Eight public-sector unions have written to parties standing in the November 29 election, demanding a clear position on restoring full extra pay. They want the pledge in election programmes, with dates or legal changes where needed.
A pay cut introduced in 2010 as an extraordinary response to the economic crisis still affects close to three million public employees, the unions say. Sixteen years on, they argue, the reduction remains in place even though the crisis that prompted it was declared over. The unions describe the measure as a lasting pay cut and say it has contributed to a significant loss of purchasing power over that period.
On October 21, eight organisations asked parties contesting the November 29 election to state whether they would restore the full extra payments. They want voters and public-sector workers to know each party’s position before casting their ballots.
The signatories are the Confederación Española de Sindicatos Médicos (CESM), the Sindicato Médico Andaluz (SMA), the Sindicato Médico de Euskadi (SME) and the Federación de Cuerpos Superiores de la Administración (FEDECA). The group also includes Tu Abandono Me Puede Matar (TAMPM), the Unión sindical de Inspectores de Educación (USIE), the Sindicato Independiente ANPE and the Sindicato Unificado de Policía (SUP).
The unions say they have spent months pressing to end the reduction. They describe their demand as restoring the part of employees’ pay that remains cut, with purchasing-power losses building over the sixteen years. They want parties to include full recovery in their programmes and, if they support it, set a timetable or specify the legal changes needed to make it happen. The unions say restoration would return part of employees’ remuneration, rather than amount to a new pay rise.
The demand also concerns the broader salary structure in place before the 2010 cut. In an October 15 statement, the public-sector union CSIF said it would press to restore that structure and monitor the agreed pay increases so the election campaign does not interfere with them.
Separately, the government and unions have agreed a schedule of increases for public employees, covering more than three million workers: 2.5% for 2025, 2% for 2026, 4.5% for 2027 and 2% for 2028. El Periódico reported that the 2026 increase comprises a fixed 1.5% and a further 0.5% linked to consumer-price trends. These scheduled increases are separate from restoring the portion of pay cut in 2010. The Ministry of Public Administration has discussed a draft royal decree-law to implement the agreed increases, but the government has not set a date for approval, ABC reported.
UGT Servicios Públicos has also called for the agreed measures to be approved before the government enters caretaker status, identifying November 24 as the last Council of Ministers meeting before the election. Other outstanding union demands include compensation for work in remote regions, equalising pay across administrations and stronger staffing in public services.
The election campaign has also featured proposed benefit changes, including measures for carers and pensioners covered in an earlier benefits report. The unions’ letters ask parties to take a separate position on restoring the extra payments.
