised that underemployment of senior workers is an injustice and economic waste. The approved measures do not include a reduction in retirement age, as some left-wing parties had proposed.
One of the key provisions of the bill is the creation of a senior Contrat à Durée Indéterminée (CDI), a permanent contract specifically designed to facilitate the hiring of job seekers aged 60 or older, or from age 57 if there is a sectoral agreement. This contract, known as the "contract for the valorisation of experience" (CVE), will be implemented on an experimental basis for the next five years.
The senior CDI allows companies to hire unemployed people over 60 and ask for a document from the retirement insurance mentioning the expected date of obtaining the full rate. This contract provides job security and incentives for seniors to remain in the workforce.
The bill also incorporates measures favourable to trade unions, though specific details are not fully enumerated. Generally, such social legislation tends to include strengthened negotiation rights and protections for older workers, reflecting union input on improving employment conditions for seniors.
In addition, the bill addresses unemployment insurance, aiming to adapt the system to better support older workers re-entering employment or transitioning within the labor market. This likely involves modified eligibility criteria or benefits tailored to seniors, facilitating a smoother integration or retention process.
The bill also transposes an accord reached last year between unions and employers, with the aim of increasing employment of senior citizens. With this accord, the personal training account (CPF) can now be used, up to 50% and with the employee's agreement, to finance a retraining period when proposed by the employer.
However, the bill has faced criticism from left-wing deputies who denounce the senior CDI as a "boomer contract" and "social washing" that could lead to precarious contracts for senior workers.
The RN also voted in favour of the bill, while La France insoumise rejected it. The bill, if enacted, will mark a strategic push by France to keep seniors employed longer, easing retirement pressures and addressing demographic employment challenges. The initiative has also attracted attention abroad as a model for elderly employment promotion.
- The approved measures in France's workplace-wellness policy for senior citizens, known as the "contract for the valorization of experience" (CVE), promote job security and health-and-wellness for older workers by allowing companies to hire people over 60.
- A notable provision of the bill unfolds in the form of a senior Contrat à Durée Indéterminée (CDI), a permanent contract designed explicitly for job seekers aged 60 or older, or from age 57 with a sectoral agreement, which provides incentives and protection.
- This legislation also strives to modify the unemployment insurance system, making it more accommodating for older workers by adapting eligibility criteria or benefits, thereby facilitating a smoother integration or retention process in the general-news domain.
- The bill, when enacted, is predicted to face criticisms from left-wing deputies who view the senior CDI as a potential source of precarious contracts and a form of politics-related social washing, further igniting debates surrounding policy-and-legislation related to aging and employment.
