After signing this Wednesday, the CEOE employers’ association president began by saying, “We deserve a round of applause.” fifth state contract for collective bargaining (AENC). Heads of CEOE and Cepyme employers, Antonio Garamendi and Gerardo Cuervaand Unai Sordo and Pepe Álvarez, general secretaries of the CCOO and UGT, among other things, a cumulative salary increase of at least 10% in the whole period.
At the signing ceremony held at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, all spokespersons underlined the importance of the agreement for Turkey. strengthen economic growthguaranteeing the purchasing power of wages, reducing the effects of runoff inflation, and strengthen social peace In the lab scene.
Salary Review Clause
“We are in a moment of economic growth in the Spanish economy that requires an agreement with these characteristics, an umbrella, a framework that allows the resolution of approximately 1,400 collective agreements pending negotiation,” said Pepe Álvarez, secretary general of the UGT. The unions underline the importance of having managed to include in the agreement: salary review clause due to inflation, although of a very limited nature, because if enabled, it will only add an additional point to the agreed 4%, 3% and 3% increments for each of the three-year validity period of the agreement if inflation exceeds them. rates. “It is an agreement that builds internal and external trust and it places us in unrivaled conditions as a country to attract investment in the coming years.”
“State Agreement”
Garamendi, who wanted to underline the “state mentality” adopted by the signatories, said, “This is not against anyone, but for the benefit of all, for Spain.” Trying to emphasize the importance of “bilateral” social dialogue, the CEOE chairman said, “In a sensitive economic moment like the one we are in, social actors show our responsibility.” which move no representative State.
Unlock 1,400 contracts
“In an inflation context as complex as the current one, it has never been possible to sign a salary agreement with these characteristics,” said Unai Sordo, secretary general of the CCOO, to underline the importance of the agreement. To reach this agreement, unions had to set aside any pretense of restoring the purchasing power of 2022 and previous years, when average inflation rose to 8.4 percent. However, Sordo said that the signed AENC “a content is of paramount importance for the time being and its potential to strengthen collective bargaining.“The biggest challenge, he added, is being able to unblock the 1,400 pending collective agreements. This is the best antidote to the risks of a slowdown if it leads to an improvement in wages.”
Flexibility for SMEs
From a business perspective, assuming that a salary review clause is included (only 1%) is the price to be incurred for reaching an agreement that “particularly benefits SMEs” and creates “certainty and stability”. Chepyme stressed the president. Gerardo Cuerva emphasized the “flexible” nature of the dealis open to adaptations depending on sectors, regions and companies. Salary increases in AENC are not mandatory at the collective bargaining tables, although the signatory organizations are committed to promoting its principles. “Flexibility is a necessary tool in sensitive moments,” said Cuerva.