In the Grand and General Council (Consiglio Grande e Generale) debate on the public employment agreement, Secretary of State Federico Pedini Amati addressed the contract renewal, the impact of inflation, and the professional skills needed within the Public Administration. The Secretary stressed that the agreement reached represents a starting point and announced that negotiations will resume, also pointing to the need to prepare the Public Administration for the requirements linked to the Association Agreement with the European Union. His full remarks follow below.
Secretary of State Federico Pedini Amati: It seems to me that, rightly, the debate touched on several points, which in reality are quite different from one another: the professional profiles we want to build for the Public Administration in the future, the ones we already have, and those we hope can grow in some way — including, so to speak, those who move from one level to another because, in the course of their work, they have developed further, and so on. But the issue at hand here was another one: the usual matter of contract renewal, which concerns both the public and private sectors, clearly linked to inflation, but not only that. It has already been said that more could have been done — and certainly that may be true here too — but I believe a solid starting point has been laid down in the agreement between the Government and the unions. By guaranteeing a 3% increase on public contracts for 2025 and a 2% increase for 2026 — and let us stress again, this is not concluded, it is not a final agreement for 2026, which is still under discussion — I think this represents a good starting point. That is the issue. It is also, if you like, linked to inflation which, unfortunately, we see is constantly rising, but for reasons that are not strictly tied to any one State, or to ours in particular, but rather to a global mechanism which, amid the various turmoils under way, the wars, rising costs, rising fuel prices, inevitably drives everything upward. All costs are increasing. As someone pointed out, we should look closely at the real cost of the household shopping basket — that indeed deserves greater attention. But, for better or worse, unfortunately these costs keep climbing. Why do I say this? Because it is difficult, every time a contract renewal comes around, to predict increases that match exactly the inflation rates recorded in the various years. Councillor Manuel Ciavatta also said this: we nonetheless set ourselves the goal of raising Public Administration salaries because the State’s finances allowed it. As you well know, this is not always possible. With the accounts reasonably in order, this time it was possible. The negotiation, I repeat, is not concluded. More can always be done, things can always be improved, and I hope we manage to do even better than what has been achieved so far. On professional skills, there is certainly much work to be done, because — let’s be honest — one thing is certain: not just the Secretariats of State, but all of us, in various capacities, work within the Public Administration, and, in various capacities, we see gaps. Not so much in the people themselves, because I always believe people give their utmost, but rather in the shortage of certain roles — sometimes even senior ones, such as managers — in this country. On this, we will certainly need to reflect as a country, as a political community as a whole, including on who should be responsible for encouraging new figures to join the Public Administration. These issues, and these roles, will certainly require attention and a broader discussion, because starting tomorrow morning — as we have all said — with the entry into force and the signing of the Association Agreement with the European Union, we need to be ready, active, proactive, and in the best possible condition to implement the measures our country needs following the signing of the Association Agreement with the European Union. In the debate, I must say honestly, I heard many useful ideas and, thankfully, not all that many criticisms. I heard a lot of food for thought. I would like to see some criticism directed at the salary increases. Clearly, had we cut them, criticism would have followed as a matter of course. Given that salaries are being increased and the agreement with the unions on raising pay across the entire Public Administration is being honoured, I believe we are, in any case, moving in the right direction. So, starting tomorrow morning, the negotiating table will reconvene to complete this first phase. I welcome the discussion held on this point, and, going forward, let us always strive to do more and better in the interest of our country.
