French unions, bosses seek deal on labour market reform

PARIS: French unions and bosses are to launch a final push on Wednesday to reach agreement on labour market reform, a central plank in President Nicolas Sarkozy's plans to shake up the economy.

After six months of negotiations on easing terms to make it easier to hire and fire employees, both sides are to open two days of final negotiations in Paris, with unions urging employers' federations to compromise.

"On the eve of this final phase of discussion, we just haven't received enough, in terms of counter-offers," Francois Chereque, the head of the CFDT union, told Le Monde newspaper on Tuesday.

"The MEDEF has not gone far enough," he said, referring to the main employers' federation.

Sarkozy has warned that he is ready to push through legislation on new labour conditions in February if the sides fail to reach a deal in an area that the president sees as key to stimulate France's sluggish economy.

At issue are the work conditions of 18 million private sector employees in France, with employers pushing for new rules to allow work contracts to be terminated by amicable agreement.

Negotiations between the five unions and three employers' groups are also bogged down on proposals to extend trial periods for new employees and creating a new project-linked contract, with a set duration of employment.

Labour market reform has in the past been a political minefield for successive French governments.

The former rightwing government of prime minister Dominique de Villepin backed down from plans to introduce a new work contract for young employees when hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets in early 2006.

CFTC union president Jacques Voisin said he was "neither pessimistic or optimistic" about the outcome of the talks while 11 associations representing the working poor and jobless warned this week they were bracing for an "unprecedented offensive on the rights of workers and the unemployed".

Sarkozy won election in May on a platform that called for more flexible labour regulations and streamlining France's rigid system of work contracts, saying the measures would help bring down unemployment.

Joblessness here is among Europe's highest at 7.9 per cent, despite a steady decline in recent years.