There is no delay in the payment of salary increases to employees and retirees in the public and private sectors, as stipulated in one of the articles of the 2026 Finance Law, according to social security expert Hédi Dahman.
He explained that the Finance Law adopted the principle of a salary increase, to be paid by decree of the Minister of Social Affairs, with the approval of the Ministry of Finance, retroactive to January 2026, in three instalments that will also cover the years 2027 and 2028.
Quoted by Mosaïque FM, Dahman added that the legal framework for these increases is not yet fully in place, as the Finance Law did not specify how they would be distributed by profession or between the public and private sectors.
Regarding the approval mechanisms for the planned salary increases, Dahman said that social dialogue and negotiations should have taken place before the principle was approved.
However, given the current situation, it is likely that technical committees will be formed to determine the amounts of the proposed increases.
He noted that public-sector retirees will benefit from automatic pension adjustments following the general wage increase, while private-sector retirees will see their pensions revised through an increase in the guaranteed minimum wage, depending on their professional category.
He stressed that the government must consult private-sector employers, as it has, for the first time, included the principle of salary increases for private-sector workers in the Finance Law.
He clarified that the percentages circulating in the media regarding the expected wage increase, such as possible rises of 3.5%, 4% or 7%, are only estimates, as the government has not yet published any details on how these increases will be allocated.
Dahman added that the percentage increase can only be discussed in relation to inflation, rising prices and the cost-of-living index.
He suggested that the increase would likely fall within the range approved for 2023, 2024 and 2025, which he estimated at between 4% and 7%.
The social security expert did not rule out the possibility that the salary increase could be implemented in March or April, with retroactive effect for both the public and private sectors from January 2026, once the regulatory decree governing the distribution of the increases is issued.
