Jospin urges civil servants to accept reforms

Ulhas Joglekar ulhasj at bom4.vsnl.net.in
Fri Mar 24 05:09:54 PST 2000


Thursday 23 March 2000

Jospin urges civil servants to accept reforms PARIS: French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin on Wednesday urged civil servants to accept reforms after striking state employees forced the government to withdraw plans to streamline the French treasury and tax collection system. "They cannot stand aside from general trends," Jospin said during an interview with RTL radio. "You cannot remain stuck when everyone else is moving around you." Jospin's call for movement was directed at all of France's civil servants, whose powerful unions are major players on the political scene. The remarks came a day after a key policy statement on pensions, in which the Prime Minister urged civil service unions to accept a plan to work for 40 years rather than the current 37.5 years, before qualifying for a full pension. Jospin said any decision on the proposed change would be taken after negotiations with the unions. He refused to comment on reports that Finance Minister Christian Sautter wanted to resign after he was forced to drop his plans to reform the nation's unwieldy tax collection system. Strikes had shut down many of the country's tax offices. "I have no intention of discussing how government jobs are allocated in public," Jospin said after he was asked whether Sautter and embattled Education Minister Claude Allegre may be leaving as part of a broader Cabinet reshuffle. Jospin defended his government's record since coming to power nearly three years ago, saying the economy is performing well, unemployment is falling an d taxes are being cut. The Prime Minister has recently come under fire from those who say the Socialist-led coalition government has lost momentum, failing to implement much-needed economic and social reforms. In the public sector, employees from teachers to hospital staff have waged strikes in recent weeks to call for more resources. Teachers have also called for Allegre's resignation. (AP) For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service
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