A key moment in the exercise of social dialogue in France, the mandatory annual negotiations (NAO), hereinafter called negotiations on remuneration, working time and the distribution of added value, were particularly awaited by employees this year. So they started a little earlier. According to the human resources consultancy Mercer, which annually signs a survey on these negotiations, 87% of the companies had closed them by the end of March.
At the center of the demands by employees are salary increases needed to compensate for very high inflation levels in 2022, which appear to be gradually reduced in 2023. These requests were heard, at least in part, during these discussions, as what demonstrates the median increase in negotiated base salaries.
An average salary increase of 4.95%
Based on company work done from November 2022 to March 2023, the average increase was 4.95%. This means that half of the employees will benefit from a salary increase of less than 4.95% and that the other half will see their salary increase above that. The increases range from 2.8% to 8% among the 142 companies surveyed by the survey.
For comparison, this resulting average increase in NAOs reached 2.8% in 2021-2022, recalls Mercer. However, inflation stood at 5.2% in 2022, according to INSEE. This gap had been at the origin of closely followed social movements in many sectors of the economy at the end of 2022, with the unions demanding significant wage increases to compensate for it.
The agreements concluded this year should allow wage increases to move a little closer to prices this time, as INSEE counts on inflation of 5% in 2023.
General Raises Preferred
In the detail of these salary increases, a greater use of the general increases can be observed. Its average level thus reaches 3%, much more than in 2022, the year in which it stood at 1.1%.
As for the median individual increase, it amounts to 2% at the end of the 2022-2023 negotiations.
Among the other tools to revalue the purchasing power of employees available to companies is the bonus for the distribution of added value (PPV), says Macron. They are 49% of declaring that they want to pay their employees some in 2023, according to the Mercer cabinet survey. The Shared Value Law approved in the Assembly on first reading, provides for expanding the PPV payment in all companies with more than 11 employees.
The latest negotiations are finally characterized by an increase in review clauses. On the employee side, the inclusion of these clauses in the agreements represents a key instrument to protect themselves against possible unforeseen inflationary accelerations during the year. This year, 21% of companies have included it in their agreement, compared to 11% in 2021-2022.
Source: BFM TV
