Budget: the 5th week of paid leave in the government's sights
How many skeletons are in the closet of François Bayrou's budgetary plans ? Le Figaro has identified one: the monetization of the fifth week of paid leave. A possibility briefly mentioned by Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet.
"We want to seek (...) an incentive to increase working hours, in a context where four out of ten employees already work overtime, with, for example, the possibility of monetizing the fifth week of paid leave," declared the Minister of Labor, after the announcements by the Prime Minister.
A measure that immediately met with opposition from the CGT (General Confederation of Labour). "The government is going to offer single mothers who work part-time to give up a week's leave with their children to earn a little more money," Denis Gravouil protests. "This proposal is a decoy, to get around the issue of low pay ."
For the CGT confederal secretary, "the objective of monetization is to eventually return to the very existence of a 5th week of paid leave." Thus, the government could draw inspiration from the monetization of RTT days. Introduced in 2022, this system, which allows employees to be paid for each day of rest not taken, had met with distrust from all the unions.
As a reminder, among the €43.8 billion in savings planned for 2026, the government is counting on, among other things, a new tightening of the unemployment insurance system and increased labor flexibility. The monetization of the fifth week of paid leave is part of the negotiations sought by the government with employers and unions.
The five representative confederations (CFDT, CGT, FO, CFE-CGC, CFTC) are due to meet this Friday. "We'll see what comes of it, but given the unprecedented attacks, we can't rule out a boycott," Denis Gravouil emphasizes. "This monetization is part of the museum of horrors. When we give time to work, it's for them," warns Marylise Léon (CFDT), on France Inter, who assures that "mobilizations are not out of the question" at the start of the school year.
On the employers' side, this approach is unsurprisingly welcomed. "If it corresponds to the employees' desire for more pay, I don't see where the problem lies," asserts Éric Chevée (CPME) in Le Parisien .
The fifth week of paid leave was introduced in 1982 by the left under the government of Pierre Mauroy. "The employers are in a vengeful and Poujadist mood, and want to wipe the slate clean of the social advances made possible by the joint program," says Denis Gravouil.
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