"The decision is taken today, we are going to launch discussions with all the stakeholders (...) in order to allow it to be effective (...) before the summer", declared Minister Amélie de Montchalin in an interview with the newspaper Le Parisien.

This next thaw of the "point", which is used to calculate the remuneration of civil servants and contract workers, marks a break with the salary policy carried out so far by the government, more favorable to targeted increases.

More generally, general increases have been rare for the past ten years.

The last was granted by François Hollande in February 2017, already at the end of his term.

The socialist president had unfrozen the value of the point in two stages, to bring it to 4.68 euros.

A scarcity of increases that seven of the nine representative unions of the public service were preparing to denounce once again Thursday, by joining an interprofessional mobilization for wages.

"There is a new element today," insisted the Minister of Transformation and Public Service on Monday to justify the change of course.

"Inflation persists, it is strong and lasting," said Amélie de Montchalin.

The Minister of Transformation and Public Service, Amélie de Montchalin, on March 9, 2022 leaving the Elysée Palace Ludovic MARIN AFP / Archives

According to an initial estimate by INSEE, the consumer price index jumped 3.6% in February over one year, fueled by soaring energy prices, aggravated by the Russian conflict. -Ukrainian.

To "protect the purchasing power of civil servants" and contract employees, the government has also chosen to act on the mileage allowance received by agents who use their personal vehicle as part of their duties.

"We are going to increase it, as for private sector employees, by at least 10%," the minister told Le Parisien, and "this measure will be effective in the coming days."

Timing

Less than a month before the first round of the presidential election, the ministry assured AFP that these measures had been decided "on the basis of economic determinants".

"It's not a political decision, but a shock absorber to protect the purchasing power of civil servants" and contract workers, he further argued.

Negotiations with public employers will begin in the coming days, the ministry said.

On the side of the unions, Monday evening dominated the satisfaction of having won their case on a long-standing claim.

But they remained cautious as to the concrete translation of this measure on the payroll of the agents, in particular in the event of political alternation.

“The negotiations on the remuneration of public officials are more than ever to be included in the calendar for the coming months, whatever the next government,” insisted on Twitter Mylène Jacquot, secretary general of the CFDT Public functions, who had not called. at the mobilization on Thursday.

The announcement comes "in a timing that leaves no one fooled", reacted on the same social network Gaëlle Martinez (Public Service Solidarity).

"The urgency is such that the percentage of upgrading will have to be very high to make up for the delay," she added.

Secretary general of Unsa-FP, Luc Farré meanwhile welcomed "good news", while Céline Verzeletti (UFSE-CGT) asked for "general increases now and not in three months."

If the thaw of the index point is confirmed, it will be included "in an amending finance law, which will have to be voted on in Parliament this summer", said Amélie de Montchalin on Monday evening.

Its precise amount will be calibrated "in consultation with trade unions and employers", she said, specifying by way of example that a 1% increase in the value of the point would have a cost of two billion euros. euros for the government.

© 2022 AFP