“I have never been caught failing to criticize agents,” defends Stanislas Guerini

Since the interview he gave to “Parisien” about his reform project, the Minister of Transformation and Public Service has faced strong criticism. He responded to it on Wednesday on France Inter.

“I have never been caught failing to criticize public officials,” defends himself Wednesday April 10 on France Inter Stanislas Guerini, Minister of the Civil Service. On Tuesday, he made a shocking statement in the newspaper The Parisianwhile he launched consultations with the unions on his reform: “I want us to lift the taboo of dismissal in the public service”, he declared, drawing criticism.

However, there was no mention of this in the documents provided to the unions. Once again, the method “shock”notably denounced on franceinfo Natacha Pommet, general secretary of the CGT Civil Service. The minister highlights the “rights and duties” agents. Natacha Pommet recalls that‘”there are processes that already exist”, as “disciplinary processes” Or “professional inadequacy”.

Dismissal for professional inadequacy in the public service is a “very poorly defined tool and extremely little applied”, replies Stanislas Guerini, who is considering an expansion of sanctions. Stanislas Guerini believes that when in “a work collective of 100 people, one person does not do their job”, then this has consequences for the rest of the team, and this can be “demotivating for the other 99” employees. He reports that last year, on “2.2 million public officials”there have been “13 dismissals for professional inadequacy” And “222” dismissals for misconduct.

No questioning of the “job guarantee”

Oppositions accuse him in particular of propagating the stereotype of lazy civil servants. Stanislas Guerini denies this and assures that “that’s not the message [qu’il] wants to pass on. He thus points the finger “all the beautiful souls who are offended that we can simply say things as they are.” But he also wants to make it clear that it is not the civil servants he is criticizing, but “the system that prevents public officials from moving, evolving and being promoted”.

The Minister of the Civil Service maintains that he does not wish “to call into question” the status of the civil service, which presupposes a “job guarantee”. He also welcomes the fact that he “there will be no economic layoffs in the public service” and that when we “removes an administrative service, we entrust another mission to public agents”. However, according to Stanislas Guerini, this status does not mean “that you can’t fire someone who doesn’t do their job well.”

Evaluate services in terms of quality and pay better for work

Stanislas Guerini pleads for a “assessment” of the public service “in terms of quality of public service”. He thus considers that fellow citizens “expect a lot from our public service”and especially “that people pick up the phone when they call a counter, that justice goes faster, that they are protected, and that the question of replacing teachers is better understood.” “Considering that talking about results, performances, merits for our public services is the privatization or financialization of our public services is not facing reality, it is an admission of tremendous failure on our public services”, therefore deplores the minister. He also explains why he wants to abolish the historical categories (A, B and C) of the civil service. “This system blocks things a lot, puts glass ceilings over the heads of agents”linked to the diplomas obtained, he argues.

This proposal is part of a civil service reform project, which Stanislas Guerini launched on Tuesday. It therefore provides for a “consultation with trade union organizations”. “We will take the time, until the summer, to work on different directions” around three main objectives, he assures. The Minister of the Civil Service mentions, for example, a “mobility objective” to allow “to enter the civil service more easily, to progress there, to be promoted more easily and to leave it more easily”. “Work must pay better, we must be able to reward the individual and collective commitment of agents and we must have more tools to promote professions and skills,” he adds.