The executive is launching the RSA reform project. During the presidential campaign last March, the candidate Emmanuel Macron said that he wanted to condition the payment of this benefit to 15 to 20 hours of training or activity per week, strengthening support for the beneficiaries. “A matter of dignity, not guilt,” according to the head of state.
Because “it is not enough to pay an allowance. What we want is for everyone to be able to get ahead and recover their dignity through work”, said Elisabeth Borne at the beginning of July. According to information from echoes, an experiment will begin in the fall “in about ten pilot territories in 5 to 10 departments.” Before a generalization planned for 2024.
Support to participating RSA grantees will be strengthened. After a “unified diagnosis-orientation” phase, the different actors (CAF, local missions, etc.) that support the beneficiary will be able to follow the progress of their reintegration process through a common software. Finally, the idea is to be inspired by the Youth Commitment Contract (which foresees precisely 15 to 20 hours of activity per week) favoring periods of immersion in the company.
Departments will still have some flexibility. They will determine the sanctions to be applied in the event of non-compliance with the commitments set forth in the contract. They are also the ones who will mark the number of weekly hours that a recipient will have to work according to his profile. Elisabeth Borne had indicated in particular that this obligation “does not concern people facing serious health or addiction problems, psychological problems, difficulties in caring for children”.
Low rate of return to employment
With this reform, the government wants to respond to one of the main weaknesses of the RSA: support. Because if the current system already provides for a contract with rights and duties (reciprocal commitment contract, CER), a recent report by the Court of Auditors underlined that the RSA did not fully fulfill its role in terms of reinstatement.
And for good reason, only 50% of RSA beneficiaries have a CER and these contracts fall far short of re-entry goals as 76% of them do not contain any action geared towards job search readiness. . Not to mention that “the number of shares offered is very low (often less than two shares per contract),” the Sages noted.
Finally, the Court of Auditors recalled that the rate of return to employment of the beneficiaries was only 3.9% per month in 2019. A much lower level than the average of job seekers (8.2%). Furthermore, seven years after entering the RSA system, only 34% have left and have a job. And among them, only a third have a stable job. 24% also left the RSA unemployed and 42% are still in the RSA.
Source: BFM TV
