The government will endeavour to curb wage costs over the next year, as they will rise by 4.1% compared with 2023, by restricting new hirings to 13,586 posts, with the implementation of a set of urgent reforms and the enforcement of the September 15, 2022 agreement reached with the UGTT.

The government explained its approach to curb wage costs in its report on the 2024 State budget, which stipulates that 6,000 persons will be integrated as part of measures to regulate the situation of construction site workers in 2024, whose number excceeds 656,000.

In order to implement the plan to curb wage costs to nearly TND 23.7 billion in 2024, nearly 13.5% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and 39.6% of the State budget expenditures, with a slight reduction compared with 2023, the government recommends rationalising the wage increase programme.

The government considers an increase of around TND 1 billion compared with 2023, due to the recruitment planned for 2024 and the adjustment of recruitment for 2023 by TND 270 million and the annual financial impact of the general wage increase programme by TND 780 million.

The government will earmark TND 100 million for promotions in 2024, modify promotions for 2023 and TND 300 million for retirement in 2024 and adjust retirement for last year.

The new hirings are divided between 2,372 positions for the Ministry of Education, 3,094 for the Ministry of Defence, 1,998 for the Interior Ministry, 820 for training school graduates and 3,000 positions for the Health Ministry.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse