Business · Economy · 14 hrs ago
Only 39% of Spanish workers have inflation-linked pay clauses
In Spain, 39% of workers covered by collective agreements had inflation-linked pay clauses by September, according to Labour Ministry figures.
These clauses can help prevent workers’ pay from losing purchasing power when prices rise.
Coverage differed sharply by sector: construction and industry had the highest share, at 71.9% and 70.2%, while services had 25% and agriculture 7.5%.
Overall, only 29.8% of registered agreements included a pay-review clause, and 641 of those agreements applied it retroactively.
Agreed wages rose by an average of 3.05% in September, below the 4.9% annual inflation rate that month.
The number of workers with a clause was higher than in December 2023, when the share was 21.08%.
Unions UGT and CCOO have proposed annual pay rises of 4% for three years as unions and employer groups are due to negotiate a new national employment and collective bargaining agreement.
Only 39% of workers covered by collective agreements registered in Spain through September had an inflation-linked wage review clause.
Coverage varied sharply by sector, reaching 71.9% in construction and 70.2% in industry.
The clauses covered more than 3.6 million of the over 9.3 million workers covered by the registered agreements.
Of 3,038 agreements registered from January to September, 906 included a wage guarantee clause.
Agreed wages rose by an average of 3.05% in September, below the 4.9% annual inflation rate.
- Who
- Workers covered by collective agreements registered in Spain; 39% had a wage review clause.
- What
- The figures show how many workers have clauses intended to protect pay from inflation.
- When
- Data cover agreements registered through September of the year of publication, 2026.
- Where
- Spain.
- Why
- The clauses are intended to help prevent workers from losing purchasing power when prices rise.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Workers covered by wage review clauses accounted for 21.08% of the total.
3,038 collective agreements were registered, and 39% of workers covered by them had wage review clauses.
Agreed wages rose by an average of 3.05%, while annual inflation was 4.9%.
- Overall coverage
- 39% of workers covered by registered agreements had wage review clauses
- Construction
- 71.9% of covered workers had clauses
- Industry
- 70.2% of covered workers had clauses
- Agriculture
- 7.5% of covered workers had clauses
- Services
- 25% of covered workers had clauses
- Agreements with clauses
- 906 of 3,038 registered from January to September