The government and unions UGT and CSIF finally reached an agreement on Wednesday to raise the salaries of 3.5 million public employees by 11% between 2025 and 2028 (including both years). CC OO has decided not to sign for the time being, and has not yet announced its final position due to internal division between the three federations that must make this decision (Public Sphere, Education and Health). Although his final response is expected to be known on Thursday, when the agreement could be signed. The salary agreement will be accompanied by other commitments on the part of the executive such as phasing out the replacement rate, which limits public employment offers to those eligible for retirement; Or other improvements regarding selection processes, working hours, career, retirement or work permits, as confirmed by negotiation sources.
Specifically, the increase for the year 2025 will be 2.5%, and will be applied retroactively as of last January 1, through which arrears of December salaries will be collected. In January 2026, the salaries of these workers will increase by another 1.5%. With the addition of the two increases, at the beginning of next year the salary increase will be a fixed 4%. However, a 0.5% variable is added linked to the 2026 CPI being equal to or greater than 1.5% of the fixed portion for that year. In this case, this half point will be paid during the first quarter of 2027 retroactively to January 1, 2026 and will be deducted from the 2027 increase, which will be set for that year at 4.5% (5% if the half point is not rolled over to the prior year). In 2028, the remaining 2% will be collected.
All this would mean a cumulative increase of 11% in the four years, but taking into account the so-called Drag effect (The increase is at the same rate as supplements, in addition to basic salaries). The increase will practically rise to 11.4%, according to the union’s calculations. This would represent a 2.9% increase in purchasing power in this period, according to estimates from the civil service union CSIF.
The consensus on salaries came thanks to the fact that the government agreed to introduce the CPI-linked variable half point in 2026, although it will be paid retrospectively in 2027. Otherwise, unions have refused to allow public sector employees to almost certainly lose purchasing power next year due to inflation that is likely to exceed the initially expected 1.5% increase.
This Wednesday agreement marks the opening of negotiations that have cost unions so much to achieve. In fact, the three centers began mobilizing with the return of summer, and even threatened to strike in December if the government did not sit down to talk about increasing salaries for public sector workers. In the last three meetings held since last week, the issue of salaries has, above all, divided the unions. The public services union UGT was the first to announce its support for the agreement and the civil service union CSIF joined this Wednesday.
They confirmed from the CSIF that they had reached “the best possible agreement in the current political circumstances, as they were able to increase salaries and improve working conditions, despite the budget blockage, political uncertainty and economic restrictions imposed by Brussels.”
So the agreement they will sign will be multi-year for a period of four years. In addition to salary improvements, it will include other points related to employment and other working conditions. Improvements include a commitment to shorten deadlines for selection processes so that no more than one year elapses from the time a job offer is made until an official takes office (now more than two years in most cases). Professional careers will be encouraged, internal promotions and mobility will be expanded. To this end, job classification will be adapted, specific and differentiated internal promotion processes will be implemented, and competition based on merit will be enhanced, by establishing open and permanent competition, according to the unions’ report.
Customer service enhancements
Among the rest of the matters that this agreement will include is the commitment to lift the ban on the 35-hour day and regulate remote work in the state’s public administration. Likewise, throughout 2026, the Executive will review and increase subsistence and island allowances, as well as compensation for service reasons, in order to eliminate inequalities between different public sector employees. Wage updates for foreign labor employees will also be addressed.
The government is also committed to strengthening public service employees and adjusting the wages of these more demanding jobs. At this stage, the signatories plan to develop measures and plans to strengthen occupational health protection, through psychological support measures and anti-aggression measures, among others. Work permits will also be updated and other improvements regarding reconciliation will be included.
The unions also reported that this agreement strengthens measures to ensure equality and non-discrimination, as well as against sexual harassment and to prevent and combat violence against women. Specifically, CSIF proposed creating prevention and support plans for victims of this type of violence.
Regarding retirement, they also plan to address some improvements. In this regard, it is expected that the government will facilitate the opening of partial retirement for the workforce in the administration, as well as expand the scope of this retirement method to include all public sector employees. But to implement this expansion, it must be approved in the Public Service Law, which is stuck in Parliament, where the chances of approving new regulations are slim. This bill also includes extending the working life of public employees until the age of 72 on a voluntary basis.
In any case, the unions confirm that the support they provide for all these issues is not a blank check, and they will be at the forefront of their commitment, through the monitoring committee that will be formed within a maximum period of 15 days from their signature, in addition to other measures to ensure their full implementation.