Impromptu meeting between the Second Vice President and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, and the General Secretaries of CC.OO., Unai Sordo, and UGT, Pepe Álvarez, to close an agreement on the increase in the Minimum Interprofessional Wage. At 11 in the morning the scheduled meeting of the ministry with the social agents began, but later it was raised to the highest level with this meeting from which the agreement on the increase of the SMI for this year is expected to come out.
The attendance of the minister and the general secretaries at this impromptu meeting represents an effort to achieve an agreement between the two parties on the increase of the SMI today. The demand of the unions moves between 1,080 and 1,100 euros per month, while on the part of the employer, it set its proposal at 1,040.
In any case, the CEOE has distanced itself from the meeting with a sit-in announced last night, stating that "the conditions are not met" to attend. Second plant of the employer, after they also did not attend the first meeting on December 21, which shows not only that relations with Labor are bad, but also that the CEOE wants to make it evident. A sit-in that the Secretary of State for Employment, Joaquín Pérez Rey, has described as "irresponsible".
Before the meeting, Pepe Álvarez has pressured the Government to make a decision as soon as possible. “We are a month late, and we are not going to allow it to be late. Today we conclude the process of negotiations, consultations. And as of today the Government has to make a decision”, the trade unionist stated. He has added that "whoever wins 1,000 euros cannot eat retroactively."
From the employers' association, its president Antonio Garamendi said this morning that "if they are not going to talk about it (the situation of farmers and public sector contracts), then they tell us the figure and that's it."
The proposal that the CEOE made and that it maintains is an increase in the SMI from the current 1,000 euros per month to 1,040; and furthermore, it makes it subject to two conditions. One is to establish a system of deductions for the agricultural sector and the second proposes modifying the regulations of the public sector contract law so that the increase in the SMI is applied to contracts in execution.
The basis of the negotiation is the expert report that set a range of between 1,046 and 1,082 euros. This is the translation into precise figures of the percentage of 60% of the average salary, which is the objective set by the Government.
So far, the Vice President and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, has not presented any proposal, and has simply stated that she is in favor of going to the "high section" of the fork proposed by the experts. In recent weeks, the unions have pressured the Government to make a decision, reminding it that it is only necessary to establish prior consultation with the social agents.
