Minimum wage and labour dumping: the left betrays workers
Spain's most common wage has fallen to €14,586, real unemployment nears 30% and the minimum income scheme now exceeds the average wage. Left-wing migration and tax policy is accelerating the…
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The left subsidises labour dumping: falling wages and pensions at risk
The most common wage in Spain no longer reaches €15,000 a year. According to recent data, the median wage has plunged by almost €4,000 to €14,586, and 37% of workers earn the minimum wage or less. Meanwhile, the Government insists that Spain needs 3.5 million more migrants to sustain the system. The paradox is that this very policy of open borders is compressing wages in sectors such as services and agriculture, where the flood of cheap labour is dragging pay down.
Real unemployment nears 30%, according to the ECB
The European Central Bank warns that Spain's real unemployment rate is approaching 30%, far above the official figure. Among foreigners, unemployment reaches 14%, its highest level in five years. On top of this, almost 800,000 people receive benefits without having previously paid contributions, while payments to unemployed foreigners are growing four times faster than those to Spaniards. The result is mounting pressure on the Social Security accounts.
Record taxes on subsistence wages
Spain has one of the highest tax wedges in the OECD: it exceeds 40% of labour costs. The fiscal burden on a Spanish worker is 50% higher than that of a German worker and 60% higher than that of an American worker. With these levies, low wages do not even cover the public services they consume. A study cited in the debate points out that below €27,500 gross per year, the contributions of the employee and the employer do not finance the healthcare and education that the worker and their family use.
The Minimum Living Income now exceeds the most common wage
The IMV (Spain's minimum income scheme) has grown until it exceeds the most common wage in Spain by 20%. This creates a distortion: for many people, not working and collecting the benefit is more profitable than accepting a precarious job. Meanwhile, Spanish productivity is half the European average, which undermines any possibility of sustainable wage increases.
The governing left has chosen to subsidise precariousness with benefits and open the door to more low-cost immigration, rather than correcting the structural imbalances. The future of pensions, which depends on sufficient contributions, is wobbling. If this dynamic continues, the Spanish welfare system will trinc a path similar to Germany's, where it is already declared financially unviable. But while the data keeps piling up, the majority prefers to look the other way and vote for the same old crowd.
The most common wage in Spain no longer reaches €15,000 a year. According to recent data, the median wage has plunged by almost €4,000 to €14,586, and 37% of workers earn the minimum wage or less. Meanwhile, the Government insists that Spain needs 3.5 million more migrants to sustain the system. The paradox is that this very policy of open borders is compressing wages in sectors such as services and agriculture, where the flood of cheap labour is dragging pay down.
Real unemployment nears 30%, according to the ECB
The European Central Bank warns that Spain's real unemployment rate is approaching 30%, far above the official figure. Among foreigners, unemployment reaches 14%, its highest level in five years. On top of this, almost 800,000 people receive benefits without having previously paid contributions, while payments to unemployed foreigners are growing four times faster than those to Spaniards. The result is mounting pressure on the Social Security accounts.
Record taxes on subsistence wages
Spain has one of the highest tax wedges in the OECD: it exceeds 40% of labour costs. The fiscal burden on a Spanish worker is 50% higher than that of a German worker and 60% higher than that of an American worker. With these levies, low wages do not even cover the public services they consume. A study cited in the debate points out that below €27,500 gross per year, the contributions of the employee and the employer do not finance the healthcare and education that the worker and their family use.
The Minimum Living Income now exceeds the most common wage
The IMV (Spain's minimum income scheme) has grown until it exceeds the most common wage in Spain by 20%. This creates a distortion: for many people, not working and collecting the benefit is more profitable than accepting a precarious job. Meanwhile, Spanish productivity is half the European average, which undermines any possibility of sustainable wage increases.
The governing left has chosen to subsidise precariousness with benefits and open the door to more low-cost immigration, rather than correcting the structural imbalances. The future of pensions, which depends on sufficient contributions, is wobbling. If this dynamic continues, the Spanish welfare system will trinc a path similar to Germany's, where it is already declared financially unviable. But while the data keeps piling up, the majority prefers to look the other way and vote for the same old crowd.
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (31 replies).
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