Alicante will be one of the provinces that will benefit most from the 5% increase in the Minimum Interprofessional Wage (SMI) agreed between the Government and the unions, due to the large number of workers directly subject to this indicator. Many agreements in the region foresee low wages and these now need to be reviewed. It’s not for nothing that the county has the fifth lowest average wages in the country, according to the latest official Social Security data.
In this way, in total cNearly 100,000 Alicante residents will see their income increase According to, with the implementation of the new SMI Calculations of the CC OO union, Almost half of those in the Valencian Community as a whole will see their salaries increase for the same reason. At the national level, the same union estimates beneficiaries will be almost two million; This figure, as stated by the Minister of Labor, Joaquin Perez rose to 2.5 million when the deal was announced.
Agreement with which employers withdrew, minimum monthly salary It will increase from 1,080 euros to 1,134 euros per month, in both cases it is multiplied by 14 payments. So the new SMI will be 15,876 euros gross annually.
An increase that will directly affect them all Workers not currently protected by any contractas occurs with cleaners or those of many SMEs and micro SMEs. It will also have a particular impact on industries. agricultureThe salary of daily workers is also linked to this minimum income.
But in addition, in the case of Alicante, the increase in SMI will also be challenging. Examine the salary tables of some collective agreements Includes salaries in the lowest categories below this amountmost are linked to the service sector. To name a few examples, provincial agreements for supermarkets and food stores or cleaning agreements can be examples of this.
“It is important that salaries continue to increaseanyone. We cannot have workers who cannot earn a living while tourism is breaking records, hospitality is breaking records and almost all sectors in the state are presenting good figures,” says the general secretary of the CC OO in l’Alacantí i les Marines. Francisco García. In this sense, the union leader also demands that the increase be effectively passed on to workers and that this does not happen as, in his opinion, many employers did before. They compensated for the increase in SMI by reducing or eliminating some supplements.
For his part, the general secretary of the UGT in l’Alacantí-la Marina, Yolanda Diazemphasizes that precautions This will particularly benefit the two most disadvantaged groups in the labor market, women and youth., who tend to occupy the lowest-paid jobs. “This is a way of contributing to closing the gender gap,” he says of the agreement signed in Madrid. Also remember that consumption is the main engine of the economy, so it will also support the growth of activities.
Businessmen
As expected, regional employers do not agree with this view. CEV, thinks that the current slowdown is not the most conducive situation for a new increase in costs for companies. Therefore, they remember from the organization headed by Salvador Navarro that companies should already do this. endure a significant increase in costs energy, raw materials and interest rates, so The priority should be to maintain the current employment level. A goal where they believe “an increase (of salary) appropriate to the situation is necessary.”
He also regrets that the Government did not include his request. review prices of public contracts To be able to influence this increase in SMI on them.
Asaja Alicante’s president was much more powerful. José Vicente AndreuHe described the agreement between the government and the unions as follows: “devastating“For the sector. A sector where labor is represented”more than 50% of the total cost“We’re not against people earning more money and living better, but we kind of have to compete with imports from countries with lower wages,” he said. preservation agent For national product. Otherwise we cannot compete,” Andreu insists.
Women, young people and people with permanent contracts
According to CC OO’s analysis at the national level, the majority of employees who will benefit from the increase in SMI are women, who currently represent 55% of professionals earning a wage equivalent to this indicator. Moreover, it is much more common among young people; So much so that 63 percent of those earning minimum wage are under the age of 35. Of course, interestingly, it is not precarious workers who are most affected by this situation, as close to 71% of those in this situation are in precarious employment. By sector, the highest incidence is in the agricultural sector, where 45% of those employed receive SMI; This is followed by the trade and hospitality industry with 19.5% of hires and the manufacturing industry with 14.8%. same sources.