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Economy

Minimum wage: €1,500 net, €100 more, 10%... who wants what ahead of Monday's social conference

The Labour Minister wants to break through the €1,500 net barrier, an extra €22 a month. The unions are demanding far more and employers are worried about the cost.

By The newsroomPublished 7 November at 17:00
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Jean-Pierre Farandou, Labour Minister, official portrait
Photo : Matthieu Raffard / Wikimedia Commons, Licence Ouverte

The Smic, France's statutory minimum wage, will be at the heart of the social conference on Monday 9 November at Matignon, the Prime Minister's office. Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Farandou has put forward his figure: he believes it is important to try to break through the €1,500 net barrier.

Currently, the minimum wage stands at €12.31 gross per hour, or €1,477.93 net per month for 35 hours a week. Moving to €1,500 means €22.07 more, around 1.5%. The minister also favours bringing the increase forward to December, instead of 1 January, saying the symbolism is important.

What the unions are demanding

  • CFDT: €100 net more per month.
  • CGT: a 10% rise, or around €150 net.
  • FO: a minimum wage at 80% of the median wage, or around €2,000, according to Frédéric Souillot.
  • CFTC: an early increase, above inflation.

All of them are also demanding that no level of the sector pay scales remain below the Smic, with financial penalties for the companies concerned.

Employers talk labour costs

The Medef employers' federation is calling for a reduction in employer contributions to absorb any increase and says it sees no concrete opening for now. An op-ed signed by 73 heads of industry federations calls for the planned reduction of contribution relief to be dropped.

On the small business side, the SDI union estimates that a €22 net increase would cost the employer €55 more per month. TPE Actu notes that the organisation does not detail its assumptions.

An extremely rare boost

The last discretionary boost dates back to July 2012 (+0.6%). Since then, increases have been automatic, such as the 2.41% rise on 1 June this year.

What happens next

Nothing is settled: the amount and timing are still to be decided. The conference opens at 9.30am on Monday. The union coalition will then decide on the next steps for the mobilisation.

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Sources

#Smic#Jean-Pierre Farandou#Cost of living#CGT#CFDT#Medef#Sébastien Lecornu

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