The Government proposes to raise the interprofessional minimum wage by 5.3% in 2027, to 1,286 euros gross per month in fourteen payments. The unions consider this insufficient, and the employers criticise it for its timing.
The Government will increase the interprofessional minimum wage (SMI) by 5.3% in 2027, to 1,286 euros gross per month in fourteen payments. This figure is included in the memorandum of the royal decree that the Ministry of Labour has submitted for public consultation, according to Agencia EFE.
The increase exceeds the recommendation of the expert commission advising the ministry, which on Wednesday proposed a 4.9% rise. This proposal was then communicated to the social agents, without details on the negotiations.
The deadline for submitting contributions to the project ends on November 16. After that date, the Council of Ministers could approve the regulation.
The text of the royal decree justifies the measure in these terms:
“it effectively addresses the right to fair and sufficient remuneration that provides workers and their families with a decent standard of living”.
The project also maintains the goal of having the SMI reach 60% of the average salary, as established by the European Social Charter.
This is the first time that the Minister of Labour, Yolanda Díaz, has promoted a royal decree for an increase without the consensus of the unions. The union organisations demanded a 7% increase and warned that they would not sign an agreement without addressing the compensation and absorption of bonuses and supplements.
The employers, who had not supported the last increases of the SMI, label the measure as electoralist. They believe it could be approved during the campaign for the general elections on November 29 and requested more time for dialogue.
The Government can approve the increase after consulting the social agents. As it is a royal decree, it does not need the approval of the Cortes and could do so even while in caretaker mode. Díaz defended that the electoral call should not delay the increase:
“all companies need to know what the minimum wage is by January 1”.
Regarding taxation, the Minister of Social Security and Government spokesperson, Elma Saiz, assured that the SMI will remain exempt from income tax. Currently, those earning the SMI, set at 17,094 euros annually, have a deduction of 591 euros that prevents them from being taxed. The Government will need to update this deduction through a legal reform, which will have to be approved by the Permanent Deputation or, presumably, the new Government after the elections.
The Secretary General of CCOO, Unai Sordo, described the increase as “significant”, although it falls short of the 7% requested by the union. CCOO will make a global assessment when the Government clarifies the tax treatment and the criteria for compensating bonuses, such as for night work. Sordo also reminded that the union is preparing for the general strike on November 11.
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