The employers' association goes ahead of Yolanda Díaz and proposes raising the minimum wage by 3% in 2024 and 2025
Employers will propose to the Ministry of Labor and unions an increase in the minimum interprofessional wage (SMI) of 3% in 2024 and 2025. This was announced by the employers' associations CEOE and Cepyme this Wednesday through a statement, ahead of the second vice president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz.. Of course, the employers' association makes its offer subject to the Government updating the rates it pays in public contracts so that companies can pass on the increases.
The figures that the employers have put on the table are in line with the V Agreement for Employment and Collective Bargaining (AENC). This pact between employers and unions was signed last May and, among other issues, a general and multi-year framework of salary increases of 4% in 2023 and 3% for 2024 and 2025 was agreed.. From CEOE they highlight that their proposal to increase the SMI would be above what was agreed for public employees.
In this way, with the employer's approach in hand, the current minimum wage (1,080 euros in 14 payments) would rise to 1,112 euros in 2024 and reach 1,146 euros in 2025.. In addition, the CEOE proposal also contemplates an additional retroactive increase of up to 1% in both 2024 and 2025 if the interannual CPI for December exceeds 3% in each of those years.
Díaz has already announced that one of the first measures he will adopt since his recently renewed leadership in Labor will be to call on social agents to close a new increase in the SMI. However, the vice president did not give any clue as to what figures will be put on the table.. The last increase in the SMI that the Government approved raised this income from 1,000 to 1,080 gross euros per month in 14 payments, which represents an increase of 8%.
Then, Díaz convened the group of experts designated by the Ministry of Labor to prepare a proposal for an increase. The committee proposed a range of figures and finally the Executive opted for the highest. The Government's idea is that the minimum wage is always 60% of the average salary in the country. The problem is that the salary statistics are delayed by two years, so we have to resort to estimates to know what that percentage materializes.
The coalition agreement signed between PSOE and Sumar establishes that the minimum wage must grow throughout the legislature “to ensure its purchasing power” and remain at 60% of the average wage. The latter must be initialed in the Workers' Statute, the text emphasizes.
Although, surprisingly, it has been the employers who have taken the first step in negotiating the SMI, the final decision to raise the minimum wage corresponds exclusively to the Government. Of course, the Executive must negotiate beforehand with the social agents, although ultimately the decision is theirs.. Once the employer's proposal is known, the department headed by Yolanda Díaz limits itself to pointing out that the increase in the minimum wage has to be debated in social dialogue and the proposals of the committee of experts must also be heard.
Unions ask for more
Although the unions have not yet officially commented on the CEOE proposal, both UGT and CC OO have already shown on other occasions that their approaches are more ambitious.. This same week, the general secretary of CC OO, Unai Sordo, proposed that the minimum wage should be updated above the increase in the prices of basic products.
To have a reference of how much this increase would imply, food inflation in October was still 9.5% year-on-year. From CC OO they point out that the Government has not yet contacted them to call a meeting on the SMI and they will wait until Thursday to establish a position.
Regarding UGT, the union led by Pepe Álvarez proposes raising the minimum wage to 1,200 euros this year. This would imply an increase of 11% in a single year, which would be far behind what the employers are willing to accept for the next two years.