Reducing Social Inequalities through the Implementation of Effective Right to Employment: The Case of French Experiment “TZCLD”

Abstract

The “Territoire Zéro Chômeur de Longue Durée” (TZCLD) project—Zero Long-Term Unemployed Territory (ZLTUT)—is an experimental initiative that has been running in France since 2016. Its aim is to fight long-term unemployment on a territorial scale by reintegrating into the labor market people who have been out of work for a long time. TZCLD (ZLTUT) is a public policy measure based on an original conception of employment and work, and on innovative tools and methods for reintegrating long-term unemployed into the labor market. This project is based on three key ideas. Firstly, “no one is unemployable.” Secondly, “there is no shortage of work.” Thirdly, “there is no shortage of money.” Respecting and articulating these three precepts make effective the right to employment. We show that this original “job guarantee” experiment helps to reduce social inequalities.