France: after 34 days of strike action talks resume between the government and social partners over France’s pension reform

On 07 January 2020, talks between the government and social partners over France’s pension reform resumed after 34 days of industrial action and the longest such period in French industrial relations history. In order to find a pathway towards a solution the relevant parties will pursue talks over the upcoming weeks that will focus on the issues of pension scheme funding as well on arduous work careers and older workers, and which could produce a compromise sufficient to secure the backing of the trade unions that are not currently opposing the main pillars of the pension reform project, i.e. the implementation of a single universal points-based pension scheme (that would see an end to the presently operating situation of 42 separate schemes, c.f. article No. 11540). Worker mobilization action will however continue.
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On 10 January 2020, an initial meeting will be held at the Prime Minister’s offices that will discuss the CFDT union’s request to organize a ‘conference’ later on over financing the pensions plan and avoiding the ‘pivot age’ proposal that Prime Minister Édouard Philippe has been putting forward. This reference age differs from the legal retirement age (which remains at 62) in so far as the pivot age is that which confers full pension rights eligibility and can in principle vary in order to safe

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