During the 2022 presidential campaign, Emmanuel Macron assured teachers of an increase in their salary. Faced with the dropout of their remuneration for several decades, “no teacher will start his career under 2,000 euros net”, he had promised. At this general salary increase, known as “unconditional”, the Head of State, then a candidate, also specified the idea of establishing a “pact for teachers” which will allow them, on a voluntary basis, to “commit […] in additional missions”, such as individualized follow-up, supervisory tasks or “actions that make sense”, and which will be “remunerated”.
Nine months after the elections, negotiations around an increase in teachers’ salaries have started well, but discussions around the “pact” part are stuck. In other words, the unions are reluctant to establish wage increases inherent in a multiplication of new tasks.
“An increase in the workload”
This Monday, the second meeting on the “pact” part took place, which therefore provides for new missions for teachers. But, after an hour of meeting, the teachers’ unions left the negotiating table, denouncing “an increase in the workload”. “The organizations FSU, Unsa Education, SGEN-CFDT, Snalc and Sud Education left the meeting devoted to the pact today (Monday),” writes the inter-union in a joint press release. The unions say they demand “an ambitious revaluation without compensation for all staff”.
The FO and CGT unions had already left the negotiations in January. Among the additional tasks envisaged are missions “related to short-term replacements”, or “guidance and support for students”.
Criticized by the unions during the first meeting, the ministry advanced on Monday a modulation of the “pact” with three units of 1,250 euros, which could go as far as a “pact” at 3,750 euros gross of increase per year. But it will have to include certain missions such as short-term replacement in the second degree and hours of deepening and support in maths and French for 6th graders in the first degree, as part of the recent college reform. , says rue de Grenelle. In February, the Minister of National Education had thus announced that these additional missions would represent “an hourly volume of approximately seventy-two hours more” per year.
“The teachers do not want to work more. The hours they currently spend at work are already exploding. We cannot ask them for compensation and especially not in the context of this gas factory”, annoys with AFP Guislaine David, general secretary of Snuipp-FSU, the first primary school union.
635 million euros budget
The consultations on the increases in teacher salaries promised by President Emmanuel Macron resumed in January, after a first phase in the fall. Two meetings were held in January and February on the “base” (unconditional) part of the increases, in parallel with the meetings on the “pact” part (linked to new missions), the most contested by the unions. “It is not insignificant that all the unions are leaving this meeting. We have never had any illusions about this pact but the additional workload which is proposed is much too heavy, it is not”, affirms Sophie Vénétitay , general secretary of Snes-FSU, the first secondary school union.
The conclusion meeting of these consultations on the upgrading of the teaching profession was scheduled for March 13. This calendar will be shifted, without a specific date at this stage. The ministry says “not to despair of arriving at improvements”, recalling that it wishes “a consultation with the strongest possible adhesion and not a signed agreement”.
In total, the envelope for teacher increases amounts to 635 million euros for “unconditional” salary increases from September 2023, then will rise to 1.9 billion in 2024 for those concerning the “pact”. In a full year, the long-term cost of these revaluations “will exceed 2 billion euros”, specified Bercy a few months ago.