Unions and employers will need to return to the negotiating table for the wage deal after the CEOE’s this Friday. last offer not worth it joint UGT and CCOO. At a meeting this Friday between labor market experts from the main employers’ associations, business leaders concluded that the increases proposed by the unions in connection with the development of prices are “unacceptable” and continue negotiations with the aim of reaching an agreement flexible enough to accommodate different situations of different industries.
Therefore, the key to the lack of meeting remains in the recovery of purchasing power lost by the impact of prices. For unions, the pact should ensure that the purchasing power of salaries is maintained, although the ground lost in a year must be regained as follows; employers completely oppose this link between wages and the CPI, and wage-price spiral this will only feed further inflation. While this Friday’s meeting is not for the general managers of employers’ associations who will make the final decision on a possible deal, the opposition of the technicians makes it impossible to support an agreement on the terms proposed by the UGT. and CCOO.
Union proposal rejected
The union approach was a three-year deal where wage increases would be 3.4%, 2.5% and 2% for 2022, 2023 and 2024, respectively. update item This year, 50% of inflation, which exceeds the salary increase, will allow for recovery at the end of the year, while the other 50% expects to recover in the next two years. The salary review mechanism will also work for 2023 and 2024 increases, but by then prices are expected to return to manageable levels.
According to sources from the employers’ association, the general feeling of experts from different employers’ associations at this Friday’s meeting is that accepting such a price-linked clause could be very harmful for companies, especially those in sectors with less margin. as they find themselves again in a crisis after being hit hard by the pandemic (for example, the case of agriculture or hospitality). On the other hand, taking into account the fact that there are other economic activities that are in better condition, the experts of the employers’ union, in general, enough flexibility to meet different industry situations.
senior meeting
The joint union proposal was formally communicated to the business partners at the highest level meeting ever: a meeting attended last Tuesday by the CEOE, UGT and CCOO leaders alongside the regular negotiators. At that meeting, sometimes nervous -according to the sources it contains- once again employers opposed to the union offer an approach that has already been rejected by the UGT and CCOO: 3% (2022), 2% (2023) and 2% (2024), Productivity and GDP figures for the years in question If positive, it can increase the cumulative increase over these three years to a maximum of 9%, with possible additions.
The sharp rise in prices as a result of the war in Ukraine complicates the wage agreement more and more, making it difficult to agree on numbers given the future course of the parties. inflation very unpredictable. While unions and businessmen conspired to get the deal ready before the end of March, debates over whether to preserve purchasing power have spawned five meetings so far and countless contacts removed from the table. encourage intimacy. According to negotiating sources, the government is pressing both sides to sign, but the social partners want to see a full picture of the political measures taken to contain the energy surge before reaching an agreement.