Andorra Public Sector Workers Face Payroll Delays and Job Classification Disputes

Public sector workers in Andorra are facing delays and disputes over pay updates and job classifications, with unions urging members to scrutinise their payrolls and file review requests.

The Ministry of Public Function, led by Marc Rossell, has not yet fully implemented changes from a salary review agreement signed last October for central administration employees. As a result, some civil servants did not see expected supplementary payments in their March payrolls, issued on Wednesday. The Sindicat de l’Ensenyament Públic (SEP) notified affiliates that the payroll and labour relations department could not update all elements in the software on time. These issues mainly affect recognition of second triennia for permanent staff who started in 2022 after interim contracts from 2019-2022, as well as first or second triennia earned by interim workers from January to March. The union noted that most payrolls updated correctly but advised checking payslips via the employee portal and contacting the ministry's payroll area for anomalies. Pending amounts and full adjustments will appear in April's payroll, SEP confirmed after seeking explanations from the ministry.

In a related escalation, over 170 public workers have requested reviews of their job classifications following court rulings that found procedural flaws in the original process. Three employees sued after the government ran evaluations without a prior regulation or convening the Technical Committee on Organisation and Management (CTOG). A regulation published in the Official Bulletin on Wednesday aims to address this but limits reviews to those three cases. The Sindicat del Personal Adscrit a l’Administració General (SIPAAG) disputes this, encouraging broader requests and providing a template to affiliates dissatisfied with their assessments, reported between September and December. Numbers reached 176 by Thursday, per Diari d'Andorra, and 166 by Friday, per El Periòdic.

SIPAAG criticises the regulation as opaque, ignoring union proposals and lacking public criteria, thresholds, and weightings for evaluation factors. Union sources called it prone to arbitrary decisions and accused the administration of treating workers like children by restricting reviews. They seek "equitable justice," not blanket raises, demanding transparency to verify if similar roles received consistent levels. Minister Rossell described the issue as procedural, not substantive, but SIPAAG insists on consistent application. The ministry has two months to respond under administrative code; unions warn of court action if unsatisfied, while analysing a potential challenge to the regulation itself.

SEP pledged to monitor resolutions to ensure no worker is disadvantaged, recommending affiliates report issues for follow-up.