The salaries of the highest paid managers of large Spanish companies are on average 111 times higher than those earning an average salary in these companies, which means that they would have to work more than a century to match the annual salary of the top executives.
According to a report published this Tuesday by Oxfam Intermón, which analyzes the 40 largest Spanish companies listed by revenue level during the year 2024, Spanish economic growth, which is around 4.74% per year on average since 2020, This still does not affect the salaries of the majority of workers.
This is due, among other factors, to theto a large number of low-wage workers that exists in the Spanish labor market, as well as the high income inequality, because while in the EU the 10% of workers who earn the most receive 7.5 times more than the 10% of those with the lowest incomes, in Spain this ratio rises to 9.6 times.
In one company in three analyzed, the difference between the highest salaries and average salaries is more than 100 timesalthough in some countries the gap is even greater, such as in Prosegur, where it reaches 395 times; Inditex, with 364 times, and CIE Automotive, with 319 times.
“It is essential to publicly address from what limit salary differences are not justified and trigger economic inequality,” says report author and head of private sector and inequality at Oxfam Intermón, Miguel Alba.
A third of workers cannot live with dignity
As the report details, this scenario coexists with very low wages and a labor market in which half of employees earn at most one salary. times and a half the minimum wageor 24,124 euros per year.
And all this against a backdrop of rising property prices and inflation, particularly in the food sector, which makes things even more difficult for low-income households. meet vital expenses.
Thus, almost one person in three, or 30% of the Spanish population, declares that His income does not allow him to live with dignity.
Even though those who work in large companies earn on average salaries 63% higher than the national averageit is precisely in these companies that the internal distance widens the most.
The figures for senior executives reinforce this very unequal trend: the average annual remuneration of the highest paid person in these large companies It reaches 4.4 million euros in 2024.
In 37.5% of them, the highest salary exceeded 5 million eurosand by 7.5% it exceeded 10 million euros. Iberdrola comes first with 14.2 million euros, followed by Banco Santander, with 13.8 million euros, and Inditex, with 11.2 million euros.
The gender gap, another layer of inequality
The gender gap adds another layer of inequality to the employment landscape at large companies, since according to the report, women they earned on average 8.16% less than men for the same job in 2024, a percentage which rises to 18.2% if we compare average salaries between men and women.
This difference is not only due to the fact that female workers earn less than their colleagues in equivalent positions, but also to the fact that less female presence which exists in the highest paid positions and positions.
Faced with this situation, Oxfam Intermón calls on the government to take measures to move towards a more balanced systemsuch as establishing a maximum ratio of 1 to 20 between the highest salary and the median salary, strengthening salary transparency, improving job quality and adopting effective measures to reduce the gender pay gap.
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