The CGT union has launched a strike notice for the day of October 5 at the town hall, the CCAS and the metropolis of Montpellier. The union opposes the withholding of part (1/30) of the allowance for duties, hardships and expertise (IFSE), beyond the tenth day of absenteeism for ordinary sickness in the year. This indemnity is calculated according to the grade and function of the agent. It can range from 240 to around 500 euros for categories C (the lowest salaries).
Faced with one of the highest absenteeism rates in France, the city and the metropolis took effect on this financial penalty in December 2022. This plan came into force on January 1. The CGT denounces “a discriminatory policy” and considers this decision “counterproductive (…). Agents come to work sick, at the risk of contaminating their colleagues, postpone their surgeries, to the detriment of their health or take time off to have surgery. For its part, the inter-union staff of the metropolis of Montpellier (CFDT, FO, SUD) had filed, on behalf of the 2,700 agents of the community, a request for excess of power on June 1 with the administrative court.
An estimated cost of 37 million euros per year
The regional chamber of accounts has looked into the problem of absenteeism in the city by studying the 2015-2020 financial year. The agents there were on sick leave 44 days a year, compared to 33 on average in the other cities of France. The “cost of this situation for the community can be estimated at 37 million euros per year”, she calculated in a document made public in June 2023. “The time not worked also has consequences on the level of service provided to the user and the working conditions of the agents”, she specifies.
In addition to this significant absenteeism, there are 297 agents without assignment, receiving their entire gross salary and their compensation scheme, representing 8% of the city’s agents (who were 3,710 in 2020).