Generalitat turns to the State to pay the salary increase to its officers

DOGV yesterday published the Valencia Administration agreement, in which the Ministry of Finance established a loan of more than 140 million euros to face a retroactive 1.5% fee increase through January 1, 2022. This newspaper will provide payment of outstanding debts on December 22, along with the last payslip of the year.

Knowing that many regions did not have sufficient liquidity to implement the salary hike signed at the end of the year, the Government opened its financing instruments to the use of regional managers. Thus, Generalitat once again applied to the Autonomous Liquidity Fund (FLA).

It is a well-known tool for the Government of Valencia, as the historically underfunding the autonomous community has suffered has made it the FLA’s most loyal client since its launch in 2012.

Unless there is a serious change in the trend, the symbolic figure demanded from the state, 100,000 million Euros, will be reached this year. Some funding to avoid a lack of resources from the central government, but it doesn’t come for free. While other autonomies could be financed on better terms in the markets, Generalitat had to pay around 3 billion euros in interest.

According to DOGV, 108 million of the 140,885,768.45 Euro requested from the liquidity fund will go directly to this increase in the payroll of all public employees of Generalitat, including the intermediary public sector. A little more than 3.5 million will be allocated to current expenses and 29.3 million to current transfers.

Thus, Generalitat officials will experience joy on December 22. Regardless of whether they won the Gordo lottery or not, Valencian public employees will collect on that day the additional 1.5% salary increase approved by the Government a few months ago, retroactive to 1 January 2022. Payroll, including the 1.5% increase, will be paid on the same day.

The Valencian Government is obliged to repeat this state agreement at the regional level, which means an additional cost of 140 million euros (and this corresponds to approximately 340 million if calculated for 2022 the 2% increase signed at the beginning of the year) to the Valencian public box.

The salary increase caught the Ministry of Finance on the wrong foot, then dived into the preparation of regional budgets for 2023, with little room to maneuver to find the extra 140 million as the year draws to a close.

Extra up to 730 Euros

The law gives a margin until March 2023 to pay the difference, but Generalitat has promised to make the payment in December. Finally, as the Treasury emphasized, he chose to “make a big effort” and pay off his debt to the authorities a few days in advance.

According to the calculations of the association UGT-PV, the sum of these debts from the 1.5% monthly increase since January can translate into “Christmas bonuses” of up to 733 euros for officials of the highest rank (A1 category).