wage cuts

In 2015 the employees of the Catalan Government and related institutions and public companies will receive their full salary once again after having suffered a 7.5% reduction over the last 3 years. The Spokesperson for the Catalan Government and Minister for the Presidency, Francesc Homs, announced the measure on Tuesday, after the weekly Cabinet meeting. Furthermore, the Executive will also stop the 15% reduction of working hours and salary of temporary workers in the public sector. Those austerity measures were approved in the 2012 budget as a drastic way to cut public spending in order to reduce the public deficit. The Spanish Government has been unilaterally imposing strict deficit targets on the Catalan Executive while it maintained an unfair inter-territorial fiscal scheme with Catalonia and reduced its resources. In fact, the Spanish Government and most of the other Autonomous Communities did not reduce public salaries in the worst years of economic crisis, while the Catalan Government was the first one to launch the ambitious austerity plan.

Catalonia is the only Autonomous Community in Spain to have registered a decrease in wages, as it was also the only one to have public employees' Christmas payment – equivalent to a month’s salary – entirely eliminated in 2013, according to the latest Quarterly Labour Cost Survey issued by the Spanish Government. Hence, while Spanish wages have increased by 2.1% in 2013, the wages of Catalan employees have continued on a downward trend continued o, falling by 0.7% at the end of December 2013 compared to the last quarter of 2012. The average salary in Catalonia stood at €2,133 per month, returning to 2009 levels, when it had amounted to €2,119. Labour costs, which group the employee salary and social costs assumed by companies, have also fallen by 0.4% in annual terms in Catalonia whereas they were up by 2.1% in Spain.

The two main trade unions have announced a general strike against the job market reform planned by the Spanish Government. This reform has been discussed among the trade unions, business associations and the Spanish Government for more than 2 years.

This measure is part of a plan to cut the public deficit at all levels of government. It has passed with the only positive votes from the parties in the Government´s Left-Wing coalition.

Government and unions clash over success of strike action. Official figures suggest 11% of participation while unions raise the figure up to 75%. The salary cuts within the public sector adopted by the Spanish Government have infuriated the unions.