Lhe globalization and the unlimited exploitation of exhaustible resources, the unfair distribution of wealth and its effects on the climate expose us to major crises: health, social, environmental, economic and geopolitical. Awareness is all the more brutal the later it comes. The inaction of recent decades has considerably reduced the room for maneuver for a socially sustainable ecological transition.
It is therefore urgent to act with founding means of action for a more united, more ecological, more civic-minded society. In the range of structural and structuring changes to be made in the face of these numerous challenges, France can take advantage of its public services and its level of social protection. The UNSA pleads for a significant reinvestment in public services and the civil service, common good, cement of our model and bearer of the future for our country and our children.
Public services carry out activities of general interest and their existence and functioning result from socialized contributions. They participate in reducing the gaps between citizens. The rules specific to them constitute a bulwark against conflicts of interest and strengthen social cohesion. This specificity must continue and be amplified because, the greater the uncertainties, the more the confidence of citizens in public services must be a point of support to face crises.
Energy sobriety is a first step
Faced with perils, the principles of continuity, equality and mutability of public services are real assets. The health crisis is a perfect illustration of this, as is the fight against fires. This context implies reactivating the very foundations of public services: meeting the needs of citizens, reviewing their outlines and their objectives.
Water management, energy, transport, information, training, education, security, justice, personal assistance, health, culture, sport, early childhood, dependency… all require significant investment. Public services and infrastructure also contribute to the development and protection of private sector activities.
To deal with climate change, public employers must set an example. The concrete implementation of energy sobriety requires savings and the support of agents, but above all significant investments now and over a long period. A massive plan to insulate and transform public buildings, to replace day-to-day management with a medium- and long-term structuring vision is urgently needed.
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