Posted Oct 3, 2022, 3:41 PMUpdated Oct 3, 2022, 4:19 PM
After months of promises on the revaluation of teachers, in a context marked by the shortage of teachers, the executive gives this Monday the kick-off of negotiations with the unions. They are skeptical of the results. The revaluation will be “historic”, we are assured, however, in the entourage of the Minister of Education.
To deal with the crisis of attractiveness, “of course, the financing factor is essential”, underlined Pap Ndiaye Monday during the presentation of the annual report of the OECD on education. “The level of remuneration must be commensurate […]the study [de l’OCDE] shows that France can do better,” he insisted. And if “wages have increased more in France than in other countries in recent years”, “it is insufficient”, he acknowledged.
Roundup of early leads on a highly anticipated upgrade:
“The increase in remuneration may exceed 20%”
In the Finance Bill for 2023, National Education sees its budget increase by 6.5% compared to the 2022 budget. The revaluation must be done in two stages, one will be “unconditional” and the other “ conditionally,” according to the ministry. For the “unconditional” revaluation, the ministry has planned 635 million euros from September 2023, or 1.9 billion in a full year. For the “conditional” part intended for volunteer teachers who agree to sign a “pact” to carry out “additional missions”, the envelope will be 300 million euros for 2023.
The ministry boasts “an immediate unconditional increase to create a shock of attractiveness”. If the unconditional increase was really 10%, as Emmanuel Macron had committed to during the presidential campaign, it would be necessary to commit 1.2 billion over the period from September to December 2023, i.e. 3.6 billion euros over a full year, disputes the SNES-FSU, the main union of the second degree.
“The increase in remuneration in the end may exceed 20%, says Pap Ndiaye. “We can very well think that, for a professor with a few years of seniority, we go up to 25% increase”, we specified in recent days in the entourage of the minister.
The beneficiaries of the increase
This is the whole purpose of the discussions that are starting, to determine the concrete modalities. But we already know that the revaluation will concern “rather the first half of the career”, according to the ministry. The second halves of the career “will at least be concerned by the additional missions and the pact” and by the facilitated access to certain levels, we slip into the ministry.
2,000 euros for beginners
Emmanuel Macron has pledged that no teacher will start his career with less than 2,000 euros net per month. For these new teachers, the increase will be made “outside the pact”.
At the ministry, it is already specified that with the revaluation of the index point and the existing bonuses (student monitoring allowance, computer bonus and attractiveness bonus linked to the Grenelle of the previous five-year period), they are already “at 1,926 euros net “. It will therefore be “2,000 euros net, all inclusive”. The bonus paid in priority education which, by definition, does not concern all teachers, is not taken into account in this calculation.
For these beginners, the “unconditional” revaluation will be done by bonuses or by a revision of the index grid. “All of this will be under discussion,” according to Pap Ndiaye’s entourage.
The binding nature of the “pact”
Will the “pact” be compulsory for teachers at the start of their career? This was indicated by Emmanuel Macron’s team during the presidential campaign. But “this will be part of the discussions”, we now indicate to the ministry.
The problem of career paths
“The bulk of the increase will be in the early and mid-career,” said Pap Ndiaye on Monday. The revaluation of career circles may go “beyond fifteen years. “Career circles in the broad sense must be concerned by the increase in remuneration”, tried to reassure the minister, while concern is mounting among mid-career teachers whose salaries are around 2,000 euros.
“If new teachers earn 2,000 euros, career midfielders will not earn less, we explain to the ministry. The 2,000 euros net for new holders in fact entail a revaluation and a revision of the whole of the progression which means that, when you have more seniority, you earn more than those who have just arrived. We cannot go back on that. »
“Other terms” for career purposes
The emphasis on new holders and career circles does not “mean that there will be nothing on the end of careers, says those around Pap Ndiaye. Which refers to “other methods of advancement”. A subject “on the table” for discussions with the unions.
The objective of 6 billion euros per year
During the campaign, Emmanuel Macron had promised to devote 6 billion euros per year to the revaluation of the wage bill. “Budgets will increase based on volunteering,” assures the minister’s entourage. If it allows us to reach them by 2024, we will be the first to be happy. The ministry expects “a gradual increase in the pact” which “will lead, from budget to budget, to an increase in the resources available within the framework of the next finance bills. »
