Spanish supermarket chain Mercadona has signed a new collective agreement with labour unions to raise wages by up to 6% a year until 2028.
The agreement, signed with representatives of the General Union of Workers, Workers' Commissions (CCOO) and the Independent Union, will be implemented from 1 January 2024 until the end of 2028.
Mercadona will increase the salary of its employees by the annual inflation rate up to 2.5%. This figure could increase by up to 6% if the rate of inflation is higher.
The inflation rate for the 12 months to November 2023 fell to 3.2% in Spain, which represents a decline from 3.5% in October, according to the country's National Statistics Institute.
Mercadona, which employs more than 100,000 people, already guarantees a minimum entry salary of €1,507 ($1,644.94) gross per month.
Under the new agreement, the right to at least eight weekends a year off work has been extended to employees in warehouses and to online sales and logistics staff.
CCOO federation general secretary Jose María Martínez stated: “We understand that this agreement demonstrates once again that, through social dialogue, new labour realities can be adapted with the participation of all parties: company and legal representatives of workers.
“[We are] carrying out this adaptation, improving working conditions ... with an increase in salaries that guarantees purchasing power in the largest company in the sector. We must also highlight the continuity of the observatory that was created in the previous agreement, where we will study how the working day will be reduced and the analysis of its distribution."
