|
FRENCH
President Francois Hollande faces the most
serious public unrest since he came to office
four years ago. Whatever remedial action
he devises, volcanic fissures erupt like
molten lava destroying whatever peace his
latest compromise has achieved.
We
have seen the country's refineries on strike
and fuel shortages spread throughout the
land. Protesters have blockaded refineries
and fuel depots, causing shortages and long
lines at petrol stations. Air traffic controllers
and electrical workers have joined in. And
the turmoil has exacerbated a labour dispute
already underway at the national railroad.
But
keeping the mood of France dark and angry
is becoming an increasingly difficult task
for unions. Even though they still play
a key role in negotiating labour contracts,
unions have never been weaker. Only about
eight per cent of French workers belong
to one, compared with 11 per cent in the
US and 18 per cent in Germany, according
to the OECD. The CGT, which grew out of
the French Communist Party, had four million
members in 1948 and has 700,000 now.
So
while the French have stoically gone on
with their lives, some protests have turned
violent: a police car was torched on the
streets of Paris. Railway, transport workers
and air traffic controllers laid out plans
to strike with unions threatening to disrupt
the 24-nation Euro 2016 soccer tournament.
While
one is tempted to say, "Same old, same
old - the French are always on strike"
the situation today is fundamentally different
in that a basic premise of the prevailing
social contract that has governed and heavily
regulated state is being challenged.
Not
by greedy capitalists seeking less taxation
and more profit or greedy socialists seeking
more money for less work. The problem is
with accountants who say neither can have
their way because the numbers will not add
up.
The
ostensible cause of these disruptions, the
most extensive since 2010, is a law easing
the country's rigid labour rules. The standoff
has undermined President Hollande, already
the most unpopular president in French history,
less than a year before the next presidential
election.
A
socialist, he came to office in 2012 with
the support of unions, many of whose members
now feel betrayed by his attempts to loosen
labour protection. That is to say, allowing
employers to get more work from employees
for less money. Crunching the numbers, it
is generally admitted, that whatever the
punitive value in taxing the affluent, usually
favoured by economically illiterate leftists,
it is widely agreed that making the rich
poorer does not make the poor richer - and
certainly not for long.
Labour
in France is governed by the "Code
du Travail", that covers everything
from bathroom breaks to the size of windows
in office. Layoffs can take years and require
expensive payouts. The 35-hour workweek,
introduced in 2000 by a previous socialist
government, has further complicated the
rules.
French
unemployment rate has been 10 per cent for
three years, and the International Monetary
Fund and the European Commission have urged
a loosening of the rules. Germany did so
in the mid-2000s and unemployment there
is now 4.5 per cent. Even one-time laggards
such as Spain and Italy are now outperforming
France after liberalising their labour markets.
Parties
from the left and the right, when they've
governed the country, have acknowledged
that France's labour laws are too rigid
while shying away from major changes.
Page 1 2
[Next]
|
