Spanish Government Looks To Increase Minimum Wage By €35 Per Month
Spain News
Published: 08 February 2022 16:32 CET
Updated: 09 February 2022 16:32 CET
Spain’s left-wing coalition government is proposing to increase the minimum wage for the second time in six months taking it to around €1,000 in a move that could benefit up to two million workers.
The initial proposal which was announced by the secretary of Trade Union Action from the Workers’ Commissions (CCOO), Mari Cruz Vicente on Monday, was for a rise of €31 per month. However, this would have left it just short of the €1,000 demanded by worker’s unions.
The government subsequently clarified that the rise would in fact be €35 taking the current minimum monthly wage of €965 to €1,000 gross per month when paid over 14 monthly payments.
Following the meeting which was held at the Ministry of Labour, Vicente explained that the government’s proposal was in the middle of the 24 to 40 Euros range that had been recommended by the Committee of Experts on the SMI.
The increase which would be based on a worker's gross salary (pre-tax), would apply to full-time work contracts and would be the minimum amount a worker could expect to be paid.
If approved, it will be the second time since September that the country’s minimum wage (Salario mínimo/SMI) has been increased.
Last September, the Spanish government’s Council of Ministers approved a €15 rise in the minimum wage which took the minimum then from €950 to €965 per month.
Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz (pictured) who spearheaded the campaign to increase the SMI back in September told journalists, “What would I like? For there to be a minimum wage of €1,000."
“There’s no better weapon in the fight against poverty than this,” Díaz said.
Before the draft decree can come into force, it will first need to be debated by worker’s unions, business associations and Spanish cabinet members. The relevant bodies have been given until Wednesday to debate the Ministry’s offer and confirm whether they agree with the decision or not.
If there is an agreement on Wednesday, it is believed that this will primarily be between the government and Union’s without the support of business associations who have already distanced themselves from the 2021 increase given that the country has still not seen a full recovery due to the global pandemic.
If the rise is confirmed it will mean that Spain’s gross minimum wage will be set at €1,166 per month (12 payments) which will still be considerably lower than that of other EU nations including France at (€1,603/month), the Netherlands (€1,725), Germany (€1,755), Belgium (€1,756), and Ireland (€1,775).
Source
https://www.thelocal.es/20220208/spains-government-eyes-e31-minimum-wage-rise-to-e996-a-month/
https://www.eleconomista.es/economia/noticias/11604300/02/22/Diaz-retoma-la-negociacion-del-salario-minimo-con-el-no-de-la-patronal-y-la-exigencia-de-los-1000-euros-de-los-sindicatos.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_Union_member_states_by_minimum_wage
Image Credit: https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/
