Do wages have to be increased according to the CPI?

A raise in salaries? There is still no agreement. There are discrepancies in the amount to be increased. The revenue pact to which the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, appealed after the outbreak of war in Ukraine has not been formalized in a collective bargaining agreement between employers and unions.

The president of the CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, explains that if workers’ salaries are raised “but companies do not have the capacity to move that to their billing, it is impossible, it would be bankruptcy”.

For the unions there is only one way: “or division or conflict”, says Unai Sordo, Secretary General of CCOO. They ask that salaries also rise because if there is no distribution of income through wages, Sordo says that the economy “will suffer”.

Trade unions and employers agree that wages should not be linked to inflation. Garamendi believes it would be a “problem” for Spain.

To avoid this, the president of CaixaBank bets on the income pact and a monetary policy that helps lower prices. ” If we get into second round effects is where the management would be more complicated,” he explains.

The workers say that now prices are rising: gasoline, food…”it is difficult for you to live on that salary”.

However, for some shop owners, increasing wages would pose a problem that could end the firing of workers.

The Treasury refuses to negotiate “for the moment” the salary increase of public employees, said the Secretary of State for Civil Service, Lidia Sánchez, who assures that they are “focused” on plans to respond to the war in Ukraine and the impact of inflation.

CCOO and UGT already announced last week mobilizations in the Public Service if that call for a new agreement on wages, employment and rights was not opened.