The shift in purchasing power among workers has driven inflation-linked adjustments in wage talks. Across the economy, negotiations are revisited to embed salary improvements for upcoming years, as unions mobilize to push this agenda forward.
As of now, the average salary increase agreed in collective bargaining—covering roughly 35 percent of Spain’s workforce—stood at 1.69 percent through November, still far from the 6.8 percent inflation seen that same month, according to early figures.
The bank sector anticipates a 4.5 percent rise
One notable area announcing pay reviews is finance, with the Spanish Banks Association (AEB), along with CCOO and UGT, agreeing on a 4.5 percent salary increase for 2023 instead of the initially planned 1.25 percent. The agreement also includes revising the current terms, consolidating 3.25 additional points, which will be payable from January 1 through December 2023.
The adjustment was set using the observed CPI, and once the final inflation figure and 2022 profits are confirmed, the Sectoral Observatory will consider reopening negotiations in the appropriate realm, with the Sectoral Negotiation Commission evaluating extra compensatory measures if needed.
The perfume industry has also clinched a new sectoral agreement with unions. It covers four years (2022-2025) and delivers a 15.5 percent wage increase, retroactive to January 1, 2022. The pact includes salary update clauses and followed eleven months of meetings and committees.
In the restoration sector, negotiations closed a fresh accord proposing wage rises of 3 percent in 2022, 2.5 percent in 2023, and 2.5 percent in 2024 for the 2022-2024 period, benefiting more than 100,000 workers. There are also revisions of 0.5 percent with a cap at 2 percent.
Progress has also been noted in service stations. Aevecar, alongside CCOO and UGT, reached a preliminary agreement that sets a 9 percent minimum wage increase over the three-year term, coupled with an annual CPI-based review clause. That arrangement helped avert a planned industry concentration at the start of the month.
Within customer service centers, CCOO and UGT have reached a principle agreement with the Association of Customer Experience Companies (CEX) to sign a new deal featuring 3.5 percent raises for 2022 and 2023, and 3 percent for 2024. Wages would grow with CPI, at a floor of 1 percent and a ceiling of 3.5 percent, with a future 2025 and 2026 framework aligning to CPI plus 0.5 percent for the coming years.
In aviation, the recently signed X collective agreement includes a minimum 10 percent salary rise for pilots by year-end 2023. Iberia aims to secure a similar uplift for cabin crew as part of ongoing talks.
Department stores and distribution networks
For department stores, the Fetico federation indicates that major chains such as El Corte Inglés, Carrefour, Alcampo, Ikea, and Leroy Merlin should see average pay climb by around 18 percent over four years, translating to a mid-term annual rise above 4.2 percent and an average salary near 18,227 euros by 2026.
The Fasga union bloc is pressing to lift this figure to over 19 percent through a new contract that encompasses more than 230,000 workers. In negotiations for DIA Spain, Fetico, CCOO, and UGT FeSMC have signed the V collective bargaining agreement, valid until December 31, 2024, featuring increases of 8 to 12 percent.
Mercadona, the nation’s largest employer in the distribution sector with over 93,000 staff, has yet to disclose its 2023 increase, though it raised wages by 6.5 percent in 2022, with future hikes tied to CPI movements.
Meanwhile, workers in the footwear sector staged a first strike in 45 years, demanding a 12.5 percent wage boost from January and a pledged 15 percent rise across the next four years.
Meanwhile, some companies are adopting extraordinary bonuses to lift income without changing contracts. Mapfre, for instance, will pay an extra 400 euros to more than 10,000 Spanish employees to align with the Christmas premium, adding to a 300-euro contribution made in July, though management is excluded from the extra package.