Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Wednesday his cabinet would approve next week a 22% increase in the monthly minimum wage to 1,050 euros in 2019.
The increase, ‘the biggest since 1977’, will be approved at a cabinet meeting to be held in Barcelona on 21 December, he told parliament.
The measure was part of his minority Socialist (PSOE) government’s draft 2019 budget which he is struggling to pass in parliament so it will now be approved by decree.
The announcement comes after French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled Monday a 100-euro per month increase in the minimum wage from next year in a major concession to ‘yellow vest’ protests which have roiled the country.
After years of austerity policies imposed to cope with the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis, governments are under increasing pressure to ease the purse strings, especially for the lower paid.