The unions want a 7.5% increase in the minimum wage by 2026, to 1,273 euros per month.

MadridThe two largest unions are making moves in anticipation of an increase in the national minimum wage (SMI) in 2026. CCOO and UGT have formally outlined their proposal for negotiations with the Spanish government and employers, which have not yet begun: a 7.5% increase in the SMI, to €1,273. This increase represents an €89 raise over the current minimum wage, which stands at €1,184 gross per month (paid in fourteen installments), as detailed by Javier Pacheco, Secretary of Union Action for CCOO, and Fernando Luján, Secretary General of Union Policy for UGT, at a press conference this Tuesday. Both union representatives argued that the SMI increase for 2026 must be "substantial and substantial." According to the unions, despite being subject to income tax (IRPF), with a 7.5% increase, those receiving the minimum wage would still earn the equivalent of 60% of the average net salary, which is the benchmark established by the European Social Charter and the commitment of the Spanish government. "We say that 60% should be calculated on gross salaries [...]. This 7.5% increase is less than how business profit margins have increased this year," Luján argued. The income tax (IRPF) already dictated the 2025 increase. While the Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, rejected the idea of the minimum wage being taxed under this levy, the Ministry of Finance, headed by María Jesús Montero, defended it. Ultimately, the battle ended with a deduction for minimum wage earners so they wouldn't have to pay income tax. Looking ahead to 2026, Díaz has asked the committee of experts on the minimum wage to put forward two proposals: one for an increase subject to income tax, and another in which minimum wage earners remain exempt from this tax. However, the committee has not yet released its proposal.

Díaz asks the experts on the minimum wage to propose two figures depending on whether they pay income tax.

Looking ahead to 2026, one of the unions' red lines is ensuring that those earning the minimum wage do not see their salary supplements, included in their paychecks, affected. The social partners have repeatedly denounced that in some cases companies absorb these supplements into the wage increase, thus diluting their value.