Spain: Government Raises Minimum Interprofessional Wage 8% Up To 1,080 Euros

Spai’s Council of Ministers raised this week the Minimum Interprofessional Wage (SMI) to €1,080 gross per month in 14 payments (€15,120 gross per year). With this increase, agreed with the CCOO and UGT trade unions, it increases by 8% and accumulates an increase of 47% over the last five years. The increase has retroactive effect from January 1, 2023.

The Minister for Territorial Policy and Government Spokesperson, Isabel Rodríguez, recalled that this decision was announced by Spain’s Prime Ministert Pedro Sánchez, in the Upper House of Parliament and responds to his investiture program.

Since Sánchez has been in office, the minimum wage has increased by €345 per month, according to Moncloa.

In the same vein, the Second Vice-Prime Minister and Minister for Work and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, stressed that the government is fulfilling its commitments. It is fulfilling the mandate to raise the average take-home wage by 60%, in application of the European Social Charter, and is keeping its word to improve the lives of citizens. “The government is simply restoring labour and social protection rights. We are at the forefront in Europe in their defence. The firm vocation to improve wage equality through the minimum wage is very clear in Spain”, she said.

Yolanda Díaz argued that raising the minimum wage is effective because it mobilises the economy. It has not destroyed jobs in any sector, in fact quite the contrary. It is the best tool for combating poverty and inequality at work and for advancing equal pay for men and women.

The two most precarious sectors in Spain, Díaz pointed out, are women and young people, who are the two groups that will benefit most from the increase in the minimum wage. In this respect, she pointed out that Spain is one of the few countries that are closing the gender gap, and that “the best, most feminist tool to improve women’s social rights is called the Minimum Interprofessional Wage”.

Yolanda Díaz also maintained that raising the minimum wage has a key impact on child poverty, life expectancy and the mental health of citizens: “If you have a slightly better salary, you have fewer worries and a little more peace of mind to be able to pay the bills”.

According to data from the Ministry of Labour, the increase will benefit two and a half million people. The Bank of Spain estimates that this represents 10% of the wage-earning population. The she added that it will have a positive effect on domestic demand and consumption, which could be allocated an increase of more than €3 billion.