The general secretary of CCOO, Unai Sordo, has defended the convenience of increasing the Minimum Interprofessional Wage (SMI) in light of the new escalation of inflation and has announced that this demand will be one of the axes of the 24-hour general strike called for next November 11, in which improvements in remuneration for all workers will also be demanded.
"We asked for it already in mid-year, because we saw that inflation was rising," Sordo pointed out in an interview on "La Hora de la 1," on the 24-hour channel, where he warned that the crisis in the Middle East is pushing prices "in a significant way."
The head of CCOO has pointed out that the update of the SMI will be "one of the banners" of the call for general mobilization, although he emphasized that the claim cannot be limited to the minimum wage and must extend to the rest of the payrolls.
"I believe it is important to promote the SMI, but we must remember that there are people who, being a little above the SMI, still have salaries that do not reach to pay a mortgage or to pay for basic products," he emphasized.
In this sense, he insisted that "this increase must be extended to all salaries and that is the object or one of the two or three main objects of our mobilization," relating this demand to the increase in the cost of living and the difficulties of access to housing.
Detailing the reasons for the general strike, Sordo indicated that "some factors have converged" and that a union organization is "obliged to read the social mood that exists at each moment." As he explained, "we knew there was a latent discontent in part of Spanish society regarding the issue of housing and that it was going to explode with some spark. The thing is, it was difficult to foresee the spark."
In his view, that spark has been "dramatic" and is linked to the eviction of Maricarmen, 87 years old, her subsequent death, and the rejection of Congress to the two royal decree laws on housing, which did not go ahead due to the majority formed by PP, Vox, and Junts. "From there, I believe a social reaction has occurred that channels that discontent, that social fracture that I believe exists regarding the issue of housing," he added.
Sordo has also held the employers' associations responsible for having contributed to this scenario and has recalled that CCOO had already planned to activate mobilizations in autumn to unblock pending collective agreements. In his opinion, it has been the "confluence" of these elements —housing, collective bargaining, wages, and inflation— that has led to the push for a "great social mobilization" like the general strike on November 11, promoted by the Confederation of Tenant Unions and in which other organizations like CCOO and UGT participate.
Calendar for the increase of the SMI in 2027
In relation to the SMI, the second vice president and minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, has tasked the commission of experts advising the Government to present its proposal for an increase for 2027 before the end of this month or, at the latest, at the beginning of November.
This was expressed by Díaz herself after meeting with the members of said commission, convened —as she emphasized— prior to the announcement by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, to dissolve the Cortes and set general elections for November 29.
The minister did not specify whether there will be room to approve the increase of the SMI for 2027 before the electoral date and limited herself to emphasizing that she has set a deadline for the experts to deliver their report and that, subsequently, the social dialogue table will meet to study the proposal, as has been done. She did make it clear that by January 1, companies should already know how much the minimum wage will increase in 2027.