Integration of 148,000 Workers into the Local Government Sector
Over 148,000 beneficiaries of the social and professional integration assistance program have been integrated into permanent positions, the Minister of the Interior, Local Authorities, and Transport, Saïd Sayoud, said.
He affirmed that his ministry is working to redeploy and redistribute available personnel across municipalities and educational institutions.
This was included in the Minister’s response to a written question from MP Soumia Belkacem, dated October 22, regarding the shortage of skilled workers in public administrations, educational institutions, and local authorities. In this regard, Saïoud stated that his department is working to increase staffing levels across municipalities. However, he explained that this effort remains contingent on the major annual guidelines of the Finance Law, the granting of exceptional authorisations, and the available financial resources of each municipality nationwide.
In this context, the Minister explained in his response that the total number of contracted employees working in municipalities across the country exceeds 333,000, of whom approximately 193,000 work in primary schools, representing 58% of all contract employees in municipalities. He noted that these figures reflect the significant efforts undertaken by the state to ensure optimal support for primary education, which he described as a fundamental component of the national education system.
The Interior Minister added that the human resources portfolio of local authorities has seen significant strengthening in recent years, thanks to the integration of a large number of beneficiaries of the social integration assistance program. This has resulted in over 148,000 actual integrations into permanent positions, which, he said, has contributed to meeting a considerable part of the human resource needs in municipalities and their affiliated institutions.
Concerning the mechanisms used in the recruitment process within local authorities, Sayoud explained that these authorities, like other public administrations and institutions, are subject to strict exceptional measures aimed at controlling expenditures and aligning recruitment with available financial resources. He noted that local authorities can utilise vacant positions during the current fiscal year to recruit new staff when needed, provided that this is done within the framework of applicable laws and regulations.
The Minister emphasised that the Interior Ministry, whenever possible, redeploys and reassigns existing personnel to achieve a balanced workforce across public services, particularly in sectors experiencing increased staffing pressure compared to actual needs. He asserted that this measure enables the optimal utilisation of available human resources and ensures the rational allocation of positions within limited resources.
In this regard, Sayoud added that the services of the Interior, Local Authorities and Transport Ministry are continuing their efforts to strengthen human numbers at the level of primary schools and cleaning facilities, stressing that the implementation of these measures remains dependent on the major annual orientations of the Finance Law and the limits of the exceptional licenses granted to municipalities.
