Increase in the Minimum Interprofessional Wage as of September this year
Royal Decree 817/2021 of 28 September has established a Minimum Interprofessional Wage for 2021 of 965 euros per month.
Yesterday, Wednesday 29 September, the new Minimum Interprofessional Wage (SMI) was published in the Official State Gazette, setting the amount at 965 euros per month for 14 payments (€32.17 per day or €13,510 per year) with effect from 1 September 2021.
It should be remembered that the SMI guarantees, as a minimum, that workers receive the official amount fixed annually in exclusively monetary wage items, and that this amount cannot be reduced by wages in kind or extra-wage items such as allowances or transport costs.
It should be noted that the new amount of the SMI will not be applicable to the rules of the Autonomous Communities or Cities and local entities and private contracts and agreements in force on 1 September 2021 that use the SMI as an indicator or reference.
In these cases, unless express provision or agreement to the contrary is made, the amount of the SMI in force until now will be taken as a reference. The same Royal Decree 817/2021 also establishes the SMI for workers included in the special regime for family household services.
Thus, for those domestic workers who work on an hourly basis, in an external regime, the minimum wage will be 7.55 euros per hour effectively worked. Regarding the SMI per legal working day in the activity, for temporary and seasonal workers, it cannot be less than 45.70 €.
This new amount of 965 euros represents an increase of 1.60% compared to the SMI in 2020 and, it is worth remembering that, since 2018, this has increased by just over 31%.
These increases are in line with the government’s intention to give effect to the right to a fair and sufficient remuneration that provides workers and their families with a sufficient standard of living, in line with the European Committee of Social Rights, which has interpreted this threshold as 60% of the average wage of a country’s workers.
Contrary to the spirit in which this was intended, it should be noted that the agreement has only been signed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy and the heads of the CCOO and UGT trade union organisations.
On the other hand, the employers’ association CEOE refused to endorse the agreement, citing its manifest disagreement due to the current economic situation of the country and the events of the last few months.
The AddVANTE labour department remains at your disposal for further information or to answer any questions that may arise in relation to this article.
