“It's not up to the agents to pay”: in Béziers, unions united against the new supplementary social protection for departmental civil servants

Des représentants des principales organisations syndicales s’étaient réunis devant l’hôtel de Département. Thomas Ancona-Léger – Midi Libre

While the Department is experiencing a major budgetary crisis, the union organizations are opposing the new directions of their supplementary social protection. 2,000 agents are concerned.

There were about twenty agents, this Thursday, January 30 around noon, who responded to the call of the inter-union and gathered in front of the Department hotel, in Béziers. FO, CGT flags, but a common leaflet also signed by the CFDT and the FSU. Trade union organizations all “fiercely opposed to the orientations of the supplementary social protection (PSC) imposed by the territorial authority“, insists Mathieu Guy, CGT departmental secretary at the General Council of Hérault. The latter denounces a “social dialogue adrift” and a “greed that targets all agents”.

Tense budgetary context

He accuses the community in particular of having “torpedoed” the negotiation of the PSC and of wanting to reduce the share of employer participation in both the health contract and the employee welfare contract. And this in a budgetary context that is proving to be extremely tense. “We are aware of the financial difficulties that the Department is going through, but it is not up to the agents to pay”, believes Hubert Fleury, FO secretary of the personnel of the Hérault departmental council.

In reality, the unions and the territorial administration have been negotiating this new PSC for almost a year and a half, which was due to see the light of day at the end of 2025. “Everything was going well in the negotiation, we had even revised some points upwards, and now, 15 days ago, we learn that no agreement will be possible”, explains the union representative who, like his counterparts, refused to attend the technical council meeting scheduled for the same morning. “They wanted us to endorse their principles so we boycotted this meeting.”

A very anxiety-provoking climate

In the meantime, dialogue seems to be at an impasse between the union organizations and their administration. “They haven't moved, we don't rule out other calls for mobilization”, declares Mathieu Guy of the CGT who reports a “very anxious climate within the services, particularly those related to culture”. If it were to be adopted, this new PSC would affect approximately 2,000 territorial agents under group contract in the department.

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