Frozen for more than ten years with the sole exception of 2016, the civil servants’ index point will not budge. Guest on BFM-TV Tuesday, July 6, the Minister of Transformation and the Civil Service, Amélie de Montchalin, announced that only the salaries of category C civil servants would increase.
“I propose a smaller and more targeted envelope to offer 40 to 100 euros net more per month depending on seniority for category C, the lowest”, said the minister. This increase concerns 1.2 million civil servants in this lowest paid category in the three public functions: the State, local communities and public hospitals. According to the minister, the increase represents a budget of two billion euros.
This announcement comes as the trade unions of the public service are received by the Minister on Tuesday morning, on the occasion of a “Salary meeting”. The unions have been demanding, in vain, for years a revaluation of purchasing power for the 5.5 million civil servants. But Amélie de Montchalin justified her refusal to increase the index point:
“The index point will not increase. Increasing it by 1% costs two billion euros to public finances (…) Increasing it would mean increasing everyone by the same percentage. With an increase of 1%, those at the bottom of the scale have[aient] between 10 and 14 euros more per month when it will be hundreds of euros for the directors in the ministries. “
With the exception of 2016 when it was revalued by 1.2%, the index point, which is used to calculate the remuneration of public officials, has been frozen since 2010. The unions unanimously denounce a loss of purchasing power which penalizes the lowest salaries and the attractiveness of public service professions.
“Barometer of equality”
On Tuesday, the minister also pledged to “Raise the wages of contract workers and ensure that they are all above the minimum wage”. ” We will ensure that there are a lot of promotions, we will launch an equality barometer as in the private sector. Since 2017, we have had a coherent salary policy ”, assured Mme by Montchalin.
“We were behind in trades such as teachers, law enforcement, caregivers, she admitted. There are also inequalities within the public service on low wages, between Paris and the province, men and women. “ With equal skills and seniority, the pay gap between men and women is on average 13% in the public service.
The Minister also recalled a measure already announced: the lump sum support by public employers of complementary health insurance that public officials have financed alone until now.
This coverage of at least 50% of the cost of complementary health insurance for all public officials regardless of their status was a highly anticipated measure, the application of which will be gradual: from 2022 for the civil service of the State (FPE) and up to 15 euros monthly until 2026 for the territorial (FPT) and hospital (FPH).