three questions on the words of Minister Stanislas Guerini who wants to “lift the taboo of dismissal”

The Minister of Transformation and Public Service pronounced this shocking sentence on Tuesday in the newspaper “Le Parisien”, while he launched consultations with the unions on his civil service reform.

“I want us to lift the taboo of dismissal in the public service.” This is the shocking little sentence from Minister Stanislas Guerini in The Parisian . It does not appear in the documents submitted on Tuesday April 9 to the unions at the opening of a consultation on its future “bill for the efficiency of the civil service” expected at the start of the school year. This reform project aims in particular to increase merit-based pay for civil servants and facilitate transfers from one branch of the civil service to another.

1 What does this sentence actually mean?

Stanislas Guerini refers to dismissals for professional inadequacy. These are not dismissals for misconduct as there may be in the private sector, assure the unions, but it rather resembles a dismissal procedure for incapacity following an illness or accident. There were only thirteen in 2023 according to the minister’s calculations, out of 2.5 million state civil service agents. Dismissal for professional inadequacy in the public service is a “very poorly defined tool and extremely little applied”regrets Wednesday on France Inter Stanislas Guerini, Minister of the Civil Service.

A figure which should “be delighted”, squeaks a union official, because this proves that individual support and training, where appropriate, makes it possible to reclassify agents. The same trade unionist believes that Stanislas Guerini’s only objective is in reality to reduce the wage bill to match the 20 billion euros in budgetary savings already anticipated in the next finance bill.

2 How are the unions and the opposition reacting?

This little sentence is therefore, unsurprisingly, very poorly received. “It’s crazy to say that”, summarizes another unionist. Especially since the minister, on the other hand, neglects to talk about the conventional termination system, tested since 2020 like the private sector and from which 5,300 state civil service agents have benefited just between 2020 and 2022. A number considered relatively important. “He told us absolutely nothing! We learned about it in the press”deplores on franceinfo, Natacha Pommet, general secretary of the CGT Civil Service. This is a method that has been denounced for several months, in the face of this minister who prefers the press to social relations with trade union organizations. We cast shame by making people believe that the 5.5 million civil servants suffer from professional inadequacy.”

“It is purely shameful on the part of a Minister of the Civil Service, from whom we have been waiting for several months for real salary negotiations to increase our salaries and which marks a profound loss of purchasing power in the public service.”

Natacha Pommet, CGT Civil service

on franceinfo

Through the voice of its deputy general secretary, Yvan Ricordeau, the CFDT, speaks of “double provocation” on “the form” and on “the bottom”. “70,000 positions are missing in the public service”recalls Yvan Ricordeau. “We will not make anyone believe that the subject to be discussed is the question of dismissal. The question is how to make the civil service attractive”, he believes. He denounces a method of decision-making “still very vertical, in the way” including the government “think the changes”. Gold, “society today needs dialogue, discussion, appeasement. We need to find ways of compromise”he concludes.

For their part, opposition political parties are up in arms after the comments made by the Minister of the Civil Service. The deputy La France insoumise of Seine-Saint-Denis Thomas Portes judge “absolutely scandalous” the fact of “attacking civil servants under the guise that some are lazy people who do not work well, and that savings will have to be made at the expense of these agents”.

Dismissal in the public service, “it exists” Already “within our rights”underlines Olivier Marleix, president of the Les Républicains deputies on franceinfo on Wednesday. “Will this also apply to incompetent ministers”, retorts Olivier Marleix. You should not throw away “the civil servants in the pasture”. Roger Chudeau, member of the National Rally, considers that this proposal is part of a “through the anti-official”. He points out a vision marked by prejudice, taking up the idea that “our civil servants are known for doing nothing, twiddling their thumbs”.

3 What are the other subjects raised by Stanislas Guerini?

The minister mentioned working time and absenteeism. It states in fact that 200,000 civil servants work less than 1,607 hours per year, working time corresponding to 35 hours per week, and that absenteeism exceeds 14 days on average. This generates, according to the minister, an annual cost of eight billion euros for the State. Remarks “demagogic, symptomatic of deep contempt” for the public service, the CGT is strangling itself. The consultation on the bill therefore seems to be off to a bad start.

Especially since Stanislas Guerini, on the other hand, rejects union demands to establish compulsory annual negotiations (NAO), as in the private sector. Union leaders unanimously deplore the fact that the minister claims to want to strengthen the attractiveness of the civil service but does not want to negotiate and is increasing his provocations. They judge the minister “inconsistent”. To the point that FO, the second organization of civil servants, requested and obtained, according to our information, an audience with Gabriel Attal’s office at the end of the month.