On Wednesday 25 January, the two major trade union confederations, CCOO and UGT, agreed the so-called Second Agreement for Collective Use and Negotiation with the two employers’ associations, CEOE and CEPYME. This central agreement comprises wage increases up to 0.5% for 2012, 0.6% for 2013 and between o.6% and 1.5% for 2014, with updates. The agreement enlarges, in addition, internal flexibility for companies, extends assumptions on the conditions in which the company owners can claim not to abide by the agreement, and determines the structure of collective negotiations. Among the reasons that could allow derogations from the agreement is a company’s persistent reduction of turnover, or the fact that the company’s economic perspective can be negatively affected by its application. This pact is what Spain needs at the moment, Candido Mendez, UGT Secretary General, said in a press conference, recognizing that a wage reduction is imminent.
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This article was published in the Collective Bargaining Newsletter. It aims to facilitate information exchange between trade unions and to support the work of ETUC's collective bargaining committee. For more information, please contact the editor Maarten van Klaveren, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) M.vanKlaveren@uva.nl or the communications officer of the ETUI, Mariya Nikolova mnikolova@etui.org. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net. © ETUI aisbl, Brussels 2012.