The government has approved a 2% salary increase planned for this year, moving ahead of the General State Budget (PGE) process. This was confirmed on a Tuesday by the Minister of Digital Transformation and Public Function, Jose Luis Escrivá, during a press conference following the Council of Ministers. More than three million public employees are awaiting the raise, because this decision not only affects state workers but also those in municipalities and services managed by the autonomous communities, including the Generalitat.
The official approval of the pay rise will be linked to an amendment added to the royal decree addressing measures in response to the crisis stemming from the war in Ukraine. This will speed up its entry into force, since negotiations for the new public accounts are still in a very early stage. However, the convalidation of the royal decree and the amendment has no fixed date yet, and union sources consulted expect to see it either on the April payroll or the May payroll.
Whether on the April or May payroll, or later, the pay increase will have retroactive effect from January 1, 2024. This will require the administrations to pay a supplementary belated amount equal to the months when the raise was not applied. For the moment, the months are likely to be January, February, and March, with one or two additional months added depending on the delay in the royal decree.
Municipalities and autonomies awaiting the change
More than three million public employees have faced salary freezes since the start of the year. The electoral pretext and the subsequent formation of the government slowed progress for civil servants, who saw that the last Council of Ministers in 2023 did not include the revaluation of remunerations. It is agreed between the executive and the unions that public payrolls will rise by 2%.
The unions welcome the government’s move to act ahead of the general budget, though they remain uneasy about the method of delivering the revaluation through an amendment. The two major unions, CCOO and UGT, have praised the shift in stance in a statement. Csif, another influential union, ties the early move to protests if the plan is not redirected.
For now, the provinces and other public entities await the royal decree’s final validation in Congress. Until the government gives the green light, autonomous communities, municipalities, and public enterprises cannot incorporate the 2% revaluation into their payrolls.
The salary increase that some public employees will receive in the upcoming March payroll is a 0.5% rise linked to GDP targets. This is the commitment the Generalitat made with its workers.