The Government met yesterday with employers and unions to find out their positions regarding the increase in the Minimum Interprofessional Wage (SMI) for 2024, an increase that the Executive wants to place at 4% so that it rises from 1,080 euros in fourteen payments around 1,120.
As confirmed yesterday by sources from the Ministry of Labor, this would be an increase that would preserve the purchasing power of the workers who earn the least (since average inflation will close this year at around 3.6%) and it is an increase that is halfway between what the unions propose and what the employers ask for, which would allow a tripartite agreement to be reached that has not occurred since 2020.
UGT and CCOO explained yesterday at the table that the increase in the SMI for next year has to comply with two precepts. The first is that the equivalence with 60% of the average salary continues to be maintained, as stipulated in the European Social Charter – for which it would be interesting to know the report of the Ministry’s Committee of Experts, which is still “working on it.” , according to the negotiating team of this union. Secondly, the increase has to be in line with the salary increase that is being agreed upon this quarter in collective bargaining, of around 5%.
Faced with these positions, the CEOE and Cepyme proposed an increase in the SMI of 3%, in line with the generic increase recommendation that was agreed with the unions in the Agreement for Employment and Collective Bargaining (AENC). This increase would be conditional on a relief in social contributions for the countryside – one of the sectors with the highest incidence of the SMI – and a reform of the Deindexation Law that allows contracts to be updated when costs rise (in this case salaries if the SMI rises). The unions agree with the latter.
The second vice president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, wants to start the legislature with a tripartite agreement and has made it clear that her main objective is to mediate between the parties and reach an agreement, something that could be achieved with an intermediate increase close to 4% .
After today’s meeting, the Executive will analyze the positions of the representatives of companies and workers and will prepare a proposal for an increase that will have to be justified by the report of its Committee of Experts. As this is not yet finished and the Ministry will want to present it publicly before making a proposal for an increase, they have given themselves until Monday, December 11 to meet again and be able to close an agreement on specific figures. According to the negotiators present, yesterday there was no talk of numbers, only of intentions.