French prime minister Manuel Valls has delayed presenting a bill to reform France’s labour laws following angry reactions from unions, students and even members of his own Socialist Party, reports FRANCE 24.
Valls said on Monday he would host talks with unions and other groups to better explain the text he said had been hampered by “misunderstandings”, but insisted the government was not abandoning the controversial measures.
"Probably over the next week I will meet with all social partners, labour unions and employers' organisations, one by one," Valls told reporters at the annual Paris agricultural fair.
Initially floated in mid-February, the reforms are designed to make France’s labour market more flexible, allowing companies to lay off workers more easily.
The government says they will make France more competitive, and help tackle record unemployment in a country where companies hesitate to hire permanent workers because firing them can be a long and expensive process.
Valls and labour minister Myriam El Khomri were scheduled to formally present the text to cabinet ministers for their approval on March 9, before a parliamentary debate and a vote this spring.
The bill will now be unveiled to ministers on March 24, AFP quoted a government source as saying.
In a rare show of unity, leading French workers and student unions met last week to denounce the labour reforms, calling for a massive, nationwide strike on March 9.
An online petition demanding that El Khomri abandon the project had been signed by more than 785,000 people by Monday afternoon.