Arguing that Spain’s economic model must compete on productivity and not on low wages, the figure formerly stood at 964 euros.
The Government is raising the minimum interprofessional Wage (SMI) to 1,000 euros per month. Until now, it was 965 euros per month, divided into fourteen payments. The increase means 35 euros more per month and will be retroactive from January 1, 2022, as announced by the Government on Wednesday.
The Vice-President and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, has pointed out that Spain is abandoning the low-wage anomaly of “Spain versus Europe” and serves to raise wages in general. The economic model must compete on productivity and not on low wages, she explained.
The vice-president along with Unai Sordo and Pepe Álvarez, had already warned that they would not accept an increase in the SMI to an amount lower than 1,000 euros. The employers’ association already indicated yesterday that it refuses to support this increase due to the general increase in costs suffered by companies and which means that, unlike salaries, they have not been fully recovered.
CEOE and Cepyme took this decision yesterday in an extraordinary executive committee convened by the haste with which the Government has processed the update of the SMI in 2022. Agreed on the labour reform, employers have dissociated themselves from Díaz, whom they do not support in this rise.
Yolanda Díaz
The vice-president made the announcement flanked by Unai Sordo and Pepe Álvarez, general secretaries of CCOO and UGT, who had already warned that they would not accept an increase in the SMI to an amount lower than 1,000 euros.
The employers’ association already indicated yesterday that it refuses to support this increase due to the general increase in costs suffered by companies and which means that, unlike salaries, they have not been fully recovered.
CEOE and Cepyme took this decision yesterday in an extraordinary executive committee convened by the haste with which the Government has processed the update of the SMI in 2022. Agreed on the labour reform, employers have dissociated themselves from Díaz, whom they do not support in this rise.
“The social dialogue is in good health and is an example in the world, it’s a lighthouse that many key players are looking at”, said Díaz. She asserted that the effects of the labour reform that was very close to sinking in Congress are already benefiting Spanish workers by registering records of affiliation in sectors such as agriculture or self-employed workers.
Together with the head of Labour, the trade union leaders assured that their task is far from over with the approval of the labour reform and the new minimum wage. Their short-term agenda includes the application of the norm in companies as well as a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) for the next three years in which they hope to generate wage increases.