The Government will raise the minimum interprofessional salary (SMI), from 965 euros to 1,000 euros, retroactively to January 1, after agreeing with the unions. As happened with the previous salary increase, in September, the employer has not entered into the agreement. No surprises, because his position – which is not the right time – has not changed since then. For the Executive, on the other hand, it is time, because it appears in the coalition agreement between PSOE and United We Can and, especially now, because inflation has ‘de facto’ caused a wage devaluation workers with the lowest payrolls suffer the most.
The need to adjust the SMI to the cost of real life makes reasonable raise it 35 euros per month. And to the usual warnings that it will weigh down employment, the employment data can be contrasted, which show that the previous rise did not have a special negative effect.
The Government has the exclusive competence to set the SMI, therefore it can do so without the approval of the CEOE. However, it turns out completely incoherent with the speech that, just a few days ago, we heard from the same political leaders to defend that not touch “not a comma” of the labor reform so that the bosses would not get out of the pact. That the participation of businessmen was considered essential then and that it is not now, being in both cases a party involved, is illogical.