UGT and CCOO demand at least a 7% minimum wage rise for 2027 before the 11 November strike

A 7% demand for 2027

Spain's unions UGT and CCOO asked the government on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, to raise the minimum interprofessional wage (SMI) by at least 7% for 2027. The demand was presented at a joint press conference by UGT secretary general Pepe Álvarez and CCOO secretary general Unai Sordo. The SMI is currently 1,221 euros gross a month in 14 payments, or 17,094 euros a year, after a 3.1% rise applied in February 2026. At 7%, the proposal would reach at least 1,306 euros a month in 14 payments, which El Confidencial says would mean 85 euros more a month for workers on the minimum wage. Outlets give slightly different annual figures for the proposal, 18,284 euros according to El Confidencial and 18,290.58 euros according to Europa Press.

Inflation gap and the expert committee

The unions argue that a gap of around 2% has opened between the 3.1% increase and inflation, and that the rise must close it to avoid losing purchasing power. El Confidencial cited a Banco de España forecast of average consumer prices rising 3.9% in 2026 and easing to 3.7% in 2027. eldiario.es reported that year-on-year inflation is close to 5%, at 4.9% in the previous month, while El Mundo noted that the unions' demand sits well above the 3.6% to 3.9% average CPI forecast for 2026. Labour minister Yolanda Díaz, who is also second deputy prime minister, asked the SMI expert committee to make its proposal before 2 November, according to El Mundo. The government intends to approve the rise before the general election on 29 November, with effect from 1 January 2027, alongside other labour measures such as tighter working-time recording. Díaz did not say whether there would be time to approve it before the vote, but she stressed that companies should know the 2027 figure by 1 January.

A 24-hour strike over housing

The unions are calling a 24-hour general strike for 11 November, which El Periódico describes as the first nationwide general strike in 14 years. Housing is its centre of gravity, with wage demands added to it, and the strike was driven by pro-housing movements, with legal cover from majority and minority unions. Álvarez argued that no collective agreement can absorb the cost of housing, and he framed the strike with these words:

No collective agreement can withstand the impact that the price of housing has on the cost of living.

The unions' housing proposals include a permanent public housing stock, a fund to build 100,000 affordable homes a year, rent limits, easier mortgage credit and curbs on tourist rentals, according to La Razón, which quoted Álvarez from the May Day march in Málaga. El Periódico adds that 100,000 new homes a year, together with existing unused housing, would add about 1.5 million public homes over the next decade. Sordo and Álvarez acknowledged that the strike is unorthodox, both because it comes shortly before an election and because housing is not a labour issue. Sordo defended the move as a response to changed social conditions:

It is the moment to make a bold move to interpret new realities. You are reproached for not acting as in the 1980s.

Collective bargaining stalled

The unions also want wage gains beyond the minimum wage. They proposed a rise of between 4% and 7% in the new framework collective bargaining agreement (AENC), according to La Vanguardia, and the employers' confederation CEOE has not yet responded. The unions say that negotiations have been blocked for a year because CEOE refuses to sit down to discuss wage increases. La Razón reported that Álvarez criticised CEOE's delay of more than a year in renewing the framework agreement.