This pension reform is not our reform!
This pension reform is not our reform!
> Volt France promotes a pluralist and participatory democracy and therefore condemns the use of an accelerated procedure before Parliament and the lack of social dialogue.
> Volt France advocates a positive approach to address the issue of fairness and balance in the pension system through a reform towards a universal points-based pension system, largely co-constructed with trade unions and civil society.
> Volt France wants to put at the heart of our proposals and debates the evolution of work and its arduousness in France and in Europe.
Paris, 1st of February 2023
Presented on 23 January by Elisabeth Borne's government in the Council of Ministers, the draft law on pension reform aims to raise the legal retirement age to 64 from 2030 and to increase the required contribution period to 43 years from 2027. This pension reform comes in a particularly turbulent political and social context, marked by the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis and inflation.
This reform is not our reform!
On 11 January 2023, Sven Franck, co-president of Volt France, criticised the French government's approach, warning in particular of the risks of a "adoption by force", after an autumn 2022 marked by the government's repeated use of Article 49.3. In this respect, by passing the pension reform in the rectifying social security financing bill, the government is forcing parliamentarians to discuss and vote on this bill in an emergency.
Volt France promotes a pluralist and participatory democracy and therefore condemns the use of this accelerated procedure and the lack of social dialogue. In order to meet the challenge of balancing the pension system, Volt France stresses the need for a reform co-constructed - within the framework of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council and/or a Citizens' Convention - with trade unions, political parties, and French, European and non-EU citizens who pay contributions in France.
We are defending a positive approach to meet the challenge of equity and balance in the pension system. We propose a systemic reform for discussion, based on the transition to a points-based method of calculating pensions, widely shared in Europe and long defended in France by the so-called "reformist" trade unions.
As it stands, the reform proposed by the government is reduced to financial adjustments and places most of the burden on the middle classes and the youngest, and particularly within these categories of the population, on women. Volt therefore calls for a change of method and stronger corrective measures to remedy the inequalities between men and women and to better distribute the efforts between the generations. For a feminist pension system, periods of maternity, child rearing and more generally periods of caring for others should not be a barrier to access to adequate pensions. In order to ensure that all generations can contribute to the collective effort in proportion to their means, Volt France advocates negotiations on the taxation of the pensions of the most affluent as well as of the highest incomes in general (for example via a new modulation of the CSG rates according to the reference tax income)
Reforming work as well as pensions!
On 11 January, Olivier Véran, the government spokesman, announced the possibility of early retirement for certain people exposed to one or more occupational risks in the course of their work. Although this reform proposes to lower the thresholds for two of the six criteria of arduousness, we believe that these measures remain insufficient.
We want to put at the heart of our proposals and debates the evolution of work and its arduousness in France and in Europe. Several measures can be discussed collectively, such as the deployment of the four-day week in the public and private sectors, an increase in salaries and recruitment in certain public sectors, particularly the "front-line" public services in hospitals and child welfare, for example, but also more generally in education, higher education and research and continuing training, the financing of a hardship fund to support professional retraining, reinforced by a special tax on capital income, support for the automation of certain tasks and innovation in occupations identified as being particularly exposed to hardship criteria, the reinforcement of criteria linked to the quality of life at work in public contracts and ESG measures (financing of companies).
The pension system is at the heart of the French social contract, so each reform is logically and legitimately hotly debated. Volt calls for this debate to be respected and will continue to contribute to it with a pluralist and open approach.
Sources
About Volt
As the first truly pan-European party, Volt is committed to reforming the European Union and responding to today's challenges in a coordinated way at European level. Volt's vision: a progressive Europe with an inclusive society, a climate-friendly economy, an adaptable education system and self-determined digitalisation.
Volt is convinced that only the democratic participation of all European citizens will prepare us for a sustainable, economically strong and socially just future. This is why Volt acts at all levels - from local to European, as a movement and as a party. The movement gives everyone a voice and the opportunity to engage politically from within society. Today, Volt is present all over Europe: thousands of people of all ages and professions are involved in 30 European countries with teams in hundreds of cities.
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Contact
Alexandre Bisquerra - Co-Responsable Policy
Mail : alexandre.bisquerra@volteuropa.org
Antoine Jendzio--Verdasca - Co-Responsable Politique
Mail : antoine.jendzio--verdasca@volteuropa.org
Zoé Gadeyne - Co-Responsable Communication
Mail : zoe.gadeyne@volteuropa.or
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Mis à jour le 3 fevrier 2023.