At the end of 2001, the Spanish government increased the national minimum wage by 2% for 2002, in line with the forecast inflation rate. Trade unions had called for a higher increase, pointing out that the Spanish minimum wage is very low in EU terms.
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At the end of 2001, the Spanish government increased the national minimum wage by 2% for 2002, in line with the forecast inflation rate. Trade unions had called for a higher increase, pointing out that the Spanish minimum wage is very low in EU terms.
The last cabinet meeting of 2001 set the increase in the national minimum wage (Salario Mínimo Interprofesional, SMI) for 2002 at 2%, exactly the same as the forecast inflation rate. The SMI thus rises to EUR 442.20 per month (or EUR 14.74 per day).
Spain's minimum wage is the lowest in the EU, at less than EUR 2 per hour, which is far below the average of EUR 5.65 (according to a recent study by the consultants, William M Mercer), and in the Netherlands and Belgium it is over EUR 7 per hour. Furthermore, the SMI represents only 35% of the average Spanish wage, compared with the definition of a minimum equitable wage as 68% of the average national wage, proposed by the Council of Europe's committee of independent experts for the implementation of the European Social Charter. Therefore, trade unions see the 500,000 Spanish workers who receive the minimum wage as a clearly disfavoured group, both in domestic terms and in comparison with other countries.
This is why, when the rate is set at the end of each year, the trade unions call for substantial increases in the minimum wage, though with little success (ES0009107N). The current conservative government has never agreed to increase it by more than the forecast inflation rate, and without the possibility of recovering any loss of purchasing power due to the difference between the forecast and the real inflation rate.
For 2002, the Trade Union Confederation of Workers' Commissions (Comisiones Obreras, CC.OO) and the General Workers' Confederation (Unión General de Trabajadores, UGT) had called for an increase of 7%. This was said to be in accordance with the criteria for reviewing the SMI laid down in the Workers' Statute: the forecast inflation rate; the difference between the real and forecast rate in 2001; productivity; and the economic situation. The government's response was negative and it defended an increase only equivalent to 2% because wage moderation is one of the bases of its economic policy, an argument dismissed by critics due to the low level of the SMI. The latter also state that the SMI applies in sectors, companies and regions that are not covered by collective bargaining, or those in which the workers are not sufficiently organised to demand the application of collective agreements. This, it is claimed, prevents them from applying pressure, allowing some companies to take unfair advantage.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2002), Minimum wage increases by 2% in 2002, article.
