Good news for all officials in Spain. The Government, through the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Service, has finally closed an agreement with the UGT and CSIF unions that guarantees a cumulative salary increase of 11% until 2028. Now, the most immediate thing that will be welcomed by public employees and will be more noticeable in their pockets with the arrival of Christmas is that the first tranche of this pact, which is an increase of 2.5% corresponding to the year 2025, must be paid on a regular basis. retroactive from January 1 of this year, which in practice will mean receiving extra income on the December payroll.
This additional amount that officials, labor and statutory personnel will collect is not a bonus, but is the result of retroactivity. Given that the agreement establishes that the 2.5% increase takes effect from January 1, 2025, the Administration must now pay what was not paid month by month during the year. That is, in the December payroll the updated salary will be collected plus a “paguilla” corresponding to the arrears of eleven months (from January to November).
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According to negotiation sources, it is estimated that this salary increase will benefit around 3.5 million public employees. This comes after overcoming the obstacle of the spending ceiling thanks to a variable clause linked to the CPI for 2026, which seeks not only to recover the lost purchasing power (with an estimated gain of 2.9% in the period), but also to give confidence to officials in the face of inflation.
In order to make the payment effective this month, the Ministry has committed to approving the Royal Decree Law in the next Council of Ministers, which will be held on December 2.
How much money are the officials going to receive with the extra
Public employees will see the update of their basic and complementary salaries reflected in their December payroll. But how much are we talking about? Although the total increase agreed until 2028 ranges between 2,700 and 3,800 euros per year depending on the group of officials, what corresponds to 2025 is 2.5%.
To understand this extra (arrears), we must look at the remuneration by classification groups. Although the final figures may vary depending on seniority (triennia) and destination or specific complements, the estimates of the agreement allow a more or less approximate calculation of what the salary increase on the payroll will be like:
- Group A1: These are the ones that will experience the greatest nominal increase. With a projected increase of about 3,860 euros per year at the end of the period (2028), the payment of the 2.5% arrears for 2025 will be the largest item on the December payroll.
- Group A2: A total improvement of about 3,600 euros per year is estimated at the end of the agreement.
- Group C1 and C2: The administrative and auxiliary bodies, the most numerous, will see total increases of about 3,203 euros and 2,834 euros annually respectively between now and 2028.
Furthermore, we must know that this extra income will come accompanied by structural improvements, which were highly demanded by the unions. For example, the pact includes the definitive elimination of the replacement rate, which will allow the workforce to be adapted to the real needs of the services and not only cover retirements.
The implementation of the 35-hour work week and the regulation of teleworking in the General State Administration (AGE) have also been unblocked, measures that, together with the salary increase, make up what CSIF has described as “the best possible agreement in the current political circumstances.”
Finally, it should be noted that, by 2026, the increase will be a fixed 1.5%, but an additional 0.5% may be added if inflation exceeds 1.5%, thus guaranteeing that salaries do not lose track of the cost of living.