Civil servant salaries frozen for another year

Public sector salaries end 2025 frozen, net pay drops simultaneously

A postal worker with a permanent position in a provincial capital earns 1,300 euros net per month. In the same city, the cheapest rental available is around 1,200 euros. This arithmetic explains why the issue has moved from casual conversation to the heart of budget negotiations. Without approved General State Budgets, public employee salaries remain frozen for another year. The discussion begins precisely there.

What was raised in 2024 and why 2025 sees a 0% increase

Last year, public sector salaries rose by 2%, with an additional 0.5% in September with retroactive effect. So far, the facts. The problem lies in which fiscal year these two raises belong to. One line of analysis suggests both increments correspond to the 2024 agreement and were paid months late, meaning 2025 effectively had a 0% raise in the General State Administration. The opposing view points to press releases and headlines about the 2.5% received, considering the matter closed. The difference is not semantic; it determines whether purchasing power is frozen or merely delayed in payment.

There's a subtle point that enters through the back door. When gross pay remains the same and contributions increase, net pay decreases. This is what would have peine with the implementation of the MEI (Mecanismo de Equidad Intergeneracional - Intergenerational Equity Mechanism): the nominal raise doesn't fully reach the worker's account.

How much a civil servant truly earns: from ward attendant to A1 group

Averages inflate themselves, so it's useful to look at the details. In general bodies, a state administrator, a ward attendant, a postal worker, or a library assistant earn between 1,300 and 1,500 euros net in fourteen payments. A postal worker does not exceed 1,300 euros net. A temporary delivery driver at Correos, according to direct testimony, had to reject an offer of 18,000 euros gross annually.

In the A1 subgroup, things change, but not dramatically: a teacher in Madrid starts with 2,050 euros net per month and 38,500 euros gross per year, "and overtime is not fully paid." The breakdown is standard. Base salary for A1 is around 1,300 euros; destination allowance, about 750; specific allowance, another 750. Total, close to 2,800 euros gross monthly. Seniority increments (trienios) add about 50 euros per month every three years; academic seniority increments (sens), 100 euros every six years. Outside of teaching, there are few other allowances, and that's where the average salary trap lies.

The most uncomfortable comparison doesn't come from the private sector, but from local public sector entities themselves. In Madrid, metro drivers earn over 45,000 euros gross annually, EMT drivers exceed 40,000 euros, and garbage truck drivers earn over 2,500 euros net per month. From this, a stark conclusion emerges: if the goal was to make being a civil servant less appealing, that goal has been achieved.

Gross pay frozen, net pay drops: the cut that doesn't make headlines

Since 2010, public employees have not received their extraordinary payments in full. The regulation that reduced their amount remains in effect, and Article 22 of the Basic Statute of Public Employees—two annual payments for one month's basic remuneration and the entirety of complementary payments—is only partially met. A popular legislative initiative to reinstate them was rejected for processing, and the Constitutional Court has admitted an appeal against that decision. Translated: two monthly payments per year that have not been restored.

Added to this is the budgetary calendar. Those who argue for a pay cut state it plainly: if 2025 closed with no raise and 2026 points to the same, the result is a sustained loss of purchasing power over years, both in the public and private sectors. The erosion, they insist, is no longer measured by collective agreements but by the grocery basket.

Can salaries be raised without approved budgets?

Yes, and that's where the official argument cracks. The 2024 raises were applied without new budgets, and pensions are updated punctually every January 1st, regardless of budgets. The conclusion many draw: the lack of General Budgets prevents finalizing the numbers, not negotiating them. From the other side, the response is that without a budgetary framework, the margin is limited, and the agreement was signed when it could be signed.

Nine percent raise and inflation running twice as fast

Calculations circulating put a figure on the erosion: between 2022 and 2025, public salaries would have risen by around 9%, while accumulated inflation for the period would be close to 30%. This is not an official series, but an estimate, yet the order of magnitude explains why the conversation has shifted from salaries to rent.

Seniority increments cushion the blow slightly, and only after the third year of service. In the capitals where most positions are concentrated, the gap between salary and housing costs has closed to the point of disappearing. Public employees are renting rooms, sharing apartments, or giving up their positions due to the cost of rent. The full analysis, with specific cases and comparisons between regions, reveals a difference that surprises anyone who still considers civil servants synonymous with privilege.

Unions: from the negotiation table to the Constitutional Court

CSIF, UGT, and CCOO have called for demonstrations across Spain due to the deadlock in negotiations. It's not a general strike, not by a long shot, and therein lies the most repeated criticism: decades of lost purchasing power and no serious mobilization. Some staff attribute this to the subsidized role of the unions; others simply note that protests appear under one government and disappear under the next.

Meanwhile, the judicial path continues, and personnel policy advances through other channels: at the Tax Agency, part of the December variable pay has already been linked to meeting a new inspection indicator.

The paradox remains: a state A1 civil servant starts at around 2,800 euros gross per month, while a Madrid metro driver earns over 45,000 per year. The uncomfortable comparison is not between public and private sectors, but between different public administrations. And while the debate rages on whether civil servants are overpaid, the vast majority of positions remain at 1,300 euros net. Not even enough for rent.