“We don’t want to spoil the Olympic Games but…”, warns Frédéric Souillot, general secretary of Force Ouvrière

Frédéric Souillot : “un décalage entre les effets d’annonces et la réalité.”

Frédéric Souillot, secrétaire général de Force ouvrière, revient sur le préavis de grève déposé par son organisation pendant la période des Jeux Olympiques, les projets de réforme dans la fonction publique et de l’assurance-chômage.

Force Ouvrière filed, on March 19, a strike notice in the public service before and during the Olympic Games. Did this threat make it possible to advance certain demands??

First of all, we do not want to spoil the Olympic Games but we are asking that there be discussions, ministry by ministry, on working conditions and gratification.

You have obtained satisfaction for the police.

For the police, the bonus is known, it will be 1900 euros but for other aspects of the public service there is no dialogue in the ministries to look, for example, at how we go about looking after our children . Will there be open nurseries, how do we get around with the QR Code? For the moment the threat has not made anyone move. There were negotiations at the Ministry of the Interior for the police, they were successful but everything is blocked in Bercy at the Ministry of the Economy and Finance: twelve decrees have not come out.

You denounce a discrepancy between the effects of announcements and their reality?

That’s it. We will continue to put pressure by saying that we cannot constantly rely on social dialogue and not meet representatives of public sector agents. When we hear from Minister Stanislas Guérini who wants to pass a law on the attractiveness of the civil service, I think that his priority would be to discuss with the trade union organizations on the organization and working conditions during the Olympics. For example by issuing a decree which would remove the cap on the time savings account because agents will not be able to take leave during this period. This decree has not been issued.

"Being unemployed, on RSA is not a choice"

On the same subject, Stanislas Guérini announced his desire to put an end to job security in the public service. What does this inspire you??

One day we say that we need to make a law on attractiveness and the next day we talk about dismissal for professional inadequacy… hellip; If I had to make a communication I would not have done it like that. How do we restore attractiveness since there are 72,000 positions to fill and especially departures, resignations at the Ministry of the Interior, in health. There will be no spontaneous generation tomorrow to return to the public service. Saying that job security is over, but who defines professional inadequacy, when how?? If it's just communication it's bad. And basically, it’s a very bad idea. The equality of the Republic is the public service.

On the unemployment insurance reform project, have you received the working document from Minister Catherine Vautrin ?

No, we have not received a framework document. But two years ago, the same majority passed a law which reconsidered compensation for job seekers and its duration. We are not supposed to evaluate this law but we say we have to come back to it. Once again, we are going to shine the spotlight on job seekers, but being unemployed or on RSA is not a choice. I remind you that the unemployment insurance agreement that we signed last year is still not approved.

This agreement included a section on the employment of seniors but did not result in any agreement.

No. It was not revenge on the pension reform as I have read. We said "let's finally talk about the employment of seniors". We made, inter-union, ten common proposals but we did not find them in this agreement. Médef said that his priority was the employment of seniors but there is no will. While employing seniors should be our priority. This means that companies no longer want people over 55. What do we do with the experience, the skills acquired? ? In the agreement we offered tutoring, tiling with elders and young people. Make a smoother end to your career, especially for difficult professions. On financing, we had the investment fund in the prevention of professional wear and tear, surplus, a tool for those aged 60 and over. And this without costing the state budget any more.

" Béziers ? We are not going into the political arena"

Why Force Ouvrière is not participating in the march against far-right ideas next week in Béziers ?

When we do something other than union politics, we step outside our role as a union organization. There we would do politics. FO never calls for voting for one or against the other whatever the elections. I am not a director of conscience. When FO was created it was to stop being the transmission belt of the Communist Party. We stayed on that line. On the other hand, we widely communicate against racism, anti-Semitism, discrimination linked to sexual orientation but we do not go into the political arena.

How do you handle the situation when an FO member commits to the far-right?< /p>

We have case law dating from 1974: when Arlette Laguiller ran for president she handed in all her mandates. You cannot take advantage of FO to run on any political list whatsoever. Every time we have a member who uses his mandate to play politics, we ask him to resign and leave the organization.

Frédéric Souillot will be present this Saturday in La Grande-Motte on the occasion of the general assembly of the Departmental Union of Force Ouvrière.

 

I subscribe to read more