He Ministry of Labor and Social Economythrough its Secretary of State Joaquín Pérez Rey, has expressed its willingness to review the Minimum Interprofessional Wage (SMI) in the event that the inflation spike linked to the war in Iran, lower the purchasing power of the Spanish. In this way, Pérez Rey has stressed that current regulations allow the possibility of updating this basic income on a semiannual basis.
During his speech at the Labor and Social Economy Commission in the Senate, the Secretary of State clarified that the Government is “willing to take it into account” if the evolution of prices demands it. These words reinforce the Executive’s commitment to adapt the SMI to the real economic situation of the Spanish people, in the midst of a context in which international uncertainty and inflationary tension stand out.
Currently, the Minimum salary is 1,221 euros per month in 14 paymentswhich is equivalent to 17,094 gross euros per year after the 3.1% increase that was approved in January. Since 2018, the accumulated increase has reached 64%, an evolution that the Executive presents as one of the axes of its labor rights policy.
Raise salaries to end the European gap
Pérez Rey also wanted to defend the need to continue with the salary increase to end the gap with Europe, which is at 20%. In this sense, he claimed the role of the SMI as a tool to improve working conditions although he recognized the government’s limits when talking about the private sector.
“The Government cannot directly influence the salaries of companies,” he said, while calling for collective bargaining as the provincial and only way to extend the increases to all workers. Moving towards higher salaries, he noted, is key to consolidating improvements in employment.
The possible adjustment of the SMI in the coming months will, in any case, be conditional on the evolution of inflation and the real impact of the international context on prices.