What is the “Individual Purchasing Power Guarantee”, this stimulus that public employees will not receive this year?

2024-10-25 16:08:00

By Clement Gros

Published yesterday at 5.35pm,
updated at 6.08pm

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Created in 2008, this compensation, which affects more than 345,000 public employees, is suspended until 2024.

Bad news for some officials. If the CFDT had notified that compensation in mid-October “Individual purchasing power guarantee (Gipa)” would be abolished, it was the Minister of Civil Service Guillaume Kasbarian himself who made the announcement before the legislative commissioners of the National Assembly on 23 October. But what is it exactly? This aid was established in 2008, initially for two years. “It was never a question of perpetuating it ad vitam aeternam,” explained the minister. SAccording to the decree establishing the law, Gipa initially aimed to maintain “the level of remuneration of public agents”, when their gross index salary “has evolved less rapidly” that inflation, “over a reference period of four years”. Since then it has been renewed every year and the award conditions decided in 2008 are still valid. To touch it, it is especially necessary “have been paid for at least three of the last four years” and have a level “of an index lower than 1067”. Contract workers (CDD or CDI) can benefit from it under the same conditions. However, managerial and high-level positions in the public administration are excluded from the system (with the exception of managerial positions in categories B and C).

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At least 345,000 public employees affected

Until this year, the amount of Gipa varied depending on the profile of the beneficiary, with an ingenious mathematical formula that took into account the gross index salary of the public employee and inflation.. In the current context of budget savings, the suspension of aid would save 267 million euros distributed between state, territorial and hospital civil services, according to the data for 2023, reported in the impact sheet of the decree establishing the aid. Not counting the beneficiaries of the public hospital service, there are 345,000 public employees affected by Gipa. Among these we find 58% of category A, 17% of category B, 11% of category C and 14% of contract workers, according to data communicated by the ministry.

To justify its suspension in 2024, the Ministry of Civil Service indicates that Gipa appears today “less justified”in a context of “control of price trends”. Guillaume Kasbarian’s entourage also provides assistance “which mainly benefits late-career and category A agents”. “This situation creates unequal treatment that no longer reflects current priorities”summarizes the minister’s office. On the trade union side the situation appears grim. The CFDT maintains that the compensation of purchasing power enabled by this aid is still relevant. The abolition of GIPA “it would be an attack on the pay of public officials, worsening their impoverishment”attacks the CFDT, adding that “Public officials cannot be scapegoats for debt.”