“Unacceptable”, “scandalous”… Trade unions are outraged by Guerini’s statements about the dismissal of civil servants

No announcement was made. Transformation and Civil Service Minister Stanislas Guerini told Le Parisien newspaper on Tuesday evening that he wanted to “lift the taboo on leaving the civil service”, drawing the ire of trade unions. The Minister particularly wishes to facilitate dismissal in cases of “professional insufficiency”.

“Mr. Guerini’s comments are completely and simply unacceptable,” it announced on Wednesday morning. BFMTV Celine Verzeletti, confederal secretary of the CGT. The trade unions criticize Stanislas Guerini, on the one hand, for the form of this statement, made in the press, and the meeting with the minister took place on Tuesday morning. “It shows how much he despises trade union organizations,” says a trade unionist. “He told us absolutely nothing! We learned about this from the press,” Franceinfo also complains. Natasha Pommet, General Secretary of the CGT Civil Service.

On the other hand, they note the stigmatization of civil servants. “He explains to us that there will be many professional deficiencies, which is completely false, that civil service agents will not work properly and that there will be no framework regarding their professional responsibilities, which is completely false,” insists Céline. Verzeletti.

At the same time, trade unions note that dismissal is already possible in the civil service. But according to Stanislas Guerini, in 2023, only “thirteen dismissals due to professional unsuitability” were announced in the state civil service, “which has 2.5 million agents.” “If at some point an agent is discovered who is not performing his duties correctly, there are several scales of sanctions,” assures BFMTV Christian Grolier, general secretary of the civil servants’ federation Force Ouvrière, calls the minister’s comments “scandalous.” “Is his goal to fire more government employees? he says when they are no longer there, he will also be fired. »

“There is a shortage of 70 thousand positions in the civil service”

Unions also highlight the lack of resources in the public service, which can prevent public servants from carrying out their missions properly. “There are a shortage of 70 thousand positions in the civil service,” he reminded on Wednesday morning. on information about France Ivan Ricordo, deputy secretary general of the CFDT, speaks of a “provocation” on the part of the minister. “The question is not how do we increase redundancies, but how do we make public service attractive (…) We need quality public services, but this is not how we are going to achieve it. »

“Civil service status remains civil service status,” government spokeswoman Prisca Thévenot said with restraint on Wednesday. The goal of this proposal will be, above all, to restore the “meaning” and “efficiency” of these professions, she assured, speaking about the legal text by the end of the year. The goal is “not to save money, but to restore a strong commitment to the work of these men and women.”

In the morning, CGT filed notice of strike in three branches of the civil service from April 15 to September 15, which will therefore cover the period of the Olympic Games (July 26 – August 11) and the Paralympic Games (August 28 – September 8). The union does not mention the issue of layoffs in its press release, but is demanding “continued staffing, wage compensation for professional restrictions caused by the Games, (…) vacation rights, remote work options and shutdowns.” These notifications coincide with notifications from the second civil servants’ union, Force Ouvrière.