The Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti announced Tuesday, February 21 in Agen a "historic" evolution of the status of all prison officers, long demanded by the unions of prison guards but postponed in 2019 by the government. "As of January 1, 2024, the body of prison guards will move to category B [of the public service] and that of officers to category A", announced the minister before the 215th promotion of the National School of Prison Administration ( ENAP).
Recruitment crisis
"This is a historic breakthrough because it has long been requested and totally deserved, you who embody the third security force of our country" with 40,000 agents, he added. This reform aims to improve the "attractiveness" of this administration, which has been facing a recruitment crisis for several years while thousands of jobs are to be filled. It will involve "a significant index and indemnity revaluation", said Mr. Dupond-Moretti. According to the chancellery, a decision on this should be taken in May or June.
In January 2019, this same statutory change, then defended by several trade unions, had been refused by Minister of Justice Nicole Belloubet on the grounds that it "would have the effect of prohibiting the recruitment [as supervisors] of people who do not have the baccalaureate, a diploma essential for a category B position. About a third of current prison guards do not have this diploma, according to the ministry.
However, the Minister pointed out to the new promotion of ENAP that the reform would make it possible to organize the recruitment of contract agents, category C, without the compulsory baccalaureate, to "assist" the prison guards. They could carry out, according to the chancellery, specific missions such as the surveillance of visiting rooms.
