Spain Plans 5.3 Percent Minimum Wage Rise to €1,286 a Month for 2027
Spain's Labour Ministry wants the minimum wage at €1,286 gross in 14 payments from 2027. What it means for workers, the timing and the unions' 7 percent demand.
Spain’s Ministry of Labour has proposed raising the national minimum wage by 5.3 percent, to €1,286 gross a month paid in 14 instalments, or €18,004 a year. The ministry published the draft late on Wednesday after talks with unions, The Local Spain reported. If the Spanish Cabinet approves it in time, the new rate applies in 2027.
Spread over 12 payments instead of 14, the figure works out at €1,500 a month. Anyone in Barcelona or elsewhere in Spain earning the legal minimum would see their pay rise by €65 a month on each of the 14 payslips, from the current €1,221.
What it means for workers in Catalonia and the rest of Spain
The minimum wage, known in Spain as the Salario Mínimo Interprofesional (SMI, the national minimum salary), sets the lowest gross pay an employer can offer. Salaries in Spain are commonly split into 14 payments a year, which is why the monthly figure differs depending on how it is counted.
The proposed rise is larger than the one recommended by the government’s committee of experts. That panel suggested 4.9 percent, or €60 more a month, matching October’s year-on-year inflation rate.
According to The Local, the Sánchez government will have lifted the minimum wage by 74 percent since it took office in 2018, when it stood at €736. The report puts the new figure at €1,281 in that comparison, slightly different from the €1,286 given elsewhere in the same report. Prices rose by around 28 percent over that period, which the outlet says amounts to a gain in purchasing power of more than 40 percent.
Why the timing matters
Spain holds a general election on Nov. 29. The deadline for amendments to the draft ends on Nov. 16, so the Cabinet could in principle sign off the rise at its meeting on Nov. 17 or Nov. 24, the last two before the vote.
Minimum wage changes in Spain are approved by the Cabinet and do not need a vote in the Spanish Parliament, so right-wing parties cannot block this one. The ministry, led by Yolanda Díaz, is pushing to finish the process before polling day so the decision does not fall to a caretaker government or to whoever wins. If polls are right and the ruling Socialists (PSOE) lose, The Local notes, this would be the last minimum wage rise from the current left-wing government, which has also raised pensions.
Unions still want 7 percent
The trade unions UGT and CCOO have asked for a 7 percent increase and say they will not drop that demand. Unai Sordo, general secretary of CCOO, said on Wednesday that the unions would hold firm. He added that the government now has to choose between its experts’ report and the unions’ position, and decide whether a rise happens at all before the election.
What happens next
Amendments to the draft can be filed until Nov. 16. After that, the proposal goes to one of the two remaining Cabinet meetings on Nov. 17 or Nov. 24. If it is approved, the €1,286 rate in 14 payments takes effect in 2027.
Source: The Local Spain
