Spain's Labour Ministry Gives Experts Until End of October for Minimum Wage Report; Current Rate 1,221 Euros a Month
Spain's Second Vice-President and Minister of Labour and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, met the expert advisory committee on the minimum wage on October 8 and pressed it to speed up its work, setting a deadline of the end of October, or the first days of November at the latest, for its report on raising the interprofessional minimum wage. The current rate is 1,221 euros a month, paid in 14 instalments.
The committee's mandate is to calculate how much the minimum wage should rise: both to approach 60% of the average net wage, the benchmark in the European Social Charter, and to protect purchasing power, with particular attention to how inflation hits the poorest households and to Spain's current economic growth. Which inflation figure to use as a reference is left to the committee. Spain's inflation was estimated at 4.9% in September.
The committee's chair, academic Begoña Cueto, said the calculation method has been settled in recent years, which should speed up the work. The committee brings together government members, union representatives and academics.
Once the report is ready, the Labour Ministry will meet unions and employers to negotiate before the government sets the final increase. With the Cortes dissolved and a general election set for November 29, the timetable has been sharply compressed, and the decision is expected to land during the campaign. (Source: Ministry of Labour and Social Economy, Spain)
Source: Ministry of Labour and Social Economy, Spain
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：马德里新部委大楼区（资料图）。Wikimedia Commons 开放授权。 / Photo: Nuevos Ministerios complex, Madrid (file photo). Wikimedia Commons, open license.
