The Ministry of Labor has summoned unions and employers on Tuesday to try to reach an agreement on the increase in the Professional Minimum Wage (SMI), which will be applied retroactively from January 1. The positions of all the actors are known, both from the trade union side and from the employers; the report of the experts appointed by the ministry is available; but it remains to be seen what the second vice president and minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, proposes.
The vice president only advanced that she would consider going to the "high section" of the fork proposed by the experts, without specifying more. In any case, the expectations of a three-way agreement are minimal. The CEOE proposes an increase from the current 1,000 euros per month to 1,040 and also, subject to conditions such as modifying the regulations for price revision in public procurement, to be able to index the increases, and bonuses for the agricultural sector. From the outset, the figure raised by the employers is below the minimum raised by the experts, and furthermore, it is very far from the demand of the unions, which ask to reach 1,100 euros, although with CC.OO. indicating that he could accept the 1,082.
"We are going to see if there is the possibility of an agreement," they point out from the Ministry of Labor. The first meeting with the social agents was in December to present the recommendation of the experts, who set a range between 1,046 and 1,082 euros, which is the basis of the negotiations.
The objective set is to bring the SMI to 60% of the average salary. It is the objective set by the government coalition from the beginning of the legislature. What is missing is to put figures to this percentage, update it with the latest economic data. This is what the experts did and since then the unions have pressed for the Government to make a decision. They remember that with regard to the SMI, it is only mandatory to consult, but that the decision corresponds to the Executive, and they asked him not to delay this step.
On the part of the employers, one of their arguments is that the minimum wage has risen by 36% since 2018, and they ask to prevent more burdens from accumulating for companies.
