White smoke between parliamentarians. Deputies and senators reached a compromise on Monday on a common version of the “full employment” bill, in which they reintroduced an article laying down the beginnings of a public early childhood service.
The agreement between representatives of the two chambers, in a joint committee, also confirmed new criticized requirements for RSA beneficiaries. The compromise must now be validated one last time by the National Assembly and the Senate for the bill to be definitively adopted. The Senate vote is scheduled for November 9. The date has not yet been set for the Assembly.
A compromise “without distorting the objective of the text”
“We have arrived at a good compromise which can satisfy all parties, without distorting the objective of the text,” declared one of the rapporteurs of the text to the Assembly, Paul Christophe (Horizons).
The agreement provides in particular to reintroduce an article on childcare, adopted in the Senate but which had been deleted in the Assembly to the great dismay of the executive, under the crossfire of deputies LR, LFI, RN, communists and Liot. This article grants municipalities the status of organizing authorities for this reception, with new obligations. It “will allow the implementation on the ground of the public early childhood service”, welcomed the Minister of Solidarity Aurore Bergé.
The Joint Commission agreed on a date of entry into force of January 1, 2025 for these new obligations. Only that for municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants to set up an early childhood relay will come into force later, in 2026. “The development of a multi-annual plan on the provision of care for young children will only be obligatory for those with more than 10,000 inhabitants,” clarified the Senate.
Pôle emploi can become “France Travail”
The senators also accepted that Pôle emploi be renamed “France Travail”, a name change that they had erased during their examination of the text. It is around this operator that the bill provides for a network reorganization of the public employment service, for better sharing of information and intensified support for people furthest from employment.
Despite a rewrite, the agreement reinforces the criticized measure providing for a minimum of 15 hours of weekly activities for all those registered on a future large list of job seekers, now including all RSA beneficiaries, but with a series of exceptions and possible adjustments.