The Ministry of National Economy and Finance announced a flat €30 raise in public sector wages, emphasizing that last year had already seen significant pay hikes.

In 2024, salaries increased by €70 per month across the board, with family allowances rising by €20 to €50. Responsibility and remote area allowances were also raised by 30%, alongside adjustments to travel expenses and special salary scales for doctors, uniformed personnel, university faculty, and judges.

Additional Measures to Boost Net Earnings

Alongside the €30 wage increase, estimated to cost €215 million for 2025, the government has introduced further steps to enhance public sector earnings:

• Tax Exemption for On-Call Compensation of NHS Doctors – €40 million
• Reduction of Social Security Contributions by 1% – €83 million allocated to the public sector from a total €440 million cost
• Adjustment of Personal Allowances – Ensuring salary progression without deductions for differences up to €300; partial deductions for higher differences (€12 million annually, increasing by €5 million each year)
• Expansion of Performance-Based Incentives – €40 million annually
• Increase in Night Shift Compensation for Uniformed Personnel – €25 million annually
• Hazard and Special Duty Allowance for Armed Forces and Law Enforcement – €100 per month for 156,000 personnel (€111 million in 2025, €222 million in 2026)

Budget Impact

For 2025, the total cost of these measures amounts to €526 million, bringing the cumulative cost of all public sector salary interventions since 2023 to €2.07 billion.

With the overall public sector wage bill (including employer contributions) reaching €18.8 billion in 2022, these increases in salaries and tax reductions equate to an 11% rise in annual earnings, or an average of 1.3 additional monthly salaries per year.