The Secretary of State for Employment, Joaquín Pérez Rey, has announced that the government has proposed to the social partners a 3.1% increase in the national minimum wage (SMI) by 2026, raising it to €1,221 per month, paid in fourteen instalments and exempt from income tax (IRPF). He also committed to beginning a “serious” review of the rules governing the relaxation of wage de-indexation in public procurement.
The proposed amount represents a rise of €37 per month on the current €1,184 and aligns with one of the two options put forward by the Committee of Experts advising the government on the minimum wage. The Committee recommended a 3.1% increase if the minimum wage remained exempt from income tax, or a 4.7% increase if it became taxable. Once approved, the measure would apply retroactively from 1 January.
Pérez Rey, who confirmed that an agreement has been reached with the Treasury to ensure that the minimum wage will not be subject to income tax in 2026 either, said that the social partners will now examine the proposal, which was presented to them at a meeting that began early on Wednesday morning. To date, the Secretary of State for Employment has received neither an acceptance nor a rejection of the proposal.
He also explained that the meeting did not cover the reform of the rules on compensation and wage absorption, which would be addressed in a separate decree.
Less than what the unions demanded
The general secretary of the CCOO trade union, Unai Sordo, said in an interview with Spain's national radio, RNE, that the unions are calling for a 7.5% increase, which would raise the minimum wage to €1,273 per month. “The objective has always been the same: to comply with the European Social Charter,” Sordo explained, while leaving open the possibility of revising the percentage if the tax exemption for minimum-wage earners is maintained, as has now been announced. He also stressed the need to ensure that the minimum wage reaches at least 60% of the national average wage.
Sordo added that an agreement on the percentage is achievable if there is a “suitable fiscal agreement”. However, he underlined that the government must commit to amending the regulations governing the minimum wage, arguing that “many people who earn the minimum wage do not see the increase reflected in their pay packets because companies offset it by cutting salary supplements or bonuses by the same amount.”
Employers' proposal of 1.5% rejected
On the other hand, both the unions and the government have rejected the proposal from the Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations (CEOE), which called for a 1.5% increase, arguing that it falls below the rate of inflation.
The union leader also unveiled a new “ambitious” plan for raising average wages over the coming years.