PISIER, Evelyne

Fonctionnaires : des personnels dépersonnalisés - Paris : IIAP, janv./mars 1989

The malaise in the public sector reflects a real identity crisis among civil servants. Until recently, the civil service regulations established identity. They were seen as inseparable from the public service, and as guaranteeing at one and the same time the protection of public servants and the effectiveness of the civil service. The current debate on the State's effectiveness seriously criticizes the "general and impersonal" status of civil servants which is prescribed by the civil service regulations and the concept of the "depersonalization". The civil servant finds his identity being called into question, especially in three highly sensitive areas: access to the civil service, procedures for exercising the right to strike, and wages policy. In the last analysis, it appears that only an "overhaul of the public service" will allow civil servants to recover their identity and give the aims of "personalization" and differentiation any real chance of success