There was an urgent need to find new savings in public spending. The Barnier government made a decision on Sunday by announcing upcoming amendments to the finance law which will tighten up the coverage of sick leave for civil servants. The executive intends to align the public system with that of the private sector by establishing three waiting days, that is to say unpaid, in the event of absence, compared to only one day currently. It would also involve increasing the compensation of absent civil servants to 90% of their remuneration compared to 100% currently.
These measures have been on the table since the publication, in September, of a report from the General Inspectorate of Finance and that of Social Affairs, which estimated the activation of these measures at 1.2 billion euros in savings. two levers. The announcement nonetheless triggered a barrage from all trade union organizations. They point out in particular that two thirds of private sector employees, due to sector or company agreements, do not have a waiting day, as they are covered by their employer.
186 € brut
The reform will result in a loss of purchasing power for civil servants, particularly those with low incomes. The think tank Le Sens du service public has calculated that the salary loss of three days of waiting time for a category C agent in mid-career will be €186 gross.
To justify this tightening of the screws, the government relies on the calculations of general inspections, according to which the cost of paid days not worked would have represented 15 billion euros in 2022, or the equivalent of 350,000 full-time jobs. Emmanuel Macron’s party – which restored the waiting day for civil servants in 2018 – approves Michel Barnier’s arbitration. “In recent years there have been an explosion of sick leave short-term »notes Ludovic Mendès, one of the deputy spokespersons for the Renaissance group. “The situation is unsustainable neither for businesses nor for public finances. »
The deputy for Moselle, who comes from the Socialist Party, recognizes, however, that the debate remains open. “We could imagine that these non-working days are paid but must be recovered by the civil servant”, he envisions.
Professional wear
According to general inspections, the decline in public sector sick leave mainly concerns the territorial civil service. A reality that Murielle Fabre, general secretary of the Association of Mayors of France, does not deny, but which according to her is partly explained by the nature of the jobs. “It is in communities that we find a high proportion of technical professions such as maintenance workers or childminders, where salaries are low and professional wear and tear is higher. » Murielle Fabre sees in the government’s announcement a budgetary logic which will not alone resolve the complex subject of absenteeism.
An analysis shared by Bernard Vivier, director of the Higher Labor Institute. “The image of the lazy civil servant does not reflect reality, insists the specialist. Civil service agents suffer from a lack of recognition and an absence of management culture. Alignment with the private sector for sick leave is not unhealthy in itself but we should not expect anything other than a contribution to reducing the public deficit. »
No employer accountability
Co-founder of Sens du service publique, Johan Theuret, for his part, considers other much less stigmatizing levers to be priorities. In the private sector, companies which have a high rate of work accidents or sick leave suffer financial penalties which fund the insurance funds. “Conversely in the public service, there is no employer accountability,” regrets Johan Theuret, who also denounces the cruel lack of prevention of risks and professional wear and tear.
Also deputy general director of Rennes Métropole, he ensures that the rate of absenteeism is lower than the national average among the 6,000 agents of this community. “We have put the package into prevention, it is paying off”estimates the civil servant, for whom the budgetary measure risks further weakening a public service that is less and less attractive.
