The 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.

"Either he sits down to negotiate or there will be a general strike." This is the message that the main unions representing public sector workers—CCOO, UGT, and CSIF—sent to the Minister of Labor, Óscar López, after holding a demonstration this Thursday morning in front of the ministry headquarters in Madrid. Public sector workers have been demonstrating throughout Spain to demand "quality public services, salary increases, more public sector jobs, and improved working conditions" for 3.5 million public employees. For now, the unions have achieved one of their main demands, essential for reaching an agreement: unblocking negotiations. After months of trying to reopen talks, the ministry has agreed to hold a first meeting on November 5. "The deterioration of the public sector is causing undesirable situations, which translate into a greater social response. We see this in healthcare, education, social services, the justice system, and other strategic sectors, as well as in the daily management of essential public services," the unions said in a statement.

The after-effects of decades of abuse of temporary employment in the public administration have not completely disappeared. Although the Generalitat has almost closed the process of stabilizing the interim staff, this group continues to express concerns and doubts about their future employment. The Government assures that it has managed to reduce this anomaly and now only 7.9% of its 182,815 employees - Brussels required that it be less than 8% - are temporary, compared to 35.5% in 2021. During this time, 46,800 interim employees have obtained a position.