Legislators in France have voted to allow companies to sidestep the 35-hour workweek by negotiating individual overtime agreements with their employees.
The new legislation, which was passed by Parliament late Wednesday night and which will take effect in September, is the boldest step yet in stripping what many view as an emblematic labor law, without quite getting rid of it. While the workweek limit is as good as buried, every hour beyond 35 that is worked will be considered overtime and will therefore be more expensive.
"We wanted to put an end to the rigidity of the labor market" Labor Minister Xavier Bertrand, one of the chief architects of the change, said Thursday on France Info radio. "Everything will be negotiated company by company."
The opposition Socialist Party, which reduced the statutory workweek to 35 hours from 39 hours a decade ago, voted against the changes, accusing the government of pandering to big business at the expense of workers.
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