three questions on the remuneration of civil servants

Nearly 6 million public sector workers are expected to strike on Tuesday for better salaries.

The civil service is on strike Tuesday March 19. Some 5.7 million agents from all sectors are called to mobilize by the eight unions, who are demanding general salary increases. The organizations deplore the lack of response from the government. The unions are demanding new general increases, after those of 3.5% and 1.5% agreed in 2022 and 2023.

Gatherings are planned in the morning in front of many prefectures and sub-prefectures, such as in Nantes, Besançon or Cambrai. Despite rare inter-union unity in the call for mobilization, representative organizations expect lower percentages of strikers than during the demonstrations against pension reform in early 2023 (15% to 30% of strikers depending on the sector).

1 Where are the salaries of civil servants?

According to the latest figures from INSEE, a civil service agent receives on average 2,431 euros net per month, all statuses combined. But salaries vary depending on several criteria. Permanent civil servants earn around 2,500 euros net monthly compared to just under 2,000 euros for contract workers, for example.

The remuneration of civil servants itself depends on the categories. Category A being the best paid, followed by categories B and C. Finally, salaries depend on where the agent works: the state civil service is the one that pays the best, with just over 2,600 euros. monthly, followed by the hospital public service, at just under 2,600 euros. Community agents earn 2,000 euros net per month.

The territorial civil service is also the one which has evolved the least in recent years, due to a lack of specific measures such as the Ségur de la santé for example.

2 Have public sector salaries been increased since 2021?

There were two general increases, for all agents, of 3.5% in 2022 and 1.5% in 2023. The ministry indicates that the general increases decided last year will represent 6 billion euros for 2024 .

But these increases are insufficient in the face of inflation, for the unions. They are demanding a further increase in the value of the index point, which is used to calculate the salary of civil servants and a distribution of points to all agents.

The unions are also worried about these 10 billion euros in savings announced by Bruno Le Maire, including 800 million for the public service alone. With the risk, they point out, of retirements which will not be replaced, while around 70,000 jobs are not filled in the public service.

3 Is there a battle of numbers between the ministry and the trade union organizations?

The ministry ensures that the purchasing power of public employees has been maintained since 2022, thanks to 13.8 billion euros spent on general increases, measures for the lowest salaries or exceptional bonuses.

But the unions reject this diagnosis: “All of this results in an increase in the payroll, then we divide by the number of agents and we are told ‘you see you have gained purchasing power’, decrypts Mylène Jacquot is general secretary of CFDT Civil Service. However, an increase in the payroll, translated for agents at the level of women and men, is not necessarily an increase in salary for both.” The unions, for their part, highlight figures from INSEE, according to which the pay of private sector employees increased twice as quickly as that of civil servants between 2011 and 2021.