The increase in the interprofessional minimum wage (SMI) is imminent. Yesterday the third vice president and Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, announced that in the coming days the increase for this year, frozen since January 1, will be announced. The last Council of Ministers of 2020 approved freezing its amount at 950 euros per month. The frontal opposition of the employers' association to an increase in the SMI in the midst of the coronavirus crisis prevented the social dialogue from bearing fruit and the Government, in a movement led by the economic vice president Nadia Calviño, decided to postpone the decision until mid-2021, once the state of alarm. That moment has arrived.
Minister Díaz recalled that the Government of Spain, complying with European recommendations, has deployed a "highest level" commission of experts that is taking part in the design of the new salary structure. In this sense, Yolanda Díaz highlighted that the Government has understood "from minute one" that the best income policy to combat working poverty was the increase in the interprofessional minimum wage.
According to Díaz, who signed today together with the president of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, the new agreement for the development of the Comprehensive Employment Plan of the Canary Islands (PIEC), has a budget of 42 million euros and this has allowed 1, 5 million workers have seen their salary situation improved, especially women and young people, which shows that it is "a very effective tool, with an enormous impact on gender and social equality." The minister indicated that the average increase in collective agreements for this year ranges between 1.5% and 1.8%. "Therefore, it is not very fair that we leave those who need it most, not frozen, but with a loss of purchasing power."
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