Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102) - France (Ratification: 1974)

Part II of the Convention (Medical care). The Government reports the establishment of universal health protection (PUM) on 1 January 2016, which guarantees all persons who work or reside in France the right to coverage of health expenditure (the reimbursement of health costs, but not cash benefits), without any specific administrative steps to be taken, with a view to simplifying the life of insured persons through the right to the continuous reimbursement of care, without changes in family or occupational situation affecting this right, and by reducing administrative procedures to those that are strictly necessary. The improvement in access to care takes the form, among others, of measures such as the improvement of the access of all persons to quality supplementary health coverage intended to reduce the share to be borne by the patient, an increase in assistance for supplementary health coverage for persons over the age of 60 and the generalization in 2017 of third-party payment, with a view to the payment of fees for care directly to health professionals. With reference to medium- and long-term prospects, the Committee also notes that the report on the future medium- and long-term financing of social protection schemes, published in January 2014 by the Higher Council for the Financing of Social Protection, refers, among major future issues, to the concentration of potential financing needs on health insurance schemes. In contrast, Act No. 2014-1554 of 22 December 2014 on social security financing for 2015 established a national objective for health insurance expenditure (ONDAM) of an average 2 per cent reduction for 2015–17, or savings of €10 billion over that period. The Committee requests the Government to clarify whether the current policy of containing expenditure is slowing down the achievement of the objectives referred to above of universal health protection, the improvement of access to care and the concentration of financing on health insurance schemes.

Part IV (Unemployment benefit). In its 2015 conclusions on the application of the European Code of Social Security, the Committee requested the Government to provide a copy of the report on the financial situation of unemployment insurance which the Government had submitted to Parliament and the social partners involved in the management of the National Inter-occupational Union for Employment in Industry and Commerce (UNEDIC), in accordance with the requirements of the Act on the planning of public finances for the years 2014–19, with an explanation of the main strategic priorities determined to contribute to achieving financial balance in the medium and long term. In 2016, the Government replied that the response to this request would be communicated directly by the General Delegation for Employment and Vocational Training (DGEFP). As no reply has been received, the Committee reiterates its request concerning the prospects for the sustained financing of the unemployment insurance scheme.

Part V (Old-age benefit). In reply to the request by the Committee to identify the reforms considered to have been the most effective, the Government refers in the 30th report on the European Code of Social Security to the introduction of the personal account for the prevention of arduous work, which recognizes certain occupations as being particularly difficult and requiring specific arrangements. This mechanism, which has been in force since 2015, is based on the determination of minimum annual thresholds of exposure associated with each of the ten risk factors measured within the enterprise; each employee exposed to at least one factor beyond the threshold determined, for whom the duration of the employment contract is equal to or above one month, must be declared by the employer. This declaration means that the employee benefits from an account and accumulates points for exposure to one or more risk factors over a specific period. The account for the prevention of arduous work is constituted throughout the career, up to a maximum of 100 points (non renewable), and serves to finance: vocational training to gain access to a job that is less or not exposed to factors of arduous work; hours that are not worked, that is part-time work while maintaining the same wage; the validation of quarterly contributions for the retirement insurance scheme (an increase in the duration of insurance), within the limit of eight quarters, as a result of which retirement can be advanced by two years in relation to the statutory age. Entitlement is accumulated throughout the career, irrespective of changes of employer and periods of non-employment. The points accumulated are acquired until they are used in full, retirement is taken or the beneficiary of the account dies. Consideration of the ten risk factors was introduced progressively: four risk factors entered into force in 2015 (night work, work in a hyperbaric environment (high pressure), work in successive alternating shifts, repetitive work); and the six others in 2016 (extreme temperatures, noise, hazardous chemicals (including dust and smoke), the manual handling of loads, arduous postures or positions in which joints are under pressure, mechanical vibration). By the end of 2015, a total of 26,480 enterprises, of which 87 per cent were small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), had made declarations resulting in the opening of 540,298 accounts for arduous work. Half of exposure is related to the “night work” factor. With the publication of six new criteria of exposure, 3 million employees may potentially be concerned by these accounts. In 2016, with the account format of ten criteria, some 797,000 persons were declared by their employers. The various branches are currently developing reference tools which will offer valuable assistance to enterprises for the establishment of the accounts, and particularly for very small enterprises (VSEs) and SMEs.

