Toulouse: activists challenge passers-by against unemployment insurance reform
About ten people are gathering on Wednesday in downtown Toulouse to encourage passers-by to demonstrate against the unemployment insurance reform on December 4.
Disguised as Père Fouettard or a snowman, the demonstrators bet on lightness to challenge the people of Toulouse. “It is to symbolize the freezing of social rights” explains the musician Mathieu Torres by replacing his false nose in the shape of a carrot.
This Wednesday, at the beginning of the afternoon, there are about ten of them strolling between Place Wilson, the Capitole and rue d’Alsace-Lorraine, haranguing passers-by and distributing leaflets. Their mission, to convince the passer-by to join the mobilization, organized on December 4, against the reform of unemployment insurance. Yesterday the last two measures entered into force. Now, the conditions for entitlement are tightened. It will be necessary to have worked 6 months out of the last 24 (36 months for those over 53) to benefit from it, against four before the reform. For employees under 57 with a gross monthly income above 4,500 euros, the declining unemployment benefit will apply from the 7th month and no longer to the 9th month as before. “It’s complicated to mobilize for unemployment, nobody cares,” laments Lalou *, an activist from Toulouse. “We walk around to make people understand that this reform concerns all employees. “
At his side, Daniel Mémain, employment center advisor in Ariège and regional secretary of the South union: “Today is the government’s third mass coup against the unemployed. We must mobilize massively ”. Relatively rare, the trade union organizations of Pôle Emploi are all opposed to this reform. They will be joined by a dozen collectives and associations of civil society. The meeting is given on Saturday December 4 at 2 p.m., Place Arnaud Bernard.