The Government calls a new meeting next Tuesday for unions and businessmen to agree on the rise of the SMI

The Ministry of Labor has summoned unions and employers to a new meeting to try to reach an agreement on the increase in the Minimum Interprofessional Wage (SMI). The appointment will take place next Tuesday at 11:00. Agreement expectations are at rock bottom, given the distance between the negotiators’ positions. The CEOE proposes a maximum increase of 1,040 euros and subject to conditions, such as the establishment of new deductions in the agricultural sector and the modification of the price review regulations in public procurement processes. The unions, both UGT and CC OO, propose an increase up to 1,100 euros, above the 8.4% inflation of last year. Now the SMI is 1,000 euros in 14 payments, after the increase approved in February last year (agreed with the unions and without the employer).

There are also differences in the Government: the Ministry of Economy wants to speed up the negotiation and prioritizes that employers are not left out of the pact, while Labor hopes to approve the increase as soon as possible and, although it also defends the inclusion of employers, it does not seem like a Indispensable condition. Sources from the department headed by Yolanda Díaz explain that the meeting is called to determine if there is any option for an agreement. Otherwise, in the ministry they are committed to making an immediate decision, without further meetings. The same sources insist that, regardless of when the increase is approved, it will have retroactive effects from January 1.

The confederal secretary of the UGT, Fernando Luján, believes that the negotiation of the minimum wage will end on Tuesday “with agreement or without agreement.” He sees it difficult for businessmen to form part of the pact due to the great difference in positions. “The minimum wage has to be discussed in parameters of dignity and sufficiency, not economists. The agreement seems impossible to me ”, indicates Luján. In a similar vein, CC OO sources point out that “there is not much to tell about Tuesday’s meeting; In December there was a meeting where unions and employers made our proposals and the Government now has to say what it is going to do”.

This last point is important because, really, the agreement is an objective of the Government, but not a necessity. The Executive has the power to increase the minimum wage as it deems appropriate. And if there were a decision on the same Tuesday, that day opens a favorable window to announce it, since a new face to face will take place in the Senate between the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the leader of the opposition, Alberto Núñez Feijóo .

Luján specifies that his union would be willing to accept about 1,080 euros, the same figure in which the Ministry of Labor proposes. Yolanda Díaz has indicated on several occasions that she is committed to the “high range” of the range included in the expert report commissioned by the Government, which ranges between 1,046 and 1,082 euros. If it rose by around 8%, it would be close to the same increase that has driven pensions this year.

When the Minister of Economy, Nadia Calviño, was asked about this issue, she preferred not to give figures, but she did insist that the agreement should include employers. CEOE sources confirm that they have received the call on Tuesday.

The minimum wage has grown a lot in recent years. The biggest increase occurred in 2019, when it increased from 736 euros per month to 900. Since then it has been growing progressively to 14,000 euros per year.

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