Spain's Minimum-Wage Workers Could Earn Over €1,300 a Month as Unions Push for a 7% Rise

Spain's major trade unions want the national minimum wage, known as the SMI, to rise by at least 7% for 2027, placing it above 1,300 euros a month. UGT and CCOO, Spain's two biggest unions, set out the demand at a joint press conference in Madrid on October 13, asking for at least 1,306 gross euros paid over 14 installments, or 1,524 euros over twelve. Nothing has been approved, and the final figure depends on the update approved for next year (translated). The current rate is 1,221 euros a month under Royal Decree 126/2026, and the Labour Ministry's expert commission has been asked to deliver its own proposal by the end of October or the start of November. For Metaintro readers who earn at or near the floor in Spain, or who hire people who do, this guide explains what the law pays today, what the unions want, who decides, and the dates that matter between now and January.

What Exactly Are UGT and CCOO Asking For?

The demand is a rise of at least 7% in the minimum wage for 2027, a proposal UGT shares with CCOO. In money terms, that would take the SMI to a minimum of 1,306 gross euros a month in 14 payments.

UGT general secretary Pepe Álvarez and CCOO general secretary Unai Sordo both called for at least 7%. Sordo said the wage must soon rise by at least 7%, to above 1,300 euros a month in 14 payments, or more than 1,500 euros a month over 12 payments.

The demand was made at the same joint press conference where the two unions presented the general strike called for November 11. The minimum wage rise is expected to be one of the demands of the general strike scheduled for November 11.

The unions also linked the wage floor to a second ask. Sordo recalled the Spanish government's commitment to legislate to prevent the absorption and compensation of bonuses and salary supplements within the minimum wage, a point covered in more detail below.

We believe that the SMI increase for 2027 must reach at least 7%, UGT General Secretary Pepe Álvarez said (translated), according to the Ara in English report.

What Does Spain's Minimum Wage Pay Right Now?

The legal floor for 2026 is set in Royal Decree 126/2026 of February 18, published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado. It fixes the minimum for any activity in agriculture, industry and services, regardless of the worker's sex or age, at 40.70 euros a day or 1,221 euros a month, depending on whether pay is set by the day or by the month.

The decree entered into force on February 20, 2026, but applies for the whole calendar year from January 1 to December 31, so the new rate had to be paid with effect from January 1, 2026. For comparison purposes, the annual minimum can never be treated as less than 17,094 euros for a full-time worker.

These are the other floors and rules in the same decree.

• Temporary workers whose service with one company does not exceed 120 days get the minimum plus a share of Sundays, holidays and the two extra payments and, when their holidays fall outside the contract period, a share of minimum holiday pay, and their pay cannot fall below 57.82 euros for each legal working day.
• Domestic workers paid by the hour who live out have a minimum of 9.55 euros for each hour actually worked, an amount that includes all pay items (translated).
• Only cash pay counts toward the minimum, and pay in kind can never reduce the full cash amount.
• The amounts refer to the full legal working day, and anyone working fewer hours is paid pro rata.

The 2026 amounts were a 3.1% increase on the 2025 minimum, and the decree ties that rise to the aim of the SMI reaching 60 percent of the average wage.

Why Does the Same Minimum Wage Have Two Monthly Figures?

Spain's minimum wage is quoted over fourteen payments, and every worker is entitled to at least two extra payments, each worth thirty days of salary.

The current rate has two faces. It is 1,221 gross euros in fourteen payments, which is equivalent to 1,424 euros in twelve monthly installments. Over a full year, the 2026 rate comes to 17,094 gross euros.

The union demand works the same way. It is at least 1,306 gross euros over 14 installments, or 1,524 euros over twelve. When you compare a job offer or a payslip with these numbers, check first whether your contract quotes pay over fourteen payments or twelve, and whether it is gross or net pay, or your comparison will be off.

Why Are the Unions Asking for 7% This Time?

