France to ease 35-hour week
Chipping away at the legacy of its socialist predecessor, France’s centre-right government disclosed plans today to ease rules governing the 35-hour working week.
The proposal announced by Social Affairs Minister Francois Fillon brought immediate criticism from the Socialist Party and a union leader.
Fillon said the 35-hour week would be relaxed by letting employees work more overtime.
The minister did not say how much more overtime would be allowed, but current regulations restrict employees on the 35-hour week to 130 hours a year.
“This decree should give an immediate flexibility” to the 35-hour system and spur negotiations on reforming it, Fillon said.
The shortened week was a flagship reform of the socialist government defeated in spring elections. It argued that restricting working hours would force employers to hire more staff to compensate.
But Fillon said unemployment has risen over the past 10 months despite the 35 hour rules. “That is proof of their ineffectiveness in terms of employment,” he said.
