Elisabeth Borne invited the five representative unions – CFDT, CGT, FO, CFE-CGC and CFTC – for “bilateral talks” on May 16 and 17, Matignon told Agence France Presse on Friday, confirming information from BFM TV . The Prime Minister issued the invitations on Friday for these talks, without a “specific agenda”, which come after the enactment of the much-contested pension reform and major demonstrations on May 1.
These invitations are made a month after a meeting at Matignon with the inter-union opposed to the reform. The meeting was cut short and the trade unions scheduled a new day of demonstrations on June 6.
CFDT boss Laurent Berger ruled on Thursday that the “battle” against pension reform was “not over”. In particular, he appealed to “all parliamentarians” who will examine on June 8 a bill from the independent group Liot aimed at repealing the postponement of the retirement age to 64 years. Regarding the upcoming interviews at Matignon, which have been discussed for several days, “we will have a method requirement”: “we would like to know if it is to negotiate, discuss or ‘blablater'”, he said. If the CFDT intends to accept the invitation, the secretary general of the CGT Sophie Binet has been much more cautious about its participation.
On April 26, Elisabeth Borne presented the roadmap of the “hundred days” decreed by Emmanuel Macron to relaunch the executive after the pension reform. Two bills – one on the “France Travail” project, another to transcribe the national interprofessional agreement between unions and employers on the sharing of value in business – must be quickly presented to the Council of Ministers.
Ms. Borne also said she wanted, by July 14, to build “a social agenda” with the unions and employers to develop “a new pact for life at work”. Agenda supposed to lead to new reforms which could in particular include measures planned in the pension reform, but censored by the Constitutional Council.
