The Government agrees with the unions to increase the SMI to 1,000 euros with retroactive effect to January 1
The Government has agreed with the unions to raise the minimum interprofessional wage (SMI) to 1,000 euros gross (in 14 payments) this 2022. The measure has a direct impact on the payrolls of millions of workers who receive their salaries based on this indicator annually reviewed by the Executive. The rise in this wage floor, by definition, benefits those employees located in the lowest-paid professions or categories and who are often not covered by a collective agreement. There is no official record of how many workers receive the SMI directly, although different study cabinets, such as the Ministry of Labor, the Bank of Spain or the unions, have made approximations. The most recent for all of Spain is the one carried out by CCOOwhich numbers in 1.8 million people current SMI recipients. And, in the case of Catalonia, the UGT estimates that a total of 237,831 people8.3% of contributors, will see their next payroll rise.
The minimum wage is an indicator that marks the minimum income that an employee must obligatorily receive. Most workers earn above this indicator, either because their collective agreement indicates it or because they have negotiated it with the company. However, among certain groups the SMI is common, if not the norm. The minimum wage is more frequent among mens Y women, while the latter usually dominate profiles or sectors with lower pay in the labor market. According to CCOO estimates, 55% of those benefiting from the increase in the SMI are women; compared to the remaining 45% of men.
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This measure also has a clear age bias, since the younger the person, the more likely it is that the person earns the minimum wage. Continuing with the CCOO estimates, almost one in three people under 25 years of age receive the SMI, compared to less than one in 10 people over 55 years of age. Temporality is also another key variable, since among those workers with a temporary contract it is more frequent to receive the minimum than among the permanent ones. Two out of 10 temporary workers receive the SMI, compared to less than one out of 10 permanent workers. And in sectors like country or guilds like the domestic workers it is also the usual tonic.