France: Call for joint actions by workers and students on March 31

Labor Code reform: It is urgent to take action!
Joint Communiqué

CGT (Confédération générale du travail – General Confederation of Labour), FO (Force Ouvrière – Workers Force), FSU (Fédération syndicale unitaire – United Union Federation), Solidaires, UNEF (Union Nationale des Étudiants de France – National Union of Students of France), UNL (Union Nationale Lycéenne – National Union of Secondary Students, FIDL (Fédération indépendante et démocratique lycéenne – Independent and Democratic Secondary Student Federation)

The bill to reform the labor law is a social regression that we do not accept.

The principles underpinning the Collective Guarantees are challenged, redundancies facilities and the capping of employment tribunal allowances. This bill facilitates creating procedures in companies and institutions that place the wage earners under threat and blackmailed to employment. It seeks to undermine equal rights and treatments by enabling national level negotiations bypassing the unions. It would put in place other regressive provisions around  working time, apprentices, and professional training ...

Unemployment reached a record level, poverty explodes and, for the first time in the post-war period life expectancy declined. Making work more precarious and workers easier to dismiss does not create jobs as shown by the impact of employment policies pursued for decades.

We do not accept the society promised to the youth - that of insecurity. Our organizations have other requirements in terms of employment, training, working time, social protection and working conditions.

Each of our organizations will develop its proposals.

Today discontent is real and is growing. It is manifested through struggles in business, the public sector and education institutions. It also takes an inter-generational character with the mobilisation of youth engagement and that of retirees.

In this sense, the mobilizations announced March 9 is an important event that should succeed.
The social movement is spreading. An overwhelming majority believes that the labor law reform project is a threat to wage earners and will not create jobs. We think so too!

The first trade union positions and citizens forced the government to first drop. But neither the date change, or the change in title will make this project acceptable.

On March 31, the wage earners, employees in private companies, youth, and retirees have every reason to rally together, these action take all forms, including strikes and demonstrations throughout the country to obtain the withdrawal of the draft labour code reform law, and to obtain new rights, synonymous with social progress, to also achieve another distribution of wealth based on a society of solidarity.

The unions CGT, FO, FSU, Trade Union Solidaires, UNEF, UNL, FIDL will meet that day, inviting all the wage earners, the young, the retirees, the private sector workers to register in the mobilizations.


Montreuil, March 3, 2016