Background information

On 28 June 2022, the government announced a general increase of 3.5% in the index point for civil servants. This is effective from 1 July for all civil servants (State, public hospital and local authority staff). This is a historic increase in the index point, the highest since 1985, i.e. 37 years. It represents a total cost of €7.5 billion.

Content of measure

The general 3.5% increase in the index point for public servants will allow for an increase in the remuneration of public servants.

The Ministry of the Economy has given some concrete examples of this increase:

• A front-office receptionist at the beginning of his or her career will receive an increase of €543 net per year (i.e., €45.3 per month).
• A town hall secretary with 15 years' seniority will receive an increase of €687 net per year (or €57.3 per month).
• A midwife with 20 years' seniority will receive an increase of €1,330 per year (or €110.8 per month).

In addition, with the increase in the index point, the 700,000 agents who were paid at the level of the SMIC (minimum wage) will now be paid above the SMIC level. From 1 July 2022, there will no longer be any public servants paid at the SMIC level alone.

Use of measure

This measure applies to all public servants.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Employees in standard employment Workers in non-standard forms of employment	Does not apply to businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Consulted	Consulted
Form	Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies	Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Only trade unions
• Main level of involvement: Sectoral or branch level

Involvement

The government has launched a "Pay conference" to discuss with the representative trade unions about the increase of the public sector wages. Therefore, trade unions were consulted and could give their opinion.

Views and reactions

Although the trade unions have taken note of the 3.5% increase in the index point, they would like the government to do better for the purchasing power of civil servants. The Confédération générale du travail / General Confederation of Labour (CGT), the first representative organisation in the public sector, asked before the pay conference for a 'minimum of 10%', retroactivity to 1 January and indexation of the index point to inflation. The decision taken does not suit it.

The Confédération Française démocratique du Travail / French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT) considers that 3.5% is not a negligible first step and is satisfied that the measure concerns civil servants but also contractual workers. Furthermore, it demands additional measures of social justice because for it 'to act only on the value of the point is to the advantage of the highest salaries'. In particular, it considers once again that special attention should be paid to 'the bottom of the grid of the B and C categories of civil servants'.

Confédération Générale du Travail-Force Ouvrière / General Confederation of Labour – Force ouvrière (FO) is disappointed: 'it is clearly insufficient. For civil servants, the loss of purchasing power amounts to 25% since 2000. We'll see at the beginning of the school year, it's not in July that you're going to mobilise. We will consult and, by then, we will also know what the government will do about the pension reform'.

Sources

• 28 June 2022: Press kit - 2022 Wage Conference (www.transformation.gouv.fr)
• 07 July 2022: Décret n° 2022-994 du 7 juillet 2022 portant majoration de la rémunération des personnels civils et militaires de l'Etat, des personnels des collectivités territoriales et des établissements publics d'hospitalisation (www.legifrance.gouv.fr)