The role of the Social Partners (SP) in the unemployment insurance system in France (UIS): A partial withadrawl from the active labour market policy

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1 The role of the Social Partners (SP) in the unemployment insurance system in France (UIS): A partial withadrawl from the active labour market policy Carole Tuchszirer Centre d Etudes de l Emploi SER, 5 February 2014, The Hague

2 Creation of the UIS: main characteristics Creation of the UIS in 1958 by a national interprofessionnal agreement signed by the SP. Definition of the rules of the UIS. PS also in charge of the administration and the management of this regime within the UNEDIC and its local structures (Assedics). A form of tripartite regulation : every 3 years there is a national collective bargaining that leads to an operationnal convention («feuille de route»). This convention must be validated by the goverment. The will of the SP at the beginning : play an active role on the labor market to encourage unemployed people to come back to work

3 The UIS in the unemployment system Two kinds of system 1) The UIS : Social partners benefit Contributions paid by employers and employees Allocation : 60 % of the last wage be registered to the Pôle Emploi (PES) Have been working for 4-month duration at least Duration of the allocation depends on the duration of the contribution, but at least 4 months and no more than 36 months for elders (> 50 years)

4 The UIS in the unemployment system benefit 2) The public regime of benefits to unemployed people Taken in charge by the state and financed by the state budget The benefit is around 450 euros per month, it is a lump sum and means-tested allocation Benefit for long term unemployed people who expired their rights from the UIS

5 Part of unemployed people covered by the unemployment benefit system

6 Particularities of the UIS in a long term perspective: An element of the labour market policy From 1958 to 2008 : First, playing an active role on the labour market and, as a consequence, delivering benefit to employees for helping them to come back to work. Since 2008 : SP within the UIS no longer played any role in the activation labour market. The 2 main missions today for the Unedic s social partners : the rules of the UIS and the control of the accounts of the regime. During those 45 years, a big shift has characterised the SP s role in the UIS from a mixed attribution (active and passive measures) to a simple one attribution : managing the passive measure.

7 Before 2008: priority to the labour market and the reintegration of jobless people In 1958, the term of «insurance unemployment»is not used by the SP, even though it is such system. The first goal : to promote a mechanism of professionnal mobility in a context of full employment and in a period of restructuring economy. The monetary compensation is a kind of transition benefit for encouraging many re allocations of workforces. The Unedic s doctrine : A very closed connexion between active and passive measures. These tools are complementary and SP want to promote both of them within the UIS

8 Before 2008: An overview of the active labour policy established by Unedic over two decades. For economic dismissal (1987) : a mechanism of individuals support during 6 months for encouraging their re integration on the labour market But only for unemployed people entitled at the UIS For long term unemployed persons (1995) : subsidies contracts by a mechanism of exemption of social contributions for companies that hire that category of people. But only for unemployed eligible for the UIS. For every unemployment people eligible for the UIS (2001) : participation to a training program paid by the UIS but only in economic sectors with difficulties in recruitment (lack of workforce) For every unemployment people eligible for the UIS (2006) : generalization of the mechanism of individual support during 6 months with a private operator, French or not (Ingeuis/Matweerk).

9 Since 2008: a withdrawl of the SP from the active labour market policy 2007: Election of Nicolas Sarkozy, the previous president. Political agenda : proposal of a merger between ANPE and the Unedic Law of February 13, 2008 reforming «the organisation of the Public Employment Services» Creation of a new public agency, Pôle emploi, which merges the previous ANPE and around 80% of the activity and the workforce of the Unedic

10 Since 2008: a withdrawl of the SP from the active labour market policy Pôle Emploi is a public institution The Director General is nominated by the government PE is located in the same building as the former ANPE From 2008 to 2011 the Director General was the same person who ealier managed the previous ANPE Whereas Pôle emploi has an administrative board in which social partners are represented, this merger has been analysed by experts as a kind of «nationalisation» of an important part of the Unedic.

11 Since 2008: a withdrawl of the SP from the active labour market policy Unedic today : what the SP are in charge of? Still managed by the Social Partners Still in charge of the definition of the rules of the UIS within a national collective bargaining renegociated every 3 years Still responsible for the accounts of the UIS They continue to finance the expenditures related to the payment of the unemployment benefit But: the distribution of benefits has been transferred to Pole emploi

12 Since 2008: a withadrawl of the SP from the active labour market policy All the active labour market policy measures are now under the unique control of the Pôle emploi, whereas before this policy was shared between Unedic and the National Agency For Employment (ANPE) The question, without any answer to date, is the following one : Why the SP have so easily accepted this withadrawl imposed by the previous government without any form of resistance?

13 Few hypothesis explanations in conclusion The last conservative government s political orientation. In the Nicolas Sarkozy s political agenda there was a project to merge ANPE and the Unedic. The previous goverment was not so much convinced by the fact that SP have to play any role in regulating the society. State could be better than SP for determinating a social optimum. So from 2007 to 2012, all the social negociations (retirement, vocationnal training, etc) were conducted under the pressure of a government intervention within a law. This political frame explains many concessions that SP have accepted in order to protect the French social model.

14 Few hypothesis explanations in conclusion The failure of the active labour market policy by the SP within Unedic - In term of equity and social justice Two ALMP (depending on the social status), one only for the recipents of the Unedic and another one conducted by the ANPE, more universal, for all unemployed people. «This is not fair» in terms of equality for those among the unemployed people who haven t any access to the UIS no more than they have any access to the active supports given by Unedic.

15 Few hypothesis explanations in conclusion - In terms of results and performance The ALMP conducted by SP within Unedic failed to give better results than the ALMP conducted by ANPE. Fewer people found a job for a cost which was higher. For all these (political, social, economic) reasons, SP accepted a kind of gentlemen s agreement with the last government. You take the ALMP in the frame of the new Pôle emploi and we keep the administration and the management of the insurance unemployement system within Unedic today reduced at a single function: managing an income support

16 Thank You very much For your attention

Basic organisation model

Country name: Luxembourg PES name: Agence pour le Développement de l Emploi (ADEM) Basic organisation model Objectives ADEM aims to promote employment by improving the governance of employment policies