The minimum salary in Spain (SMI, for its Spanish acronym) will be raised by 35 euros in 2022, up to 1,000 euros per month, divided into 14 payments.
The central government and the main Spanish unions, CC OO and UGT thus agreed on Wednesday.
The increase will be effective from 1 January despite the fact that the main business lobbies, CEOE and Cepyme, rejected the agreement.
❗️ Subimos el salario mínimo a 1.000€ con carácter retroactivo desde el 1 de enero de 2022.
— Yolanda Díaz (@Yolanda_Diaz_) February 9, 2022
Llegamos a un acuerdo con sindicatos para seguir con un compromiso firme del Gobierno: acabar con la desigualdad y mejorar la vida de cerca de 2 millones de trabajadoras y trabajadores. pic.twitter.com/kxbZxA2JNH
This will be the second increase in the Spanish minimum wage in less than half a year: on 1 September 2021 it was increased to the current 965 euros. In both cases, the negotiations have been led by the Spanish Minister of Labor, Yolanda Diaz.
The Ministry of Labor intends to continue raising the SMI during the current government mandate, until it reaches 60% of the average salary, as stated in the European Social Charter.
The imminent salary increase was announced by Minister Yolanda Diaz and the leaders of the CC OO and UGT unions, Unai Sordo and Pepe Alvarez, at a joint press conference.
“Far from everything that has been said, raising the minimum wage has been very positive for our country and for the economy. A different income policy is what makes us better off today than in previous times”, the minister emphasized.
Employer rejection
The unions said that in their view it is "impossible to understand" that the main Spanish business lobbies, CEOE and Cepyme, have refused to support the agreement that raises the SMI to 1,000 euros per month.
The fact is that both employers' organizations have already refused to support the previous increase in September, which came into force without their support.
Their main argument against the agreement is the current context of "uncertainty" surrounding the economy after the pandemic. They consider that a general rise in salaries now will make companies see their recovery expectations "delayed".
