French trade unions attack "precarious" employment proposals

French unions have denounced government plans to allow companies to dismiss young workers without justification for up to two years after they have been taken on.

Prime minister Dominique de Villepin announced the plans on 16 January. They would mean that companies employing more than 20 people could take on staff aged under 26 on what is effectively a two-year probationary period.

During that time the employer can dismiss the individual without providing a reason. One benefit for the individual dismissed is that he or she receives a payment of €460 a month for two-months, provided that they have worked for at least four months.

The arrangement matches a similar plan, introduced last August, which provided for a two-year probation period for all staff, but only in companies with fewer than 20 staff.

De Villepin argues that the new contract offers "a direct entry into stable employment" for young people .

François Chérèque, general secretary of the CFDT, one of the two largest union confederations, accuses the prime minister of imposing "precarious employment on all young peoples, even those, such as graduates, who have no problem finding a job".

The other major confederation, the CGT, sees the measure as "a new step in the deregulation of rights at work".