French labor law reforms will make it easier to hire, fire
President Emmanuel Macron’smost daring undertaking, re forming France’ s nearly sacrosanct labor laws, gotcheers and jeers as it went publicThursday. It trims unionpowers, adds a voice forsmall businesses and createseasier ways to hire and fireworkers.
Themeasures meant to foster growth, reduce the nation’ s stubbornly high revolutionize theway the French work will geta hearing in the streets, withtwo protests planned for September.
Overhauling France’ s complexlabor laws, which authoritiessay have proved a hindranceto investors and employers,is part of a larger programby Mr. Macron to stimulate France’ s sluggish economy.The high-stakes movecomes just as the new 39-year-old president’s popularityis sinking. But plans to makethe labor market more flexiblewere at the heart of hiselection campaign.
Opponentshave feared changeswill weaken France’shard-won worker protectionsthat have become globally synonymous with theenvied French lifestyle. Left-wingopponents fear the changeshand too much powerto profit-focused bosses.
Onekey measure proposedby the government trims the role of unions, notably in small-and medium size companies.
Underthe reforms, companieswith fewer than 50 employeescan negotiate work ruleswith an elected colleague— not unionized — andcompanies with fewer than20 employees can negotiate directly with their workers.
Anothernew measure capsthe financial penalty for companiessued by dismissed employees, easing concerns ofbosses who fear that firing hasbecome too costly. The measure creates a scale of remuneration based on the employee’ s seniority.
Yet another change simplifies the departures of a group of employees if the company needs to adapt its staff, with direct negotiations with those leaving.
Hurricane Irma worsens
HurricaneIrma continued itsrapid power grab Thursday,with wind speeds increasingby more than 55 mphsince Wednesday to becomea major Category 3 storm.
National Hurricane Center forecasters said sustained winds had climbed to 115mph as the storm headed tothe west, northwest at 12 mph.Irma remains in the far eastAtlantic, . Up and down changesin intensity are possibleover the next few days, forecasters said, but the stormis expected to remain a majorhurricane that could becomea Category 4 storm in fourdays.
Bhutto assassination
In a surprise development, a terrorism court in Pakistan on Thursday acquitted five suspected Taliban and al-Qaida militants in the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and declared former ruler Pervez Musharraf a fugitive in the case, lawyers said.
No one other than Mr. Musharraf is facing charges.
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Diplomats inBrussels involved in the latest negotiating session on Britain’s exit fromthe European Union saydiscussions have become moreacrimonious. ... Three boatscarrying ethnic Rohingyafleeing violence in Myanmarhave capsized in Bangladeshand 26 bodies of women and children have been recovered, officials said. ... Rescuers worked through the night removing the rubble of a collapsed apartment building in India’s financial capital of Mumbai where at least 24 people have died.