Prices are part of the argument. Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz noted on October 8 that consumer price inflation has jumped to 4.9% (translated), well above the 3.1% rise applied to the minimum wage for 2026. Álvarez put the gap between February's raise and prices at around 2%.

The 2026 decree keeps the goal of the SMI reaching 60% of the average wage. In September, Sordo said the 2027 rise should keep the minimum at 60% of the average wage, and with the average wage expected to rise above 4 to 5% in the coming years, he argued the SMI should rise faster than that.

The figure is higher than in September. In early September, CCOO's opening position was a rise above 5%, which would have meant at least 61.05 euros more a month, to 1,282 euros gross in 14 payments. At that point CCOO and UGT had not yet decided the exact percentage they would put to the government. The joint figure of at least 7% is the one they settled on.

Sordo also pointed to company results, saying that companies are accumulating more profits than ever and they must distribute them through a generalized salary increase.

Who Decides the 2027 Minimum Wage, and When?

The government sets the minimum wage by royal decree each year, after consulting unions and employers. The SMI amount is for the government to fix after consulting the trade union and business organisations, and reaching agreement with every party is not essential (translated). The 2026 decree itself was approved after prior consultation with the most representative trade union and business organisations (translated).

The process for 2027 has three stages.

• First, the advisory commission on the minimum wage recommends an amount. Díaz launched the commission's work on October 8 (translated), and its role is advisory only.
• Second, once the experts deliver their proposal, Díaz will open the social dialogue table with employers and unions, meaning CCOO, UGT, CEOE and Cepyme.
• Third, the decision goes to the Council of Ministers for approval.

Díaz asked the experts to have their proposal ready by the end of October or the start of November, and told them the rise must ensure no loss of purchasing power (translated). She avoided giving a percentage, and she also asked the experts to study, as something new this year, the effect of the SMI on the lowest-income wages (translated).

The ministry has not put a number on the table. Labour has not yet given a specific figure for the new rise (translated), so the final percentage and amount remain open.

How Do the November 11 Strike and the November 29 Election Fit In?

Two dates now sit around the wage talks. UGT and CCOO agreed a nationwide general strike over housing for November 11, and it will be the first general strike backed jointly by Spain's two biggest unions in 14 years (translated), according to Reuters. The strike is promoted by the Confederation of Tenant Unions, with CCOO and UGT among the organisations taking part, and Sordo said raising the SMI will be one of the flags of the walkout (translated).

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called an early general election for November 29, after housing protests and Parliament's rejection of decrees meant to curb evictions and limit rent rises. The Labour Ministry aims to approve the new amount before the general election of November 29, and Díaz does not rule out the raise being approved in the middle of the election campaign, which kicks off on November 13.

The ministry also points out that the government has full power to raise the SMI even as a caretaker government (translated). Asked about the election timing, Díaz replied that workers' and companies' lives do not stop for an electoral process (translated), and added that all companies have to know on January 1 what the minimum wage is (translated).

She did not say whether there will be time to approve the 2027 rise before the election (translated).

What Do Employers Say About the Demand?

Foment del Treball president Josep Sánchez Llibre described the proposal as a whim of the unions, and Foment considers the November 11 housing strike inopportune and irresponsible politics.

The unions lately have a whim every week, Foment del Treball president Josep Sánchez Llibre said (translated), according to the Ara in English report.

The national employer groups have not backed recent rises. The last time CEOE and Cepyme supported raising the minimum wage was in 2020, when it went from 900 to 950 euros a month, and since then increases have been made with the approval of the unions and without that of the employers' associations.

Díaz has pushed back on warnings made about past rises. She pointed out that since 2018 the minimum wage has risen 66% cumulatively from 736 euros a month (translated), and that predictions of thousands of jobs being destroyed did not come true.

What Happened Last Year When the Unions Asked for More?

Last year's round shows how the process played out. For 2026, CCOO and UGT formally proposed a 7.5% increase in the SMI, to €1,273 gross a month, up from €1,184 gross a month paid in fourteen installments.

