What is the labor reform currently in force in Spain about?
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(CNN in Spanish) --
The Government of Spain and two of the country's main trade union organizations, Workers Commissions (CCOO) and the General Union of Workers (UGT), have agreed this Wednesday to set the minimum interprofessional wage (SMI) for 2022 at 1,000 euros gross per month, spread over 14 payments.
This amount, equivalent to about US$1,140, represents an increase of 35 euros over the current SMI, set at 965 euros.
The improvement of 35 euros per month (US$ 40) will benefit about two million workers in the country, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy.
Among the most benefited, as estimated by the CCOO economic cabinet, will be the youngest, especially those aged between 16 and 24 who work full time.
This agreement, in addition, will have retroactive effects to January 1 of this year.
This means that any permanent worker, regardless of the sector in which they are dedicated and without distinction of sex or age, must end 2022 with a total of 14,000 euros gross, which can be divided into 12 payments and two other extraordinary payments, or receive it all in twelve payments and with the other two months prorated throughout the year.
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In the case of casual and temporary workers, the agreement establishes that they must receive 47.36 euros per day, while domestic employees will be paid a minimum of 7.82 euros per hour.
This is not the biggest increase that the SMI has experienced in Spain, but it does represent one of the most important.
And its relevance lies in the comparison that both unions make with the month of July 2018, when they agreed – together with the business organizations the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE) and the Spanish Confederation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (CEPYME)-- that collective agreements raise salaries to 14,000 euros gross per year until 2020. Agreement that has not been fulfilled one hundred percent, as they claim.
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The greatest increase that the SMI has experienced in recent years occurred in 2018 and after the change of government resulting from the motion of censure that was presented against former president Mariano Rajoy.
Already with the reins of the Executive, Pedro Sánchez promoted an increase in the SMI that reached 900 euros, which represented 22% more than the previous figure, when it stood at 735.90 euros.
Since then, the lowest salaries have experienced two more increases: one in 2020, when it reached 950 euros, and another in November 2021, when it rose to 965 euros.
How are the minimum wages in the rest of Europe?
Within the European Union, Luxembourg is the country with the highest minimum wage: 2,256.95 euros gross per month (approximately US$ 2,577).
While, on the opposite side, Bulgaria is the nation in the community bloc with the lowest minimum wage: 332.34 euros gross per month, according to data from the European Statistical Office, better known as Eurostat.
In the case of Spain, it ranks as the seventh nation with the highest minimum wage.
However, Eurostat does not take into account that the Spanish SMI agreements are reflected in 14 payments, which divides the annual gross amount into twelve months.
In this way, it can be confirmed that the new SMI in Spain is 3.5 times higher than the lowest in the entire European Union.
