The Minister of Education, Anne Genetet, defended on Sunday, November 17, the Government’s desire to establish three days of waiting in case of sick leave for civil servants, considering that there is no ” reason “ oppose a “equal treatment” with the private sector.
“The waiting period, the idea, is to align. This is what was proposed, that it be aligned with private sector employees, that there be no difference. “I see no reason why anyone would oppose equal treatment for all working people.”said m.me Genetet during the program “Political Questions” on France Inter, France Télévisions AND The world.
Teachers “They are civil servants like other public functions, they are affected by these decisions”he said again, while adding that “Behind it, it is not so much what is the main topic of teaching today as the difficulties of practicing the profession and its attractiveness”. “If we look only at the absences of our teachers due to illness, they are the least absent public service compared to the others, hospitable and territorial”the minister moderated. “They are no more or less absent than private sector employees”he added.
Unions’ anger
At the end of October, the Government announced savings measures for the civil service worth €1.2 billion, including the introduction of three (unpaid) waiting days in the event of sick leave for civil servants, to align the conditions of public and private compensation.
Although the private sector benefits in many cases from collective agreements that cover these three days, these announcements crystallized the anger of the unions, which called for a national day. “action” and of ” strike “ on December 5th.
According to a report from the General Directorate of Administration and Public Function (DGAFP) published on Friday, public sector agents were absent 12 days on average in 2023, or 1.7 days more than private sector employees (10.3 days ). The gap between the days of absence of public officials and private sector employees has narrowed compared to 2022, when it was 2.8 days.
