In the final stretch of the negotiation for the increase in the Minimum Interprofessional Wage (SMI) for 2024, when the imminent call for a new meeting with social agents is expected, which should be the decisive one, SMEs have presented the reasons why they They are considered the most affected by these increases.
The proposal of the Ministry of Labor is a 4% increase in the SMI, which would place it at 1,123 euros per month for fourteen payments; an intermediate percentage between the 3% proposed by the employers and the 5% of the unions. The CEOE would be willing to accept 4%, but conditional on the contracts with public administrations being indexed, that is, transferring part of the increase in the SMI to the final price. Something that Labor accepts, but that the Treasury, which has the final say there, flatly refuses to facilitate, so the potential consensus is in danger.
It is in this context that Cepyme has published its report Repercussion of the increase in the SMI on Spanish SMEs, which analyzes the impact of a 5% increase in the minimum wage, as proposed by the unions, that is, up to 1,134 euros. The consequences of this increase would be that the monthly cost per worker would rise to 1,824 euros, that in small companies the minimum wage would represent 70% of the average wage, that is, well above the 60% set as an objective by the Government and unions; and that with this increase, in 13 autonomous communities the SMI would also exceed the 60% objective.
The study highlights the different impact that the increase has depending on the size of the company, with the smallest ones, which pay lower salaries due to their lower productivity, taking the brunt. “An excessive burden, which entails risks for the sustainability of these companies and, therefore, the employment they generate. Specifically, in small companies the SMI would reach 70% of the average salary, a percentage that remains at 58.5% in medium-sized companies, and 53.5% in large companies. The total would be 60.8%.
The one that suffers the most is the small company in the services sector, with a greater impact of the SMI, which ends up accounting for 70.5% of the average salary in the sector, although the effect is also important in sectors with higher salaries, such as industry. and construction.
When analyzing the costs for companies of increasing the SMI, the calculation places a minimum monthly salary cost of between 1,740 and 1,824 euros, depending on the type of contribution for work accidents. It is the result of adding the SMI with social contributions, and is between 67% and 75% more than the SMI.
Other complaints from SMEs about the increase in the SMI increase are the usual ones. Especially its differentiated impact by territory, with communities such as Extremadura where the new SMI would be 72.8% of the average salary, followed by the Canary Islands (68.5%), Murcia (67.4%) and Andalusia (66.5%). %.At the other extreme, there is Madrid, where the SMI would represent only 52.3%, followed by the Basque Country, Navarra and Catalonia, in a range between 54% and 57%.
An argument that is also used is the comparison with OECD countries. The growth of the Spanish SMI of 47% between 2018 and 2023 is much higher than the average for these countries, which remains at 30%.
