The Unions Harden Their Expectations Of Wage Increases To 3.7%

The unions take their vanguard position in the face of the salary increases that they propose for the present 2022. UGT launched a notorious statement about the publication of the CPI for December: the deputy general secretary of Trade Union Policy of the UGT, Mariano Hoya, requested that the agreements include a wage increase for 2022 higher than the average inflation forecast, of 3.7%, and that they include wage review clauses, to guarantee that workers retain their purchasing power in the face of the rise in inflation, which closed 2021 at 6.5%, according to data published this Friday by the national statistical office.

Considering that the average CPI data for December 2021 is 3.1% and that so far this year, the agreements include an average wage increase of 1.5%, wage earners have lost purchasing power of 1.6%. Since 2018, the growth of the CPI has been 6.8%, with two anomalous years (2020 down, 2021 up), slightly exceeding the 2% target of the European Central Bank (ECB).

In the case of recipients of the Interprofessional Minimum Wage (SMI), the loss of purchasing power was 2.6 points, taking as a reference the increase in prices, at a time when “a boost in consumer consumption was needed.” homes to strengthen this recovery.

Counting on an obvious loss of purchasing power, the unions have hardened their position for a few weeks, when they anticipated expecting increases of between 2% and 3%. Now, they take as a reference the Bank of Spain IPC projections for this year and rise to 3.7%.

that the position of the UGT and CCOO unions on the wage increase for 20222 had not yet been outlined. This Friday, UGT did confirm part of the objective, which is to guarantee that employees at least do not lose purchasing power. Neither Pepe Álvarez, general secretary of the UGT, nor Unai Sordo, general secretary of the CCOO, explained the trade union strategy, which will have to be defined in future negotiations.

In addition, he also asked the Government to “immediately” convene the social dialogue table to “urgently” address the update of the SMI for 2022. UGT recalls that for this exercise it must rise from the current 965 euros to 1,000 euros, and apply retroactively from January 1. For the next financial year, the SMI must be equal to 60% of the average Spanish salary. UGT anticipates the rise to recovery: “wages must adjust to the new scenario of growth in activity and increase in prices so that working people participate in the bonanza”