About four hundred people gathered outside the Madrid headquarters this Friday to alert the employer about a looming conflict in 2023 if there is no return to dialogue at the Employment and Collective Bargaining Agreement (AENC), which has remained frozen since early May. The mobilization coincided with World Decent Work Day, with unions pressing for wage justice and salary increases that counter inflation. (Fuente: UGT and CC OO)
The message from the UGT leadership was clear: without meaningful wage growth, the economic situation cannot be considered stable. The unions argued that prices have surged while wages have lagged, underscoring the need for real wage gains. (Fuente: UGT)
“We cannot claim progress if wages do not rise,” stated the UGT general secretary during the speech. (Fuente: UGT) Pepe Álvarez.
UGT highlighted that September preliminary data showed the CPI at 9% while average wage growth stood at 2.9%, making it difficult to describe current wages as adequate for the moment. (Fuente: UGT)
“We reiterate that before the employer’s headquarters there is either a bargain or a conflict; it is about salaries or conflict,” said the UGT general secretary. (Fuente: UGT)
CCOO Secretary General described a potential “worker conflict scenario” in 2023 should the CEOE persist in its stance on salary negotiations. (Fuente: CC OO)
Sordo argued that employers aim to emerge from the crisis by the usual channels, with a widespread impoverishment of the social majority and workers who survive on wages and perhaps job positions. (Fuente: CC OO) “They want to protect profits, surpluses, assets, and dividends at the expense of supporting 17 million people as purchasing power falls. For justice, we will not yield to this scenario. Not for equality, but for economic efficiency,” he stressed. (Fuente: CC OO)
Contracts with a salary review clause
AENC negotiations broke down in May when the CEOE refused to accept salary review clauses demanded by the unions. (Fuente: CC OO and UGT)
In the five months since then, CCOO and UGT have maintained the stalemate and have widened the salary negotiation range to roughly 4.5%. (Fuente: CC OO and UGT)
“If talks reopen, we’ll place proposals back on the table. What is being proposed to the CEOE are initial salary increases for 2022, 2023, and 2024. They should be around 4% or 4.5% by 2022, but the exact figures will be negotiated once more is unblocked,” Sordo said. He noted commitments to recover from the current loss of purchasing power, clarifying that precise increases would be set at the table when there is more than one item to discuss. (Fuente: CC OO)
Pepe Álvarez of UGT recalled that meetings at companies would continue alongside the Friday demonstration. The unions expect the bargaining teams to accompany workers throughout the month, culminating in a large rally in Madrid on 3 November. (Fuente: UGT)
“This is not the end of anything; it is the turning point and the ongoing struggle that will continue until employers come to the negotiating table with offers and the current situation improves. Wages may continue to be affected unless significant changes occur,” he added. (Fuente: UGT)
The UGT also argued that the Inter-Occupational Minimum Wage (SMI) had been raised to 1100 euros as a means to pressure employers to increase wages. (Fuente: UGT)