The Committee notes with interest that France is still one of the few European countries making further efforts to take into account more effectively the arduous nature of work, including by bringing forward the pensionable age in relation to the statutory retirement age. It observes that the approach developed by France allows the development of synergies between the right to occupational safety and health and the right to social security, as set out in ILO Conventions and Recommendations, which not only advocate lowering the pensionable age for workers exposed to arduous types of work, but also regulate the rate of exposure and preventive measures for most of the risks included in the occupational prevention account. The Committee hopes that France will be able to go further with this approach, which offers the potential to serve as a model of “good practice” for many other countries, with the promotional support of the ILO, if necessary. In this context, the Committee notes that the new Government, which took office at the end of May 2017, has announced a reform of the occupational prevention account. Four criteria (the handling of heavy loads, arduous postures, chemical hazards and mechanical vibration), considered difficult to measure, are due to be removed from the account and employees exposed to these risks will be examined by an occupational physician at the end of their career with a view to asserting their rights. The Committee hopes that the Government’s next report will contain further details on this reform, taking into account the international standards referred to above.

The Committee also notes that Act No. 2014-40 of 20 January 2014, which is intended to ensure the future and the justice of the retirement system in the short, medium and long term, provides for a series of measures to improve the entitlement to retirement benefits of women, and particularly those affected by low wages and part-time work; the improved consideration of the consequences of maternity on women’s careers; the reinforcement of solidarity mechanisms for insured persons with “bumpy” careers; and a progressive increase in the period of insurance required for full-rate pension benefits. The Committee requests the Government to provide details of all the solidarity and equity measures taken to improve the retirement pensions of women in the short, medium and long term.

Part XI (Standards to be complied with by periodical payments), Articles 65 and 66. Determination of the reference wage. In 2014, in its conclusions on the European Code of Social Security, the Committee requested the Government to revise the method for the determination of the reference wage in accordance with Articles 65 and 66 of the Convention by selecting the skilled manual male employee and the ordinary adult male labourer in the branch of economic activity employing the largest number of male protected persons at all skill levels, which in France is the manufacturing industry, and not construction. In 2015, the Government indicated that the authorities had noted the need to update the technique for the determination of the reference wage and would provide all the necessary data in 2016 on the occasion of the next detailed report. In its 2016 report, the Government identified the most representative skilled manual male employee as working in the “wholesale and retail trade, transport, accommodation and catering” sector in relation to Parts V and VI of the Convention, and in construction for Part IX. In contrast, the ordinary adult male labourer was selected in manufacturing. Finally, in 2017, the 30th annual report on the European Code determines the reference wage of a skilled manual male employee selected in “wholesale and retail trade, transport, accommodation and catering” and an unskilled manual male employee selected in “manufacturing, extractive and other industries”. The Committee recalls in this respect that in France the largest number of male employees is in the manufacturing industry (please refer in this regard to the ILO technical note) and requests the Government to determine the reference wage of a skilled manual male employee under Article 65 of the Convention in relation to the appropriate occupational categories in this industry.

Social minimum benefits. In previous reports, the Government indicated that social minimum benefits (minima sociaux) are a complex series of concepts which reflect the implementation of successive and diverse conceptions of their role. At present, social minimum benefits play a major role as a social shock absorber intended to attenuate the intensity of poverty by significantly raising the living standards of the poor towards the poverty threshold. With a view to addressing the effects of the crisis on families in the greatest difficulty, several significant adjustments of social minimum benefits have been made with the result that, following several years of decreases, the purchasing power of the active solidarity income rose in 2013 and 2014. As of 31 December 2013, 4 million persons benefited from one of the nine social minimum benefits which make it possible to ensure a minimum income for a person and his or her family. By including spouses, children and other dependants, 10.9 per cent of the French population, or 7.1 million persons, were covered by these measures, of which the four most important in numerical terms (96 per cent of beneficiaries) are the active solidarity income (RSA) floor, the allowance for adults with disabilities (AAH), the minimum old-age benefit and the specific solidarity allowance (ASS). The Committee requests the Government to update its data by indicating the role played in the national social security floor of minimum guaranteed benefits, the method used to determine their level and their role in combating poverty and social exclusion.