Overview of the 2024 Minimum Wage Policy and Civil Service Adjustments
The government approved a 5% gross monthly increase in the interprofessional minimum wage (SMI) across 14 payments, raising it to €1,134 per month. This raise will apply retroactively from January 1 and reach workers throughout the labor market. The decision was reached in a Council of Ministers session held on a Tuesday and shapes the earnings floor for many employees in the coming year.
The wage increase was agreed with the major labor unions, CCOO and UGT, in mid-January, and it did not receive the blessing of the employers’ associations, including CEOE-Cepyme. The measure is expected to impact around 2.5 million workers, with a sizable share being younger workers and women. Employers had proposed a smaller range of 3% to 4%, accompanied by additional policy measures targeting public administration contracts and the agricultural sector.
From 2018 through 2023, the SMI rose by €344.1 per month, representing a cumulative gain of about 46.8%. The 2024 increase was announced by the Head of Government, Pedro Sánchez, at a political event in Galicia last weekend, where he framed the move as part of a broader strategy to shield social welfare and extend protections for the social majority. The administration argues that the measure strengthens the social safety net and aligns with a broader agenda to uplift working families.
Second Vice President and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, highlighted the SMI increases during the signing of the agreement with the unions and described the policy as a step toward a more just economy, underscoring that it will benefit many workers. Díaz emphasized the policy’s feminist dimensions and noted that higher wages directly support economic equality and household stability.
Translating the European directive on predictable and transparent working conditions into domestic law was another major item on the agenda. The session included discussions on a draft law designed to improve information rights about working conditions and the obligations of employers. This transposition introduces new guarantees around trial periods and part-time work, a topic that has sparked discussion between the governing PSOE and Sumar partners.
The Council also approved a 0.5% increase for civil servants, representing the additional salary adjustment for 2023, which arose because actual economic growth exceeded the forecasts used in the budget. Government sources indicate that this salary increase will be implemented in the near term and will be retroactive to January 2023, with the overall public sector pay rise for the year projected to reach as much as 3.5%. These measures collectively reflect a broader effort to adjust compensation in line with economic performance and to reinforce public sector morale.