The final rise was smaller. For 2026 the two unions proposed a 7.5% increase, but the rise finally stayed at 3.1% (translated), after the Labour Ministry agreed with the unions, and without CEOE and Cepyme, that a royal decree would transpose the EU minimum wage directive to stop bonuses being absorbed. The 3.1% rise was in line with the report presented on December 12, 2025 by the advisory commission, and the Council of Ministers approved it on February 17, 2026.

So the 2026 rate was not in the official gazette until February 19, 2026, and approval of the rise usually closes at the start of the following year (translated). This year the ministry wants it approved before the election.

Why Do Bonuses and Supplements Matter to Minimum-Wage Workers?

Under the 2026 decree, a rise in the minimum wage can be offset against other pay (translated). The 2026 decree keeps the rules on compensation and absorption, so the revision does not change professional salaries that are higher in total and on an annual basis than the minimum, and only salaries below the annual total have to be raised.

In practice, the minimum is compensable against the income a worker receives from all sources on an annual, full-time basis (translated). Ahead of the 2026 round, the social partners had repeatedly denounced that in some cases companies absorb these supplements into the wage increase, thus diluting their value.

Sordo has made this a condition. In September, Sordo warned there will be no pact on the 2027 SMI increase unless the government first changes the law so that SMI rises cannot be absorbed by bonuses or supplements (translated). CEOE opposes the measure and even threatened to take it to court (translated).

Is a Bigger Minimum Wage Enough for Housing Costs?

The unions link the two, and Sordo stressed that salary and housing claims go hand in hand. For Álvarez, there is no collective agreement that can withstand the impact that the price of housing has on the cost of living.

For young workers, the average rent of 1,176 euros is close to 98.7% of a young person's average monthly salary in Spain, according to the Spanish Youth Council (translated).

Sordo also wants the fight to reach pay above the floor, saying there are people a little above the SMI whose wages still do not cover a mortgage or basic products (translated). The unions are also asking CEOE to immediately open salary negotiations with a new agreement for employment and collective bargaining, known by its Spanish acronym AENC.

What This Means for Minimum-Wage Workers in Spain, and What Should You Do Next?

The call for at least 7% is a union demand, and the monthly minimum in force is 1,221 euros a month in 14 payments. The ministry wants experts to rule out any loss of purchasing power (translated).

• Check that you are paid the 2026 floor now. For a full-time job the annual comparison figure can never be less than 17,094 euros, and pay in kind cannot reduce the cash amount.
• Know whether your contract counts twelve or fourteen payments. The current floor is 1,221 euros over fourteen payments or 1,424 euros over twelve, and an hourly offer can be compared once you convert hourly pay to an annual salary.
• If you work by the hour in a home and live out, your floor is 9.55 euros for each hour actually worked, all pay items included.
• Watch for the experts' proposal. It is due by the end of October or the start of November, and the first guidance on the 2027 amount comes from the commission.
• Look at your supplements. Under the current decree the minimum is compensable against income from all sources (translated), and CCOO has tied a deal to a change in the law on absorption.

Whatever the final number, Díaz insists that all companies have to know on January 1 what the minimum wage is (translated), and the 2026 rate was backdated to January 1, 2026 even though it was approved in February.

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People Also Asked

Q: What is Spain's minimum wage in 2026?

A: It is 40.70 euros a day or 1,221 euros a month for full-time work, paid in 14 payments, which equals 1,424 euros in twelve monthly installments.

Q: How much would the minimum wage be if the unions get 7%?

A: The unions want at least 1,306 gross euros paid over 14 installments, or 1,524 euros over twelve. This is a demand, and the government has not yet given a figure for 2027.

Q: When will Spain's 2027 minimum wage be decided?

A: The expert commission is due to report by the end of October or the start of November, talks with unions and employers follow, and the ministry aims for approval before the general election of November 29.

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