“Live with dignity from your work. “ Claim long carried by the “yellow vests”, in particular at the beginnings of the movement, in the fall of 2018, this ambition now figures prominently in the speeches and proposals of the presidential candidates.
The issue of rising wages and purchasing power is indeed coming back into the debate in this re-entry marked by a stronger-than-expected economic recovery, but also by inflation and energy prices (gas, electricity, etc. ) sharply rising, straining household budgets.
“The social question has been eclipsed for two years”
For many candidates, it is therefore time for employees to take advantage of the return to growth after a year and a half of the health crisis which has highlighted the “First of duty”, these essential professions in health, social or education, while being precarious and poorly paid. A desire also displayed by the Minister of the Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, who demanded, at the end of August, “Better remuneration for those with the lowest incomes”. “Growth must benefit everyone, even the least qualified”, he warned for business leaders.
But if the objective is shared by all, the solutions diverge among applicants to the Elysée: lower salary costs for Valérie Pécresse, increase in salaries, especially among teachers, for Anne Hidalgo, or even a substantial increase in the minimum wage for Arnaud. Montebourg and Jean-Luc Mélenchon…
“The social question has been eclipsed from the debate for two years. It’s not now that people are having trouble, would like to remind Clémence Guetté, coordinator of the La France insoumise (LFI) program. We know that eight million people have recourse to food aid, many of them women and children, so if the social question can be put back at the center of the debate, obviously we have proposals. “
Jean-Luc Mélenchon is the candidate who has the most detailed program in this area at this stage: passage of the minimum wage from 1,258 euros net to 1,400 euros, three-year autonomy allowance for 18-25 year olds or even limitation of the wage gap in companies in a range of one to twenty … He also defends a “Social emergency law” to be adopted in the wake of the presidential election. “We need a popular consumer shock, continues Mme Watched out. People who have a small salary sometimes go without meals. So, if we increase them, they will consume more and we hope for better. “
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