With one in four Spanish companies in insolvency – according to estimates from the Bank of Spain – the government is set to raise the minimum wage – standing at 950 euros – again, after increasing it by 31% since 2018. Employers are opposed, and point out that according to studies by the Bank of Spain, the sharp rise in 2019 must have led to the loss of 180,000 jobs.
Joan Tapia (Barcelona) | The PSOE-Podemos Coalition Government has not failed to confront its two main challenges: economic policy and Catalonia. However, now comes the most important issue: to approve the national budget for 2020 for which it needs a vote in favour of ERC. This time the abstention of ERC is not enough, as in the case of the investiture, which was achieved in exchange for the establishment of a dialogue between the governments of Madrid and Barcelona.
The coalition between the Socialist Party and the extreme left Podemos raised serious doubts on its ability to run the economy. Its agreed platform trumpeted a massive increase in social expenditure, coupled with tax rises plus extensive public regulation in many key markets, ranging from power supply to housing rentals. No wonder it aims now to pedal back to check the foreseeable loss of confidence.
The times of wage containment are beginning to be left behind in Spain. The ILO and the OECD themselves favoured an increase in the minimum wage, basing itself on the slight improvement in productivity over the last two years, but the first question is whether the proposed increase in the minimum wage is possible.
J.P. Marín- Arrese | The Spanish government has released its main budgetary lines, in a rather unusual and surprising way. For, it holds responsible the former PP Cabinet for most of the expenses plus a sizeable deviation from the deficit goal in 2018. The least one can say is that such a baffling message underlines its inability to curb the imbalance while enjoying power for the second half of this year.
Fernando G. Urbaneja | The objective of a minimum wage of 1,000 euros a month (full time, 14,000 euros a month) has entered the political and social agenda at the initiative of Podemos, with lukewarm support from their socialist partners.
Establishing a minimum wage is a policy which is widely extended in the UE: 22 countries implement it. That said, it is not free from controversy. In general, setting a minimum wage aims to protect workers with fewer qualifications and/or work experience. But depending on the level at which it is set, it can have a negative effect on employment.
After the trade unions and employers have reached an agreement this week, the minimum wage in Spain will rise 4% to 736 euros, paid 14 times a year. This is 29 euros more per month than the current amount.
Popular chairman Angel Ron’s proposal to raise salaries in line with productivity in order to speed up the consolidation of economic growth is clearly at least worthy of a discussion. In the short-term, it would have repercussions not only on corporate profits but also on improving confidence, the recovery in consumption, the increase in production and job creation.
NEW YORK | By Ana Fuentes | The debate about the minimum wage is making big headlines both in the U.S. and in Europe, although for very different reasons. In Washington, the main issue is whether to raise it, since at $7.25 per hour the richest country in the world pays less per hour to many other developed countries.In Europe, Germany has joined the minimum wage club as one of the highlights of the coalition agreement, and France is increasing it by 1.1 per cent. In Spain the minimum wage was frozen two years ago due to austerity measures, and today minimum wage workers are struggling to make ends meet. Still, they can still enjoy free health insurance, education or a paid vacation, something that their American counterparts cannot even dream of.