The board of directors of a large employer has voted unanimously in favor of a preliminary agreement with the unions to renew the salary contract. An extraordinary gathering of business leaders on Monday confirmed their commitments, signaling at least a 10% salary increase for employees through 2025, compared with a 4% rise this year and 3% in each of the next two years. Now union centers are urging government authorities to complete the signing of the fifth Employment and Collective Bargaining Agreement (AENC).
One year and three months after President Pedro Sánchez urged collaboration between employers and unions to forge a three-party income agreement, social partners are poised to sign their own accords. With the government’s plan faltering, Sánchez has begun to implement measures to curb the cost of living without full social mediation, while employers and unions have tied salary dynamics to themselves.
That process endured long days and a real risk of a so‑called warm autumn. If the deal holds, private sector salaries could track inflation this year and may even gain purchasing power, depending on how the CPI moves. Research groups such as Funcas estimate annual inflation around 4.1%, while social intermediaries project a floor of 4% plus an extra point if the CPI exceeds 4%.
How does the salary agreement between employers and unions affect your pocket?
The planned private‑sector pay rise is set to exceed the amount agreed by the central government for public employees. Management has agreed to raise salaries by 8 to 9.5% between 2022 and 2024, contingent on GDP growth and inflation. In the private sector, payrolls could rise between 10% and 13% if companies adhere to the agreement closely.
Agreements such as the metals agreement or the Girona trade agreement, the Lleida fruit-picking accord, and the government deal for chemicals impacting Tarragona are among those due to expire in the coming months and will need to incorporate AENC recommendations.
Deal extends a Spanish oasis
Centres have secured commitments from employers to push wage growth beyond the inertia that collective bargaining has previously allowed. The latest figures from the Ministry of Labor show average wage gains of 3.1%, while new deals being closed are reaching increases of 4.8%.
In essence, unions and employers have found a middle ground between months of inaction and the wage pressure that companies reluctantly admit by raising salaries after a year of restraint. The centers agreed to soften some sector demands in exchange for generalization and higher increases in areas with weaker attachment and with workers facing further erosion of purchasing power.
The agreement generally lacks mechanisms to correct or compensate for the loss of purchasing power suffered in the prior year. The year 2022 saw the largest wage devaluation in Spain since 1985, with wages rising 2.8% against an 8.4% CPI increase.
The success of the AENC has quieted several protest movements in recent months. Spain is seen as an oasis of social peace with one of the lowest strike rates in decades, contrasting with neighboring countries where wage demands or new regulatory reforms have sparked street protests, as seen in France over pensions.