Local elected officials open to a moderate and staggered increase in the salaries of civil servants

While discussions on pay in the public service are in full swing between the government and the unions, local authorities have no illusions about an upcoming further increase in the index point.

“The elected officials understand that it is necessary to increase remuneration and are open to a moderate revaluation of the index point [qui sert de base au calcul de la rémunération des agents publics , NDLR] “, indicates Philippe Laurent, UDI mayor of Sceaux and spokesperson for the Coordination of territorial public employers. This body was received Tuesday by Stanislas Guerini, the Minister of Public Service, to talk about purchasing power and attractiveness.

” At the end of the year “

For territorial employers, it would be desirable that it “take place at the end of the year”, and not on the 1er July as in 2022, and if possible “in several times”, he adds. “Our budgets are not set up for this, especially since they have already been very difficult to stop with rising energy costs . Very few communities are able to cope with a significant increase in the index point. Whatever people say, we are in a tense situation. In 2022, it had already been complicated to absorb the 3.5% revaluation during the year”, justifies Philippe Laurent. If such a measure were to intervene, “this must naturally exclude any desire to control local spending”, he insists.

With inflation which has continued to rise since last July’s revaluation, the pressure is in any case at its highest. The civil service trade unions, which Stanislas Guerini has been meeting since the beginning of the week and until Friday, are calling for a general increase of at least 3.5% as well as measures for the lowest salaries.

Territorial employers are also “in favor of upgrades for category C agents”, who constitute the bulk of their workforce, explains Philippe Laurent. With the recent increase in the minimum salary in the public service to the level of the SMIC on 1er last May, “more than 30% of territorial civil servants are now at the minimum wage”, he underlines.

The challenge is all the stronger for local authorities that “they do not have many levers” to attract candidates or retain their agents, as explained by the elected Ile-de-France. “For those who want it and who can, there is the compensation plan [les primes, NDLR]. But it is very low for category C agents,” he points out. Stanislas Guerini hopes to announce salary measures in June.