In the Grand and General Council (Consiglio Grande e Generale) debate on the renewal of public employment contracts, Manuel Ciavatta (PDCS) spoke about the agreement reached between the Government and trade unions. According to Ciavatta, the ability to grant pay rises to public employees stems from the improvement in the State’s finances, without resorting to new debt. His full remarks follow below.
Manuel Ciavatta (PDCS): Just a very brief observation, adding to what Secretary Beccari said, which I fully share. This agreement, which today is essentially a matter of figures, provides for a 3% increase on 2025 pay and a 2% advance on 2026, which, on a salary of 2,000 euros, amounts to roughly 100 euros more per month in take-home pay — 1,200 euros more a year. Why has this been possible? Because the state of public finances today allows for it. If this Government has been able — and is able — to sign this contract, and if the previous Government was able, in 2022, to sign the contract renewal after so many years in which this had not happened, it is because over these years we have put the finances in order. And it is, in essence, an increase in line with what has happened in the private sector, since all private contracts have been renewed, particularly in the industrial sector. This is certainly a sign that San Marino’s economy is moving forward, and that is the positive element overall. It is clear, of course, that there may be contractual issues, since some contracts, even in the private sector, are more lucrative than others, evidently because some sectors work more or less than others; just as in the public administration there is contractual parity despite different types of work, and perhaps greater distinction is needed there. This still needs to be looked into further. But the fact remains that if this Government is able to spend around 5-6 million euros on this measure, it is not because it has taken on more debt — since debt is actually decreasing — but because it has managed to put the finances back in order, increasing revenue and also fitting the contract renewal into expenditure. I think this is an extremely important achievement for this majority and this Government, which, together with the rest of the union negotiations — which must still continue on the regulatory side — represents a further positive sign of the good work done so far.
