The real wage increase of civil servants per hour worked is around 10% after the reduction in working hours

Civil servants will have a double salary increase this year.

On the one hand, the rise of 2.5%, which can reach 3.5% depending on the behavior of the CPI and the growth of the economy, which is part of the multi-year agreement for the remuneration improvement.

And, on the other, the one that they will register as a consequence of the reduction of the working day by 6.7%: from 37.5 to 35 hours a week.

The result, according to BBVA Research estimates, is that public workers will enjoy a

.

A rise that in the private sector seems difficult to bear, and of which there is certainly

.

For example, Telefónica has announced a 7.8% rise this week, which, even though it is very notable, is still far away;

in sectors such as construction, an increase of 10% was agreed, but over three years;

and in Mercadona they have risen 5.7% for this year although in this case their workers have already received a substantial improvement in 2022. In any case, the BBVA research service points out that the reductions in working hours must be accompanied by improvements of productivity or salary adjustments, and that it is essential that they be evaluated, something that there is no record of having occurred in the public sector.

What is certain is that the change in working hours is the result of many years of requests and pressure from civil servants, and that it is in line with what is customary in the European Union.

Public Function, for its part, points out that the 35-hour day is already in force, and that its full implementation during this year depends on the agreements that are reached in the different areas of the Administration.

The notable salary increase, in addition, is preceded by the 3.5% increase that civil servants already registered in 2022. It was, specifically, an initial increase of 2% at the beginning of the year, and an additional 1.5% than the Government decreed in October before the escalation of inflation.

And by 2024, this multi-year improvement plan contemplates an additional rise of 2% that could reach 2.5%.

Performance evaluation

Another very relevant point for civil servants is the Public Function Law, which, among other aspects, includes

that public workers must pass annually and on a mandatory basis.

These exams can lead to the demotion of an official who has been promoted to a position for which he proves incapable or unsuitable.

And not only would he lose the promotion, but also the possible salary increase that came with it.

This measure has generated much criticism from the unions, which precisely this Thursday are meeting with the Ministry headed by María Jesús Montero to negotiate this Civil Service law and, of course, the development of the evaluation tests.

In UGT they claim that the tests must be "

", and they ask for the suppression of the possible removal of the position.

The reason, they add in this union, is that they consider that the Civil Service already has tools and sanctions to punish and correct the attitude of officials who do not correctly fulfill their mission.

In the CSIF they also demand that the processes be objective, "that the negative effects be studied on a case-by-case basis and see what training can contribute to the employee", and above all that it not become a measure that "

».

The new law also contains other conflicting points such as internal promotion.

In this case, the union representatives do support the measure, but associations such as the Treasury Inspectors denounce that the Government thus facilitates access to the highest levels of the Administration, that it does so in order to politicize the Civil Service and place close people.

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