In this new school year, it is at the heart of the discussions in the teachers’ room. The pact, a brand new system, consists of any volunteer teacher committing to new assignments, in exchange for additional remuneration. A salary gain which will represent from 1,250 euros gross per year for an additional mission to 3,750 euros gross per year for three additional missions accepted. And each mission will represent 18 to 24 hours per year depending on its nature.
For secondary school teachers, the priority will be to provide short-term replacements for absent colleagues. Other missions offered: participation in the “homework done” scheme (help with homework in college), success courses during the holidays or, for primary school teachers, weekly support in French and maths in 6th grade created in the fall.
“It’s a remake of ‘work more to earn more'”
It is the very principle of a salary bonus subject to conditions that annoys the teachers’ unions, which see in it a questioning of their status. “It’s a remake of ‘work more to earn more’, when 50% of school teachers say they already work an average of 43 hours a week. This in no way responds to Emmanuel Macron’s original promise to increase all teachers by 10% without compensation, ”says Blandine Turki, secretary general of the SNUipp-FSU. Amaury, a teacher for five years, testifies to this state of mind: “I studied for five years, passed a difficult competition. I have hellish weeks. I’m not complaining too much, I love my job. But I don’t see how I could do more. This pact, I see it as a violent contempt on the part of the government. The subtext is: you do nothing”.
Another fear of teachers: that the pact accentuates wage inequalities in the profession. “Men are likely to be more available than women. At present, they are already working more overtime than their colleagues,” notes Blandine Turki.
Dreaded tensions between colleagues
We fear that the pact will sow discord in the teams. According to a survey by Se-Unsa carried out in August among 2,000 of its members, 31% of respondents believe that the pact will create injustice between staff and territories, 25% think that it will disrupt our education system, and 24% that tensions in the teams will emerge. “When we create a possibility of a raise that is not for everyone, those who cannot access it for various reasons feel a feeling of injustice”, underlines Elisabeth Allain-Moreno, the secretary general of the SE -Unsa.
“Some teachers, who have signed a pact, will not be available for team meetings or to meet families, which will generate organizational problems and tensions”, already foresees Gilles Langlois, national secretary. of SE-Unsa. Already anticipating bickering, teachers who wish to join the system remain very discreet about their intentions with their colleagues. “The atmosphere is going to be nice in the teachers’ room, between those who keep a little self-esteem and those who participate in the diversion of National Education for a few hobbies! “, anticipates Léon, electronics teacher in a vocational school.
The battle of numbers is about to begin
On the strength of all these criticisms, the teachers’ unions have worked in recent months to convince their colleagues not to sign a pact. “We have already won the first round by explaining to the teachers that it was not a question of a revaluation”, indicates Sophie Vénétitay, secretary general of the Snes-FSU. Difficult for the time being to know if this undermining worked. If the former minister, Pap Ndiaye, said in July “completely confident” about having at least 30% of signatory teachers, his successor no longer puts forward any figures. “I don’t make predictions. We will have the first figures after the start of the school year. There will be a surge. I know that we will have to convince, ”said Gabriel Attal during his press conference last Monday.
On the union side, we are betting on a weak eagerness. “According to our first information, the ministry will not reach 30% of signatories. But it will be disparate depending on the departments, ”says Blandine Turki. The pact should take more in college and pro high school than in general schools and high schools. In the second degree, the fact of having to commit to assuming short-term replacements as a priority could deter some, whereas they will be mobilized on fixed schedules of at least one hour per week. “I don’t want to replace a colleague at short notice. It is not then a question of teaching but rather of doing daycare. A lesson needs to be prepared, for students we know, and for whom we know the progress of the absent teacher, ”says Myriam, maths teacher. This is however one of the main issues of the pact: during his press conference, Gabriel Attal deplored “15 million hours lost each year”.
“We want the abandonment of the pact”
Gilles Langlois wants to be more cautious about what will happen to the pact: “We know that some colleagues will commit, because they need to earn more. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s around 20%. Because with this device, the overtime will be paid 69 euros gross, against 26 euros currently in the first degree, 45 euros for a teacher certified in secondary and 55 euros for an aggregate. An argument that could end up convincing some refractory in times of high inflation? In addition, contract workers could be more inclined to sign to improve their remuneration and be seen well by their superiors.
Still, the unions, unanimous against the device, do not intend to give up the game. “We cannot accept that the salary file is closed. We want the pact to be abandoned,” warns Sophie Vénétitay, secretary general of Snes-FSU. A subject that therefore risks being Gabriel Attal’s ordeal by fire.