French unions struggle against "First Employment Contract"

The EMF affirms its support for the campaign of action carried out be its French affiliated organisations in opposition to the new first employment contract (‘contrat de premier embauche – CPE’) in France.

The development of insecure employment and the attack on labour legislation and existing workers’ rights, in this case in France but also in a number of other European countries, is not the right way to relaunch growth, boost European competitiveness, create jobs and stimulate consumer demand.

The EMF refers to the resolution adopted by its Executive Committee in November 2005: EMF Resolution on Precarious Employment – The Promotion of Decent Work, which stipulates that: "the EMF rejects precarious forms of employment and any forms of working which are unilaterally imposed on workers and which do not guarantee decent pay and conditions of employment."

The EMF General Secretary, Peter Scherrer, stated " The EMF deplores the fact that the French Government did not consult the social partners on an issue relating to labour legislation. " He called on it to take into account the opinion of working people, students and ordinary citizens who took to the streets of France en masse on Tuesday 28th March calling for the CPE to be withdrawn. Reforms that promote greater mobility at work must be coupled with better security for workers. That can only be guaranteed through strong industrial relations and governments that respect the social partners.