- Title: French PM says wants more labour conditions set at company level
- Date: 6th June 2017
- Summary: DONGES, FRANCE (FILE - MAY 26, 2016) (REUTERS) STUFFED DUMMY WITH "VALLS" WRITTEN ON IT, HANGING ON GATE OF OIL DEPOT CLOSED DURING LABOUR REFORM STRIKES CGT UNIONIST LOOKING AT FIRE PARIS, FRANCE (FILE - JUNE 14, 2016) (REUTERS) PANTHEON NATIONAL MONUMENT / FLAGS OF WORKERS' UNIONS DURING LABOUR REFORM PROTEST VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS MARCHING
- Embargoed: 20th June 2017 16:53
- Keywords: Valls unions France protests prime minister Philippe reforms labour
- Location: PARIS AND DONGES, FRANCE
- City: PARIS AND DONGES, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: Lawmaking,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0036K55FT3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: French President Emmanuel Macron's government showed its resolve to reform France's labour laws before the end of summer on Tuesday (June 6), warning unions that it intended to act swiftly.
Macron said during the presidential campaign that he planned to fast-track the pro-business legislation through use of executive decrees in a country where the high cost of hiring and firing is seen as a deterrent to investors, and where unemployment is near double-digits.
Unions had urged the government to take more time to discuss reforms they fear would reduce cherished employment rights and make France more like Anglo-American style labor markets where workers enjoy less protection.
But speaking after meeting unions, Macron's Prime Minister Edouard Philippe stuck to a plan to pass the reforms during the summer holiday lull, a period in which unions could struggle to mobilise protesters, and said he would not seek to please unions on all of their demands.
Macron's La Republique En Marche (LREM) party is on course to win a landslide majority in this month's legislative elections, opinion polls show.
That should help the 39-year old president sweep aside resistance from left-wing lawmakers and could also limit public support for any trade union strike action aimed at derailing the measures.
Strikes and a rebellion in parliament were two factors that hamstrung the previous government's attempts to introduce similar reforms. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None