His centre-left government Spain a further increase in the minimum wage by 8%despite the opposition of employers, said the Prime Minister Pedro Sanchezat a time marked by high inflation.

“We are going to approve a new increase in the minimum wage by 8% to 1,080 gross euros per month for 14 months, since the salary in the country is traditionally paid for 14 months,” said socialist Sanchez during a debate in the Senate.

“We are therefore honoring our commitment” to raise the minimum wage “to 60% of the average wage” by the end of the legislative period at the end of 2023,” he continued.

Within 12 months, the minimum wage will now be 1,260 euros gross.

The unions, which requested 1,100 euros for 14 months, expressed their satisfaction.

This increase “will benefit 2.5 million people and will particularly affect women, youth, fixed-term workers or those working in the agricultural or service sector,” he tweeted. Unai Sordogeneral secretary of the Commission Ouvrieres (CCOO), one of the country’s two largest trade unions.

For their part, the employers refused to participate in today’s negotiations, saying they do not take into account their concerns.

“All they did was give us a number of” increases to approve, the president of the CEOE employers association quipped. Antonio Garamedi.

This new increase in the minimum wage comes at a time of high inflation, even if price increases have slowed significantly in recent months. Inflation stood at 5.8% in January after peaking at 10.8% in July, the highest level since records began 38 years ago.

Sánchez, who wants to raise the minimum wage in Spain to the level of its European neighbors, stressed that these wages will generally increase after this new increase by 36% since he took office in 2018, when it was 735 euros. , one of the lowest in Europe.

Spain will hold municipal and regional elections this year at the end of May and parliamentary elections at the end of the year.