Restaurants fail to reach VAT deal
Three out of five unions refuse to sign agreement to improve conditions for staff following €3bn tax cut this summer
RESTAURANTS have missed a December 1 deadline to reach a deal on passing the VAT rate cut on to customers and staff.
Representatives from five major restaurant and hotel unions spent 17 hours in discussions yesterday, but only two of them have signed a formal agreement.
The government had threatened to scrap the reduced 5.5% tax rate - which came into effect in July - if restaurants did not keep their side of the deal.
The CFDT and CGC unions have now signed a contract promising to increase staff salaries by an average of 6%, increase holiday entitlement by two days and give more access to professional training and health insurance.
Permanent workers belonging to the two unions will also benefit from a "VAT bonus" of 2% of their salary - with a minimum of €400 - for the next three years.
To benefit from the cut from 19.6% to 5.5%, restaurant and cafe owners were supposed to sign up to a contrat d’avenir, agreeing to drop the price of at least seven key menu items and improve conditions for staff.
The Senate’s finance committee said last week that the rate cut - which is costing about €3bn a year - could not be justified.
