Agreement to raise civil servants' salaries by 11% until 2028

BarcelonaThe Ministry of Public Administration and the unions UGT and CSIF – CCOO is awaiting approval from its internal bodies – reached a multi-year agreement Wednesday night to raise the salaries of more than three million civil servants by 11% between 2025 and 2028. This increase will be distributed in two stages: 1.5% in 2026, with an additional variable of 0.5% linked to the Consumer Price Index (CPI); 4.5% in 2027; and 2% in 2028, according to union sources. This year's 2.5% salary increase for employees across various administrations will be paid in December, with retroactive effect from January 1st. For 2026, the agreement stipulates a fixed salary increase of 1.5%, with an additional half percentage point if year-end inflation equals or exceeds the 1.5% fixed increase. If this occurs, the extra 0.5% will be paid retroactively in the first quarter of 2027. All subsequent years will only have a fixed component. Although the agreed-upon increase for the period 2025-2028 is 11%, unions estimate that the cumulative salary increase for public employees over these four years will approach 11.5%, due to the carryover effect of consolidating annual increases in the salary scales. The agreement also incorporates various improvements to civil servants' working conditions, such as the elimination of the replacement rate, streamlining of selection processes, and increased staffing for public service positions, among others. This agreement between the ministry and the unions was reached after another meeting, the second this week, between the Secretary of State for Public Administration, Consuelo Sánchez Naranjo, and representatives from CCOO, UGT, and CSIF.

Recover purchasing power

"It's a great agreement, in which not only public sector workers win, but also the quality of public services and the general public," remarked Isabel Araque, General Secretary of UGT Public Services, upon leaving the meeting. She also highlighted that this agreement implies the recovery of 2.9 percent of the purchasing power that civil servants had lost. "We should celebrate. This agreement provides certainty and confidence, not only to public sector workers, but also to the administrations," she added. CSIF, from the perspective of the union, maintained that the salary agreement reached is "the best possible under the current political circumstances" and ends the salary freeze that civil servants had been experiencing this year. "CSIF endorses this agreement out of a sense of responsibility and commitment to public employees. We have achieved the best possible agreement considering the difficulties the country is facing, the political instability, the budget impasse, and the economic limitations imposed by the European Union and NATO due to defense spending," stated the union, chaired by Miguel Borra. The parties have agreed to establish a monitoring committee to ensure compliance with the agreed measures within a maximum of fifteen days from the signing of the agreement. CSIF has emphasized that the agreement "is not a blank check" and that it will ensure its timely and proper implementation, reserving the right to take all necessary measures to guarantee its effective execution.