French Jobs Law Failure

Isn’t it rather fanciful to assume that you would actually get “job security” after the two year period?

There are some immediate implications and practical concerns. Some questions to get you thinking…

If these French labour laws had been passed, would there be anything to prevent employers sacking people approaching the age of 26 (or at the end of the two years) and replacing them with younger people on less expensive wages?

Imagine you as the owner of a company. Would you be more inclined to hire someone aged over 26 given your business would enjoy greater flexibility employing a younger jobseeker? We’d decide things on merit, is what you’d probably say –but what if your unscrupulous competitors were exploiting the youth, in order to drive operating costs down: would you then adopt their practices in order to stay competitive? Hmm.

As a young worker, do you think a bank or financial institute would be more or less likely to grant you a personal loan (eg. for housing, personal enterprise/small business) given the unpredictable nature of your employment (and ability to repay the debt)? Another potential problem.

Competitiveness and increased international investment is indeed a fair point, although there is no guarantee that the lowest paid workers will be compensated adequately if at all for their current level of labour protection. It is naïve to expect the most disadvantaged to make sacrifices for the greater good of the wider economy. You also can’t expect people to see any long term economic benefit to be a good prospect for them if they feel they are at risk of being exploited immediately or in the long term. Such issues don’t even factor into their thinking.

Jam it back in, in the dark.