The proposal is sure to spark debate: Terra Nova, the think tank close to the Socialist Party, suggests that collective agreements (either company or sector-based) could “widely” deviate from labor law, in a report presented to the press this Wednesday, September 2.
At a time when the government wants to reform the rules by giving more latitude to companies, the think tank will publish a contribution this Thursday, September 3 (Odile Jacob editions), signed by economist Gilbert Cette and lawyer Jacques Barthélémy.
The two authors share the same findings as former Minister of Justice Robert Badinter in June, and this week, the liberal Montaigne Institute: the “complexity and abundance” of current social law hampers economic activity and increases the number of “left-behind” individuals struggling to enter the labor market while others are “overprotected”.
To “get out of the impasse”, they too recommend that social partners “take charge”. According to them, “deviation from the law and regulations by collective agreement of sector and/or company” should become “the norm” within certain limits: respect for international law and fundamental principles of labor law.
Currently, the possibilities to deviate are limited to working hours and employment maintenance agreements, which allow for temporary salary reductions in struggling companies.
The two authors propose that a refusal by an employee to apply a collective agreement (supported by 50% majority) should lead to their “sui generis” dismissal, rather than for individual economic reasons, as is the case with employment maintenance agreements.
Thus, the termination would be more “secure for the company”, they estimate. The collective agreement could allow for the abolition of the legal severance payment, specify the two authors.
The collective agreement would take precedence over the employment contract, except for certain “absolute substantial elements”, which can only be modified with the individual agreement of the employee, such as hourly wage and qualification.
Working hours and therefore the monthly salary could be modified by a collective agreement.
The economist and the lawyer propose accompanying this reversal of the hierarchy of norms with a decriminalization of sanctions against companies, a reform of the labor courts favoring conciliation and alternative procedures like arbitration, and a “profound reform of the minimum wage”. In this case, they advocate for the “possibility of deviating from the minimum wage by extended sector agreement”.
Very optimistic, Gilbert Cette believes that this reform “could be achieved in a few months” after “consultation with social partners”, especially to define the “limits of the derogatory law”. He bets that widening the “decision-making margin” of the unions will “strengthen them”.
