The average salary in Spain stood at 26,537 euros in 2020, 9,528 euros below the Eurozone average that reached 36,065 euros, according to a report prepared by the UGT studies service citing data from the OECD. This is 26.4% lower than the average salary in the Eurozone, 37.7% lower than that of Germany, 30.3% lower than that of France or 5.2% lower than that of Italy.
A difference that, according to the analysis of the UGT union, to which eE has had access, has worsened over time: since 2000, while in the Eurozone the average salary at constant prices for 2020 rose by 12.5 % until this year, in Spain it fell 1.1 percentage points.
“In other words, the average wage in Spain is lower in real terms than it was 20 years ago,” declares the union, stressing that it is “clear that just increasing the amount of the SMI, even if necessary, is not enough for working people achieve an adequate standard of living, while the general salary level in Spain is very low”. Therefore, the role of collective bargaining to improve wages, and especially the lowest ones, is crucial to gradually converge towards the average wage in the European Union, according to UGT.
The study service’s analysis also emphasizes the salary difference between genders in Spain. With the 2019 data (latest available) from the Salary Structure Survey, if the average salary in Spain stood at 24,938 euros in that year, in the case of women it was much lower, 21,682 euros per year, 5,252 euros less than that of men.
This means that, in practice, one in four women (25.7%) received a salary below the SMI, compared to 11% of men, due to the type of work they worked (part-time, involuntary , not finding full-time jobs).
hourly gap
The analysis also addresses the gender wage gap measured by hourly wages (thereby eliminating the distortions that can be caused by the different types of working hours) and “the outlook continues to be discouraging”, in the opinion of the study service of the union led by Pepe Alvarez.
The report cites that in 2020, with data from Eurostat, the wage gap stood at 9.4%, the same as in 2019. A figure that, however, has been reducing over the years, especially during the period in which the greatest increases in the SMI have occurred: from 2016 to 2019, the SMI increased by 37.4% while the gap was reduced by 36%. The union concludes that the advancement of the SMI has become a powerful measure to promote equal pay.
However, despite the fact that UGT recognizes the importance of the SMI to reduce the salary gap, it points out that “we must be aware that the fact that the SMI reaches 60% of the average salary is not enough to ensure that a person can live with dignity,” the report states.
risk of poverty
The UGT studies service highlights that 11.8% of workers were at risk of poverty in 2020, “the second worst figure in the Eurozone.” Given this situation, the union believes that the rise in the Interprofessional Minimum Wage will raise the income of those who suffer the most adverse consequences of working poverty. A situation that could worsen in the current situation of strong inflation.
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