Pensions Conclave: Uncertainties Remain Before the Final Round Next Monday

The conclave, which began on February 27, was originally scheduled to end on May 28, before being extended until June 17. This final session "flirted with failure," according to Yvan Ricordeau, representative of the CFDT, and left its mark. Medef president Patrick Martin is "very reserved" about the presence on Monday of his body, the main representative of employers. "We've already lost a lot along the way, so we have to finish with five," retorts Eric Chevée.

FO slammed the door at the first meeting on February 27, and the CGT and U2P (employers' union for craftsmen) left the ship in mid-March. Only Medef and CPME remain on the employers' side, and the CFDT, CFE-CGC, and CFTC on the unions' side. "If five of us sign, it's a real commitment. If only three of us (the unions) sign, it wouldn't be the same at all," Pascale Coton, a CFTC negotiator, also repeatedly warned.

"We weren't asking for this reform to be reexamined. Some people are quietly unraveling it," grumbles Patrick Martin. Amending the unpopular 2023 Borne pension reform, gradually raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, was one of the objectives of the conclave, initiated by François Bayrou after a compromise reached with the Socialists to avoid a government censure.

The Medef (French employers' association), unsurprisingly, has been adamant about maintaining the retirement age at 64. Whatever happens at the end of Monday's last-chance meeting, this flagship measure will therefore remain in effect for employees born on or after January 1, 1968. The compromises sought by the conclave, which anger the Medef, are now on the side of "social progress that we must be able to achieve," as Marylise Léon, head of the CFDT, described it.

The summary of conclusions presented Monday by the conclave's mediator, Jean-Jacques Marette, who is well-versed in this type of exercise, is expected to focus primarily on women's careers and arduous work. The first, a consensual point, involves increasing pensions based on the number of children they have had. The second involves taking into account the carrying of heavy loads, mechanical vibrations, and awkward postures, ergonomic criteria advocated by the CFDT.

But views differ on the purpose of recognizing professional fatigue: unions see it as an opening to early retirement, while employers favor other avenues. "The ergonomic criteria we agreed to include in our proposal are focused exclusively on prevention and retraining," asserted Diane Milleron-Deperrois, a negotiator for the French employers' association (Medef), during the final part of the conclave.

"Perhaps ministerial pressure will allow employers to be a little more open," but "when Patrick Martin says, 'We won't budge,' one final meeting will certainly be pointless," assesses Cyril Chabanier. The president of the CFTC, however, assures that his union will be present on Monday. The outcome of the conclave is a moment of reckoning for François Bayrou, who had promised to present its conclusions to Parliament.