The debate on the minimum interprofessional wage (SMI) for 2026 has already entered its decisive phase after the proposal presented by the Government, which has generated opposing positions among the social agents. With just over a week to go before the first major negotiating meeting of the year, unions, employers and the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy are finalizing figures and conditions regarding one of the most important labor indicators for millions of workers in Spain.
The proposal of the Executive proposes an increase in the SMI of 3.1% for 2026, up to 1,221 euros gross per month for 14 payments, keeping it exempt from personal income tax and with retroactive application from January 1 once it is approved. This figure clearly exceeds the position of the employers’ organizations, which have offered an increase of 1.5% to 1,202 euros, and is below the trade union demand, which advocates a 7.5% increase.
The formal negotiation between the parties is still marked in red on the agendas. The Ministry has summoned the main social agents (CCOO, UGT, CEOE and Cepyme) for next Friday, January 16 at 9 a.m., with the aim of making progress in updating the SMI and trying to reach a consensus. According to trade union sources consulted by Europa Press, this meeting will be key to define whether the increase proposed by the Government finds sufficient support or whether the figures will have to be reconsidered.
Government and expert committee: a moderate rise
At the last meeting between union and business representatives and the Executive, the Secretary of State for Labor, Joaquín Pérez Rey, was in charge of presenting the Government’s official offer. His proposal to raise the SMI by 3.1% in 2026 to €1,221 per month for 14 payments, without IRPF taxation, represents an increase of 37 euros per month with respect to the €1,184 of the SMI in force in 2025.
This proposal is in line with the recommendations of the Committee of Experts advising the Government, which had suggested an increase of the same magnitude if the minimum wage continued to be exempt from taxation, or 4.7% if it was decided that it should be taxed. The option finally chosen maintains the tax exemption, something that the Ministry of Labor itself has agreed with the Treasury.
In order to attract employers to a broader agreement, the Ministry has also proposed to “seriously” study rules for the “relaxation of the De-indexation Law in public contracts”, a measure that both unions and employers had advocated in recent years . This point would be included in a broader negotiation that would affect not only the SMI, but also the public procurement environment and working conditions.
Unions: above inflation and with social objectives
The CCOO and UGT unions have positively valued the fact that the Government’s proposal places the increase above the average inflation forecast for 2025 (2.7%). According to labor sources, this would allow “covering the increase in the cost of living” and moving towards the objective of guaranteeing that the minimum wage reaches at least 60% of the average net wage, as recommended by the European Social Charter.
However, the trade union organizations are demanding a higher increase of 7.5% and have also proposed the reform of the compensation and absorption rules so that the increase is not diluted by the salary supplements. The secretary general of the UGT, Pepe Álvarez, has stated that the unions will not give up tackling this reform and that he considers it vital that the new regulation goes to the Council of Ministers on the same day that the new amount of the SMI is approved, although its entry into force may come later due to administrative issues.
In addition, Labor will explore with other relevant ministries an agreement “to relax the de-indexation rules in some cases of working conditions”. This tripartite social dialogue is also part of the transposition of the European Minimum Wage Directive into Spanish law.
Employers: caution and decisiveness on the board of directors
The employers’ reaction to the Government’s proposal has been more cautious. Although CEOE and Cepyme have not advanced a clear position, the Ministry and the unions have valued their attitude as “proactive” in the previous talks, which has generated a certain optimism among the official parties.
According to business sources quoted by Europa Press, the final position of the CEOE will depend on how it deals with the issue during next Friday’s meeting and will be discussed in depth at the Board of Directors of the employers’ association on January 19. If the employers’ association joins the agreement, the increase in the SMI proposed by the Executive (3.1%) would be double that initially offered by the business organizations, which proposed an increase of 1.5% to €1,202 gross per month.
This disparity in figures reflects the difficulty of reconciling the interests of workers, companies and the government itself on a sensitive issue that affects millions of employees and business competitiveness.
SMI 2025: a context for negotiation
The SMI of 2026 starts after a 2025 in which the amount stood at 1,184 euros per month for 14 payments, following an increase of 4.4% agreed with CCOO and UGT and approved in February 2025 with retroactive effect from January 1. This increase was 50 euros more than the amount set for 2024 and was the result of an agreement between Labor and the unions, without the backing of the employers.
This lack of business consensus is not new: it was the fifth consecutive occasion in which CEOE and Cepyme did not support the minimum wage increase. The last time they did so was in 2020, when the SMI went from 900 to 950 euros per month.
The Ministry of Labor, for its part, is not legally obliged to negotiate the increase in the SMI, but only to consult with the social partners. Even so, the Executive has opted to maintain the dialogue in search of an agreement that has the greatest possible support and give stability to a measure of great social and economic impact.
