Government of Spain approves salary update for public employees

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The acting Minister for Treasury and Public Function, María Jesús Montero, explained that the agreement for the salary revaluation of public sector staff complies with the agreements reached with the trade unions during the last legislature, within the framework of social dialogue.

This pay increase is included in the General State Budget Act 2023 as a formula to compensate for the loss of purchasing power due to inflation. The measure will be retroactive to 1 January 2023 and will benefit around 3.5 million people, who will receive the increase in their October paychecks.

María Jesús Montero reiterated that the agreement shows that one of the Government's priorities is to offer "the best public service for all citizens" through its main asset, which is its employees. "We saw it in the citizens' applause for the health workers in the most difficult moments of the pandemic, and we see on a daily basis how the good functioning of the administration also depends on the capacity to involve all public employees in the task", she argued.

The minister added that the modernisation of the administration is included in the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and will contribute to improving citizens' quality of life. Reducing temporary employment to less than 8% by the end of 2024 will also stabilise staffing levels and contribute to service improvement.

Montero pointed out that the Government has faced up to the cuts in the administration and the zero-replacement rate, opting to increase the number of posts on the payroll to the maximum, attending to the labour demands of its employees, via the trade union centres. In this regard, she pointed out that since Pedro Sánchez has been president, 169,000 jobs have been created in public administrations, a figure that contrasts with the loss of 124,000 jobs in the previous legislature.

This increase in the public sector is compatible with the increase in employment in the private sector, as shown by the fact that "this September continues to show record numbers of Social Security contributors and the lowest level of unemployment since 2008", the minister stressed.

Specific salary increase in the Justice Administration

The acting Minister for Treasury and Public Function, María Jesús Montero, during her speech at the press conference after the Council of Ministers | Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

The Council of Ministers has also updated the remuneration regime in the Administration of Justice, thereby fulfilling the agreements reached with the associations of judges and trade unions.

The acting Minister for Treasury and Public Function has specified that judges and prosecutors will receive an increase in their allowance of around €450 per month. This increase will be implemented gradually between 2023 and 2024, with 40% being paid as of 1 January 2023, 40% as of 1 January 2024, and the remaining 20% as of 1 July 2024.

As for the remuneration of lawyers in the administration of justice, they will have a transitional specific allowance of €430 per month in 2023.

Boost to 'Operation Camp'

The Government has taken another step in the administrative unblocking of 'Operation Campamento', which seeks to respond to the demand for affordable housing. The Council of Ministers has specifically authorised the Ministry of Defence to sell a surface area of 1.63 million square metres in Madrid to SEPES, a body under the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda.

This action, which forms part of the State Housing Plan 2022-2025, will culminate in the construction of 12,000 homes, of which at least 60% will have to be subsidised.

The Minister for Territorial Policy and acting Government Spokesperson, Isabel Rodríguez, has assured that with this initiative, the State Plan and above all the Housing Act approved at the end of the legislature, "the Government aims to ensure that housing ceases to be a problem for millions of people, especially families and young people, and becomes a right".

Financial aid to cinemas

The Minister for Territorial Policy and acting Government Spokesperson, Isabel Rodríguez, during her speech at the press conference after the Council of Ministers | Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

The Executive has allocated €14.5 million in aid to cinemas, an increase of more than €4 million over the previous year. These grants were launched in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

The Government Spokesperson explained that this sector is one of the few that have not yet recovered from the crisis, as attendance in cinemas is 35.7% lower than in the previous period. "That is why in its desire to help the affected sectors the Government maintains this aid, which at the same time promotes film activity in our country," she said.

Care for people with disabilities in Melilla

The Council of Ministers has extended the existing agreement between the Institute for the Elderly and Social Services (IMSERSO) and the Department of Social Policies and Public Health of Melilla to maintain comprehensive care for users of the 'Francisco Gámez Morón' care centre for people with intellectual disabilities.

Isabel Rodríguez detailed that the agreement involves an investment of €700,000 and that the centre has 35 places for boarders and 20 half-board places in the day centre.

Quality employment

At the press conference following the Cabinet meeting, the Government Spokesperson described today's employment data as "positive". Isabel Rodríguez pointed out that the summer season closed with an all-time high in terms of the number of national insurance contributors, and that 545,000 jobs have already been created this year.

She also maintained that quality employment has now been "normalised" and that job creation is concentrated in the sectors where the Government has placed the emphasis, in accordance with "a model of modernisation of our economy based fundamentally on reindustrialisation, green industry, knowledge and innovation".

The Minister for Territorial Policy also welcomed the European Commission's approval of the addendum to the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, which she interpreted as an "endorsement" by the European institutions of the Spanish economy and the Executive's management.

Non official translation