The 2027 Finance Bill exempts state employees from wage increases

The Finance Bill for 2027, which is being sent to Parliament for discussion, has ruled out any new increases in state employees' wages and pensions. This absence was accompanied by an expansion in management and rental expenses within sovereign institutions, while direct social interventions limited the reminder of action to a 5% increase in the guaranteed minimum wage for the private sector from the beginning of next year.

The draft general budget identified rental expenses for 2027 at about 27 billion 349 million dinars, which is an increase of 8.2% compared to estimates for 2026. These programmed expenditures account for nearly 39.7% of total budgetary expenditures excluding debt, representing about 13.7% of the country's GDP.

The Ministries of Education, Home Affairs, Defence and Health are at the top of the list of structures benefiting from the loans they have received. Together, they account for more than 70% of the total rental allocations approved in the budget.

The rise in total rental expenses is linked to the implementation of the provisions of Section 15 of the Finance Act 2026, which had approved a settlement for increases in salaries and wages in the public sector for the period 2026-2028. The project also includes the allocation of financial credits to cover 32,557 new manpower and professional settlement schemes to reduce unfair forms of work in departments and institutions.

The joint parliamentary committees are expected to begin in the coming days to discuss the chapters of the project and its financial schedules in detail, ahead of its presentation at the general session of Parliament with a view to completing its approval by the end of next December.