The commission of experts recommends the government to raise the SMI by 4.9%, up to 1,281 euros

BarcelonaThe Ministry of Labor maintains its intention to approve the increase in the interprofessional minimum wage (SMI) before the end of the legislature. As the Secretary of State for Labor, Joaquín Pérez Rey, indicated this Wednesday, the will is to push forward the 2027 update "as soon as possible." And the facts demonstrate this: this Wednesday, the ministry has summoned the employer associations – CEOE and Cepyme – and the unions – CCOO and UGT – to address the increase. At the social dialogue table, in addition, the proposal from the committee of experts will be presented, which advises that, for the coming year, the SMI should be raised by 4.9%, up to 1,281 gross euros in 14 payments, as explained in a press conference by Pérez Rey. Currently it is 1,221 euros.

The Secretary of State has assured that they want to listen to "what they have to say," both the employer associations and the unions, regarding the proposal prepared by the committee of experts. Pérez Rey indicated that "it is a good moment" to activate social dialogue around a "very important" rise in the SMI in the face of the effect of inflation on wages: "It is urgent to get to work to manage to raise the SMI," he stressed.

It must be remembered that the approval of the minimum wage is a power of the Moncloa and, therefore, it does not have to go through the General Courts to be approved. In this way, it could even be approved with a caretaker government.

Unions and employer associations

However, it is not expected to be easy to reach an agreement with the social partners. A few weeks ago, the unions conveyed to the ministry headed by Yolanda Díaz their desire to raise the SMI by 7% to place it at 1,306 euros. "Taking into account the imbalance between the increase applied in February of this year and the CPI, we are talking about a difference of around 2%. Therefore, we believe that the increase in the SMI for 2027 must reach, at a minimum, 7%," said the general secretary of the UGT, Pepe Álvarez. Furthermore, his counterpart at CCOO, Unai Sordo, recalled the Spanish government's commitment to legislate to prevent the absorption and compensation of bonuses and salary supplements in the minimum wage.

In contrast, the Spanish employers' association has shown itself to be against an update. The president of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), Antonio Garamendi, attacked the intention to update the threshold in the middle of an electoral stage a few days ago, which he classified as "incredible". For his part, the president of Foment del Treball, Josep Sánchez Llibre, described the proposal as a "whim".

The latest minimum wage updates have not had the support of the business community. In fact, the last time that the CEOE and Cepyme supported raising it was in 2020, when it went from 900 to 950 euros per month.