The government and public sector unions have signed collective bargaining agreements and accords that finalise the biggest overhaul of the public sector pay system in 15 years. Changes are set to take effect on 1 January, resulting in a gradual rise of salaries over the coming three years.

In a culmination of almost two years of talks, ministers and representatives of unions signed a series of documents on 15 November, including the overarching public sector agreement, a general agreement with commitments for the future, an annex to the collective agreement for the non-corporate sector, 15 sectoral and professional collective agreements or their respective annexes, and pillar agreements.

The collective agreement for the public sector was signed by 32 unions, meaning over half of all 46, surpassing the required quorum for its implementation. The needed level of support was achieved for the general accord.

All sectoral and professional agreements or annexes were also validated, as each was signed by at least one representative union, meeting the legal criteria for enforcement.

"Historic" achievement

Prime Minister Robert Golob called the signing a historic achievement, a view shared by the leaders of the largest two groups of unions, Branimir Štrukelj and Jakob Počivavšek, who see it as a significant success.

The number of unions involved gives legitimacy to the agreement, Golob said, which ensures fairer wages, especially for those earning below the minimum wage. The union leaders also highlighted the mandated adjustment of wages to inflation.

Počivavšek argued that many more things in the sector still needed improvement, "but still, this is a very important step towards preventing a collapse of public services or their continued deterioration".

With the lowest base pay raised to the minimum wage and other rise, Štrukelj believes the reform could prevent staff from leaving the public sector, help attract young experts and strengthen public services. If this is not the case, additional measures will be needed.

Toughest issues resolved at eleventh hour

After an umbrella agreement was reached and the reform was passed into law in October, the final talks focused on wages in individual segments of the newly outlined system or "pillars", which could have potentially thwarted the reform.

Unions in one of the five pillars - the one comprising employees in state and local administration, including administrative unit clerks, police officers, soldiers and firefighters - refused to initial the collective agreement earlier in the week but most of them have since decided to come on board despite continuing grievances.

The list of unions that have so far refused to sign the agreements notably includes the soldiers and the FIDES union of doctors and dentists, who started a strike on 15 January over the failure to get a promised separate pay pillar within the single public sector pay system.

FIDES have now signed an annex to the collective agreement for doctors and dentists, but not the umbrella agreement for the public sector. They say that most of their strike demands remain unmet and will remain on strike as talks continue.

Under the agreement, the base pay of senior doctors consultants will range from €4,339 and €5,337 gross, depending on how tough the working conditions. But the union said classification of jobs in pay brackets remains subject of talks.

The police trade unions also signed a separate collective bargaining agreement with the government in what they called a historic moment.

"We have laid the foundation for autonomous regulation of our work conditions and made the first step to greater fairness and stability for all police employees," the unions said.

Reform valued at €1.4 billion

The far-reaching reform, coming after years of disgruntlement over pay discrepancies and repeated unsuccessful attempts at comprehensive change, is valued at €1.4 billion. It affects 190,000 public employees, whose total wage bill amounted to €5.589 billion in 2023.

The most salient features of the reform include a new pay scale, which is now divided into 67 instead of 66 brackets, the ratio between the bottom and top one increasing from 1:4.8 to 1:7, and the difference in base pay between individual brackets narrowing from 4% to 3%.

The base pay in the lowest brackets will be raised to the level of the country's minimum wage of €1,254 gross. Currently, over 27,000 of the lowest earners receive extra payment to bring their salaries up to this level.

Other notable new features include the systemic adjustment of salaries to inflation, more stimulating wage provisions for experienced new hires and young staff, bigger budgets for performance-related bonuses, and a higher annual holiday allowance.

The biggest increases will come for those in the highest wage brackets. As the reform is completed, the salaries of the prime minister, the head of state, the president of the National Assembly and of the constitutional and supreme courts will have for instance risen by nearly 45%, of ministers by up to 40%, and of MPs by up to 50%. MPs will get between €6,187 and €7,837 gross.

Examples from the pillar whose support was uncertain until the eleventh hour meanwhile include a 23.29% increase to €3,425 gross for ambassadors, a 30.35% increase to €1,787 for senior police officers, 38.21% rises to €1,685 for prison officers, customs officers and firefighters. Regular police officers will receive a 34.18% increase, bringing their gross salaries to €1,636.