Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux: “We must get out of low-cost logic to increase wages” – BFMTV

Pressed by the government to increase wages, companies respond through the voice of the President of Medef that it will be necessary to accept the inflationary consequences.

“Work has to pay.” It is the message hammered out by Bruno Le Maire this Wednesday at the Medef summer university. Invited on BFM Business, Geoffroy Roux de Bezieux was skeptical about the solution advocated by the government.

“I am not sure that it is up to Bruno Le Maire to know whether or not to increase salaries, assures the president of Medef. It is up to the business manager to decide.”

The boss also believes that French companies do not have to be ashamed of their salary policy during the crisis.

“Salaries have been increased, purchasing power has increased in 2020, it is still a very special case in the midst of a crisis, purchasing power is increasing,” recalls Geoffroy Roux de Bezieux. In addition, France is the country where growth is best shared. It is the country where there is the most employee share ownership, it is the country where there is profit-sharing and participation. “

In principle, the boss of Medef is not hostile to the increase in wages. But according to him, it will be necessary to accept the inflationary consequences.

“We must not be mistaken, he warns. If we increase wages in restaurants, for example, the immediate consequence is inflation. low-cost. Another example: cleaning: these are very complicated schedules, it is paid at minimum wage. And we are told that it is these famous second lines which are not paid enough. Yes, but in the cleaning functions, the calls for tenders from large companies and the State must not be fair to the best financial value. Because these are jobs where salaries represent 80 to 90% of added value. “

The attractiveness of jobs is not the only question

To massively increase wages, it is the low-cost software that concerns the entire economy and public procurement that must be changed. What the Medef boss himself admits will be long and complex.

And if he recognizes that companies have difficulty in recruiting, the attractiveness of jobs is not the only question, according to him.

“It is multifactorial, estimates Geoffroy Roux de Bezieux. The remuneration and the quality of work play a role. But there are other elements: first there is the geography. We are the OECD country where the employees travel the least to change jobs. And you have to work on it. Then there are training problems: often training is not adapted to job offers. “

The last sticking point mentioned by the president of Medef is that of unemployment insurance.

“We have a system which is very expensive, very complex and which in certain cases discourages employees from taking up a job, in certain cases it is better to do” permit “, that is to say alternate very short periods of work, periods of unemployment, the income is about the same as if you work full time, “he said.

With the unemployment reform which should come into full effect in October, the government hopes that this last point will be resolved.