Spain: CSIF achieves pay rise and reforms

CESI member organisation CSIF has welcomed a long-awaited pay agreement for Spain’s public-sector workforce, following months of mobilisation and a negotiation process that had remained at a standstill. The deal confirms the 2025 salary increase with retroactive effect and sets out a multi-year wage framework running from 2025 to 2028.

According to CSIF, the agreement will deliver a cumulative wage increase of 11.4% by January 2028, enabling public employees to recover an estimated 2.9% of lost purchasing power.

Key pay measures

The agreement foresees the following steps:

• 2025: a 2.5% rise, applied retroactively from 1 January 2025, with arrears to be paid from December 2025.
• 2026: a 4% increase from January 2026, plus a potential additional 0.5% if inflation (IPC) in 2026 reaches at least 1.5%. This variable component would be paid in early 2027, with retroactive effect.
• 2027: a further 4.5% increase from January 2027.
• 2028: the framework culminates in a total 11.4% uplift by January 2028.

Improvements beyond pay

CSIF also highlights that the agreement includes a broad package of measures aimed at strengthening working conditions and public services. These include:

• enhanced rights on leave and work-life balance;
• improved internal promotion pathways;
• merit-based recruitment, mobility and ongoing open competitions;
• faster hiring procedures and staffing reinforcement, including the removal of replacement-rate limits;
• commitments to modernise job classification systems;
• pension- and retirement-related measures;
• progress towards 35-hour working weeks and clearer regulation of telework within the central administration;
• a government commitment to improve healthcare coverage under Spain’s administrative mutual systems (MUFACE, MUGEJU and ISFAS).

A joint monitoring committee is to be established within 15 days of the agreement’s signature to oversee implementation of all measures.

CESI perspective

CESI underlines the importance of predictable, multi-annual wage frameworks and tangible improvements in working conditions to ensure quality public services and safeguard the attractiveness of public-sector careers. The agreement in Spain illustrates how sustained social dialogue — supported by workers’ mobilisation when necessary — can deliver concrete results for employees and citizens alike.

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