UPDATE 2-French pension reform to impact new workers from 2022 - media

President Emmanuel Macron's pension reforms will apply in full to new entrants to the labor force from 2022 but the transition to a universal points-based system for those already working could be delayed as long as 2035, French media reported on Wednesday. Public-sector strikes extended into a seventh day ahead of Prime Minister Edouard Philippe's unveiling of the draft reform to overhaul the byzantine pension system that offers some of the most generous retirement benefits in the industrialized world.

There were signs of mounting irritation among morning commuters as they grappled with a skeleton train and metro service in the capital, Paris. "I've had it today," said one frustrated traveler as he battled his way through a crowded platform.

Philippe told ruling party lawmakers on Tuesday that there were no magic announcements that could persuade the country's most hardline unions to drop their demands for the reform to be abandoned. The government will hope to create tangible benefits under a universal, points-based system to divide those under the new regime from those who refuse to let go of old privileges, some of which date back centuries, analysts said.

France Inter radio reported that the system would affect young people starting a new job from Jan. 1, 2022, and that from thAT date there would be a minimum pension of 1,000 euros ($1,102) per month for those who have worked a full career. President Macron is determined to simplify a system that comprises more than 40 separate pension plans. He says a single, points-based system would be fairer, giving every pensioner the same rights for each euro contributed.

But unions say Macron wants to strip workers of hard-earned benefits in order to balance the state budget. The strongest opposition has come from the beneficiaries of a dozen 'special benefits' plans, including rail workers, dockers and Paris Opera singers who are entitled to retire on a full pension years before the average retirement age of 62.

The government has said it could delay switch to the new pension regime for those workers. In the second day of mass protests on Tuesday, the strikes shut schools and caused transport chaos but the number of people taking to the streets dropped by more than half from last week, strengthening President Emmanuel Macron's hand.

Even so, the hard-left unions showed no sign of backing down in a battle of political will that could make or break Macron's presidency. The CGT called for further protests on Dec. 12 and Dec. 17. ($1 = 0.9073 euros)