The Advisory Commission for the Analysis of the Minimum Interprofessional Wage (SMI) has presented this Monday the report for 2023, in which it has improved that the increase is up to 8.23% in 2023 to reach 1,082 gross euros divided into 14 you pay. In addition, the group of experts has studied the possible effects on the reduction of inequality and poverty and concluded that the increase in previous years (2018-2020) would have reduced the risk of poverty by 2.8%.
🔴 LIVE I The Vice President and Minister, Yolanda Díaz, presents the II Report of the Advisory Commission for the Analysis of the SMI. https://t.co/a1eqq67myc
– Ministry of Labor and Social Economy (@empleogob) December 19, 2022
The Second Vice President of the Government and Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, was also present at the presentation, where she thanked the work of the technicians and claimed that scientific knowledge is necessary to govern. In addition, she has highlighted that this report is one more sign that the rise in the SMI does not have a negative impact on job creation, contrary to the analyzes carried out for years that predicted catastrophic effects on the labor market with each rise.
Effects of the increase in the Minimum Interprofessional Wage
Díaz has highlighted that since 2018 more than one million jobs have been created, at the same time that there has been an increase in the SMI of 36%, for which he has claimed this mechanism as the “most effective tool against the working poverty and the gender gap. In this sense, he recalled that female employment has grown more than male employment and it has also done so generally among young people, something that seemed like “mission impossible”.
The head of Labor has stressed that these increases have created historical figures for permanent workers, which already represent one in two contracts. Something, that the Commission has reduced a “marginal” impact that, however, has had a notorious weight in reducing inequality and poverty. An aspect that the minister has also emphasized when addressing the problem of structural inequality that exists in Spain.
Dialogue table with social agents
After once again highlighting the work of the expert commission, Díaz explained that bearing in mind the recommended fork that places the minimum increase at 1,046 gross euros per month and the maximum at 1,082, the Government will proceed to convene the dialogue table with the social agents this Wednesday to “comply with their constitutional tasks” and listen to all parties before making a decision. For this reason, he has issued a warning to the social agents, whom he has called to comply with the constitutional mandate and have a “high vision” to work for the good of the country, since people are having a “very bad time” in this crisis.
Likewise, he recalled that the Government does not have the obligation to consult them in this regard (although it will do so with the objective of sealing an agreement) and the Council of Ministers will make the decision based on inflation, productivity, the participation of wage income in the country’s economy and the economic situation, as stipulated in article 27 of the Workers’ Statute. Díaz has guaranteed that this will be the task on which his portfolio will focus until the end of the year.
The spokesperson for the Commission, Inmaculada Cebrián, has also recommended to the Executive that six months after the approval of this increase, it carry out an update to assess whether the increase “has been sufficient”, given the current context of high inflation and taking Keep in mind that the lowest incomes are the ones who suffer the most from the increase in consumer prices, while the shopping basket continues to rise.
