French union, employer talks fail

Paris - French trade unions and employer groups failed to reach agreement on Thursday in a final bid to spur job creation in a moribund market by simplifying rules on worker representation in firms, the government and unions said.

Socialist President Francois Hollande had asked the parties to strike a deal by end-2014 to lift bureaucratic "blockages" to hiring, including rules that force companies to pay for in-house works councils and health and safety committees once they hire their 50th worker.

"Today's plenary confirmed the end of negotiations, and thus their failure," a source from one of the employer groups said.

Economists have long pointed to excessive bureaucracy as a major in France's high unemployment rate, currently stuck above 10%.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls said in a statement that "necessary compromises" should have been possible in the talks.

"However, the absence of an agreement cannot amount to an obstacle to reform to take the country forward," Valls said. "It is now up to the government to take on the modernisation of social dialogue in business."

He added that he would hold a meeting of the various parties on February 19 to discuss the next steps.