The Government has conveyed this Tuesday to the public service unions that the salary increase of 4.5% planned for public employees in 2027 will be applied despite the advance of the general elections to November 29. The Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Function, led by Óscar López, has ratified its commitment to the remuneration agreement signed in November 2025, although it is still pending to specify the legal instrument that will allow the increase to be made effective.
The confirmation occurred during a follow-up meeting of the framework agreement with representatives of CCOO, UGT, and CSIF. The unions have demanded that the Executive approve a royal decree-law as soon as possible to prevent the electoral call and the subsequent formation of Government from delaying the application of the new salary amounts.
The commitment affects more than three million public employees from various administrations and is part of a pact that includes a cumulative salary increase of 11% between 2025 and 2028. The call for elections has introduced uncertainty about the approval timelines for the pending increases, especially since Spain continues with the General State Budgets of 2023 extended.
How much will civil servants' salaries increase in 2027
The agreement signed by the Government and the trade union organizations establishes a fixed increase of 4.5% for 2027 and another of 2% for 2028, which are added to the increases corresponding to the two previous years.
In 2025, public employees received an improvement of 2.5%, with retroactive effects from January. For 2026, a fixed increase of 1.5% was agreed, to which another 0.5% will be added if inflation meets the condition established in the pact.
Specifically, the additional increase of 0.5% will be paid in the first quarter of 2027, with retroactive effects, if the year-on-year variation of the CPI for 2026 is equal to or greater than 1.5%. This amount corresponds to the salary review of 2026 and is independent of the 4.5% increase committed for the following year.
This is how civil servants' salaries will increase until 2028
Salary increases agreed between the Government and the unions
| Year | Salary increase |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 2.5% |
| 2026 | 1.5% fixed + 0.5% conditioned to CPI |
| 2027 | 4.5% Guaranteed increase |
| 2028 | 2% |
The additional 0.5% for 2026 is conditioned on meeting the inflation requirement established in the agreement.
Source: Salary agreement Government-unions of November 2025.
The percentages apply to the updated remuneration from previous years, so the accumulated effect may exceed the arithmetic sum of the annual increases. According to the calculations released during the negotiation, the accumulated increase by the end of 2028 could reach approximately 11.4%.
The unions demand to approve the increase by decree before the elections
The main concern of the workers' representatives is not the agreed percentage, but the timetable to turn it into a legal provision that allows its application in the payrolls.
CCOO, UGT, and CSIF demand that the Government use a royal decree-law to approve the pending improvements, so that its processing does not depend on the approval of new General State Budgets nor is it paralyzed during the transition between legislatures.
The Executive already resorted to this formula in December 2025, when the Council of Ministers approved a royal decree-law to apply the increases corresponding to 2025 and 2026. That regulation allowed for the updating of remuneration and the payment of arrears from the first year.
The situation is different for 2027, since the commitment included in the framework agreement still needs to be transferred to the corresponding remuneration regulation. The guarantee conveyed by Public Function to the unions does not equate, therefore, to the final approval of the increase.
Moreover, the dissolution of the Cortes limits ordinary parliamentary activity until the constitution of the new chambers, scheduled for December 23. The eventual approval of a royal decree-law must comply with constitutional requirements and the corresponding parliamentary validation procedure.
More than three million public employees benefited
The salary agreement affects more than three million workers in the public sector, including civil servants, labor personnel, and other employees of state, regional, and local administrations.
Most of these workers serve in the autonomous communities, especially in areas such as health and education. The agreement also includes personnel from the General Administration of the State and local entities.
Together with the salary increases, the agreement signed in November 2025 incorporates commitments related to the modernization of administrations, professional promotion, the improvement of selection processes, and working conditions.
Among the included subjects are the review of residence and insularity supplements, the streamlining of public employment offers, and the development of measures to improve citizen attention.
The electoral advance introduces uncertainty about the deadlines
The Ministry of Public Function has reiterated its willingness to fulfill the salary commitments made with the unions, although the electoral advance forces the resolution of its application in a tighter political calendar.
The general secretary of UGT Public Services, Isabel Araque, had already pointed out on October 14 that the results of the elections on 29N did not compromise, in the opinion of her organization, the salary increase agreed for 2027.
The meeting this Tuesday has served to reaffirm the Government's position, but it has not yet clarified when the regulation that will govern the increase will be approved.
The main pending issue is, therefore, when the 4.5% increase will be legally formalized and whether it can be applied from the first payrolls of 2027, regardless of the changes that may occur in the Executive after the general elections.