Salaries agreed in collective agreements rose by an average of 2.6% until August, according to the latest data published by the Ministry of Labor. The figure is slightly higher than the figure for July (2.56%), but still very far from inflation, almost eight points less than the last advance CPI, of August, of 10.4%.
Strikes grow 20% with inflation triggered at the gates of the wage battle
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According to published data, the agreements that have been signed throughout 2022 include somewhat higher salary increases, with an average of 2.9%. In total agreements with economic effects until August this year stands at 2,540, reaching 7.1 million workers.
According to Labor statistics, most of the agreements registered until August do not have a salary revision clause to avoid losses in purchasing power due to the evolution of inflation. Only 14.4% (366) of the agreements had a salary guarantee clause and 276 of them contemplate that it be applied retroactively.
If we look at the workers, 24% of those who are covered by collective agreements have a clause of this type. In other words, more than three out of four workers do not have the guarantee of this instrument.
The Government asks that employers and unions negotiate
The Executive has again insisted that the social agents sit down to negotiate a salary agreement for this year, marked by high inflation and, given the limited salary increases, by the loss of purchasing power of the workers. From the socialist side, with a generic call to both parties to the collective bargaining, and from United We Can, Yolanda Díaz has expressly pointed to the bosses, whom she accuses of “blocking” the salary bargaining.
Before the summer, the CCOO and UGT unions began a campaign of mobilizations in defense of the improvement of wages and have warned that they will intensify the protests due to the refusal of the CEOE to sit down again to address a possible agreement, after the breakdown of trading in May.
The unions demand that the increase agreements include salary revision clauses, a red line in the face of triggered inflation to avoid the impoverishment of the workers, but they point out that during the negotiation with the employers they were open to negotiating how these clauses would be applied.
The leader of the UGT, Pepe Álvarez, stressed this week that the unions relaxed their initial requests to try to reach an agreement with the employers and criticized the employers for the resounding “no” to any type of guarantee of purchasing power.
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