The Government is warming up to decide what the increase in the interprofessional minimum wage will be for next year. The second vice president of the Government and Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, stated this Thursday that the CEOE proposal, in which business owners propose, in general terms, an increase of 3% by 2024, is well received. by his department, but he has also warned that inflation will be decisive when it comes to finalizing a final figure.
Díaz has highlighted that year-on-year inflation will range between 3.7% and 3.8% in November, a figure that will be above the CEOE’s approach. The employers assured in their proposal that they already took into account “variables provided for in article 27.1 of the Workers’ Statute, such as the CPI.” “Faced with an unprecedented inflation crisis, as we have in our country, we are going to undertake the increase in the interprofessional minimum wage,” the minister emphasized.
The Ministry of Labor plans to convene “immediately” the social agents to inform them of “the immediate increase in the SMI”, the third vice president has advanced. The employers’ proposal is already known and the unions are preparing a joint position that they will announce today.
Yolanda Díaz has stated that the Government “does not want a society based on low salaries, ‘low cost’, as has been the case in Spain”, but rather a European country in terms of salaries. “We have a negative differential of 25 points with Europe,” she highlighted.
The general secretary of UGT, Pepe Álvarez, also spoke today about the SMI. For the union, the Government has to fulfill this term with the commitment that the SMI reaches 60% of the average salary. Asked about the different calculations of the average salary, Álvarez assured that UGT has three clear references: the data from Social Security, the Tax Agency and Eurostat. Last week, Álvarez himself placed the SMI level at around 1,200 euros per month.
Pepe Álvarez has also highlighted that the increase in the SMI has to take into account not only average inflation, but also the rise in food prices. “It seems to us that it is one of the criteria that we have to place” in the decision, he stated. For UGT, linking SMI with the AENC, as the employers did, is not a good option.
Díaz has also highlighted today that one of his objectives for this legislature is to work in favor of economic democracy and the participation of workers in their companies, without distinction. “The sovereignty of the people must always be above market laws, which are very restrictive, very exclusive. And it can’t be like that. (…) No one better than a worker to defend their job and, above all, for the proper development of companies,” the minister defended.
