Wages in Spain will rise this year at levels below the current rate of inflation.
The average pay rise agreed in the collective agreements revised and signed in January 2011 was 2.98 percent. That was slightly below the rate of inflation predicted for the first month of the year, which was 3.3 percent.
The news reflects the efforts made by unions and employers to be flexible and to make concessions as the country attempts to escape from the current economic crisis.
Spanish unions have rejected proposals made by German Chancellor Angela Merkel during her visit here last week to link wage rises to productivity.
Although Arturo Fernandez, vice-president of the Spanish Confederation of Employers' Organization (CEOE), said Monday his organization was open to Merkel's suggestion, the CEOE rejected Merkel's idea in principal.
Pay rises may be below the level of inflation, which is expected to fall in 2011, but they are still considerably higher than the increases signed in January 2010, when the average increase was 1.63 percent.
There has also been a slight decrease in the number of working hours per year, with the average signed at 1,752.4 hours, 0.8 percent less than in 2010.
Pay increases vary from sector to sector. The Spanish construction industry is to have a pay rise of 1.62 percent, while the service sector will see wages rise by 3.04 percent and primary industry by 2.95 per cent.