Salary increase talks in government circles remain unsettled as officers and union representatives brace for a potential fall mobilization if the state does not sit down to negotiate. María Jesús Montero, serving as Minister of Finance and head of Public Service, has signaled an openness to discuss wage growth with the unions in the coming period, following a recent cabinet meeting where the topic was briefly reviewed. The central question moving through the corridors of power is how large an increase the ministry plans to back in the General Government Budget (PGE) for 2023, and how that would tie into broader income-trajectory discussions with the private sector. Roughly 3.4 million public employees are awaiting the government’s stated wage rise, a figure that looms large in the ongoing fiscal conversation and in the calculation of next year’s labor costs within the public payroll. The government has positioned this payroll as a strategic lever in the broader budget negotiations, aiming to balance inflation containment with the political and social expectations of public workers. (Citation: Ministry of Finance, Spain)
Montero affirmed the government’s willingness to engage in wage negotiations with the unions for the following year. The process is formal and necessary for transparency, yet an agreement is not guaranteed simply by starting discussions. The payroll of 3.4 million public sector workers stands as a central bargaining chip that the executive can deploy to anchor negotiations with employers and the unions, particularly as the government seeks to secure a revenue framework that can support inflation containment measures. Historically, the government has faced pressure from business groups to set lower boundaries on pay increases that could serve as a reference for private employers, a move designed to prevent private sector salary demands from spiraling ahead of the public sector settlements. (Citation: Ministry of Finance, Spain)
The landscape remains cautious, with some unions and public sector bodies wary of mixing private sector wage dynamics with public sector negotiations. The CSIF, which plays a significant role within the administration, maintains authority in the public sphere but does not have a formal stake in the private sector wage talks, highlighting the delicate balance the government must strike when aligning public pay scales with private sector expectations. (Citation: Ministry of Finance, Spain)