The Canada Brief

World · 19 d ago

Carlos Cuerpo, Spain's economy minister

Europäische Kommission - Audiovisueller Dienst, Lukasz Kobus, Yügen, CE - Service audiovisuel, EC - Audiovisual Service · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Spain aims to raise pensions and the minimum wage despite an early election

Nov

29

Sunday

Spain, general election

Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo says pensions can be updated to inflation in December, even if the government is only acting in a caretaker role after the Nov 29 general election.

What we know

  • The update is guaranteed by law
  • The inflation figure comes out Nov 27

Not yet

  • Whether cabinet acts before the vote

The inflation figure that sets the rise comes out on Nov 27, two days before the vote, so cabinet may not have time to approve it first; Cuerpo says the measure would meet the legal test of urgency.

Pensioners in Spain, more than

9 million people

Cuerpo said the update would reassure more than nine million pensioners, and that Spain's pension system is sustainable.

What's next

The minister also wants a new minimum wage rise announced before the vote, pending an expert panel; the wage has risen 66 per cent in recent years, to about 60 per cent of the average wage.