DIPLOMA D'UNIVERSITÉ | Droit et Pratique du dialogue social

Labor law reform is gathering pace, and the center of gravity is shifting even more strongly towards collective agreement. The "El Khomri" law clearly assumes this direction, begun several years ago, and reinforces the primacy of company agreements while consolidating the role of the branch. This overhaul of labor law offers an opportunity to better adapt the rule of law to a world of work that is diversifying faster and more intensely.

This commitment to collective agreement, shared by many European Union countries, calls for a change in the behavior of collective bargaining players. However, the situation is far from satisfactory. Not only are "the social partners not making sufficient use of the flexibility that the law gives them to derogate from the 'standard' regulatory framework" (M. Valls, letter dated April^1, 2015 addressed to Jean-Denis Combrexelle, President of the Social Section of the Conseil d'Etat), but a culture of collective bargaining has not yet taken hold in our country.

To give collective bargaining a new dynamic, the Combrexelle report, submitted to the Prime Minister on September 9, 2015, recommends setting up joint union/company training courses.

The "El Khomri" law takes up this proposal by inserting into the Labor Code (art. L. 2212-1) several provisions on the organization of joint training courses delivered by training centers, institutes or bodies with the assistance of the National Institute for Work, Employment and Vocational Training.