Re-inventing employment” “

Employment is the subject of the 88th Social Week of France held from 22 to 24 November. A new feature of 2013 is that the working sessions will take place in three different cities of the country: Lyon-Villeurbanne, Paris and Strasbourg to “enable the involvement of a larger number of people whilst enhancing the dynamism and the initiatives put in place in the three regions”, the organizers said. Five thousand people are expected to attend this meeting, which this year will focus on a very sensitive issue, “Reinventing employment” in a period of serious crisis, especially difficult for France whose unemployment rate has reached 10%, amounting to 6 million people without a job. The- “unjust, blocked, and potentially explosive” situation, stressed the promoters of the Social Week, will be at the centre of debates, conferences and workshops where experts and members of associations and movements will share ideas, proposals and analyses in order to identify “practical solutions to the job crisis”. The situation in the Country. The Social Week could not choose a more appropriate theme given the incandescent social situation in France. The month of November was particularly heated owing to a set of demonstrations promoted by trade unions representing several categories of workers: from the farmers of the Ile-de-France who threatened to block the city of Paris to the difficult ongoing situation in Britain hit by the crisis of the food and agriculture sectors, where serious clashes took place between the demonstrators and the police. Farmers took to the streets to protest against a system of taxation that is hitting an area already severely weakened by the crisis. Support to farmers in Britain was conveyed also by the bishops of Brittany (Rennes, Dol and Saint-Malo, Vannes, Saint-Brieuc et Tréguier, Quimper and Léontesto) who released a message of solidarity to the families calling for social pacification. “It’s hard to talk”, the bishops wrote, when a large number of people are experiencing “serious difficulties” due to job insecurity and unemployment, triggering “anger, despair and the temptation to give in to violence”. The bishops launched a heartfelt appeal: “Do not give in to this temptation, even if the crisis of the agri-food industry has taken a dramatic turn in terms of its scale and its social consequences”. Youth, education, businesses. Young people are among those most direly hit by the effects of the recession, to them the Social Week dedicates special sessions, in view of the fact that the youth unemployment rate has reached 25%. “The job market – say the promoters of the Week – is the victim of a misunderstanding involving the realm of education and the realm of employment. We have a stereotyped view of employment in France that increases the gap separating education and business with serious consequences on young people who approach the labour market with a distorted image, holding educational qualifications that do not match the demand of the job market.  Converging and coordinated efforts. “For over 30 years – said Jérôme Vignon, president of the Social Weeks of France – the problems of the job market have always been the same: unending strikes, young people who strive to find a job despite compulsory early retirements, part-time working hours imposed to some and overworking for others”. France, and Europe as a whole, is coming to grips with the effects of globalization and technological developments that have radically impacted also the working environment. “Are all of these transformations negative?” Vignon said, as he invites to view such changes as a commitment for renewal: the Christian world contributes with possible solutions that stem from Church social thinking. And the goal of the Social Week is thus “to provide the opportunity for an open debate to all those who have at heart the common good” of the Country. “A set of ongoing initiatives will be discussed such as social and solidarity-based economy, a new relationship between training and enterprises along with a new way of considering professional careers. All of these initiatives can prompt a virtuous cycle of change. The question of employment – concludes Vignon – cannot be solved just at the level of enterprises. A converging, coordinated effort is needed at all levels. Concrete proposals are expected for a fundamental issue, which is also a major concern of the French population.