CCOO, UGT, and CSIF threaten a strike if civil servants' salaries are not raised.

PalmThe state public sector unions—CSIF, CCOO, and UGT—have announced a schedule of mobilizations starting this Wednesday, October 30, with a rally in front of the Government Delegation at 12 noon, and which could culminate in a general strike in December if the Ministry of Finance does not meet their demands.

The Secretary of Trade Union Action for CSIF, Pau Bou, has appealed "to all citizens," reminding everyone that "when there is a shortage of public workers or they are poorly paid, what suffers is the quality of public services." "This is not just a labor issue, but a national issue," he emphasized.

According to data provided by the unions, the wage freeze affects more than 105,000 people directly and around 20,000 more indirectly in the Balearic Islands. "It's an unsustainable situation," said Miquel Àngel Romero, general secretary of UGT Public Services. "The government tells us about a good economy, but for working people, it doesn't translate into anything. There's a clear inconsistency between macroeconomics and microeconomics: it's as if they were asking companies to raise salaries while the state keeps its own salaries frozen."

Romero recalled that 3.6 million public employees across the country have had their salaries frozen since January 1, 2025, despite the "good economic situation" the country is experiencing. "It's incomprehensible that the government would freeze salaries while the economy is growing and other sectors are seeing 3% increases," he denounced. The union leader emphasized that the salary freeze affects essential groups such as justice, security, cleaning, firefighters, healthcare, teachers, and municipal and postal workers, and emphasized that "civil servants are the largest group of workers in the country that directly report to the government."

The islanders' particularities

In the Balearic Islands, the situation is "even more serious" due to the island's location and the cost of living, which make it difficult to fill public positions. "Here we have an additional problem: the price of housing and the high cost of living mean that many civil servants don't want to come here or leave. Furthermore, workers assigned to the Balearic Islands are paid only 90 euros more than the minimum wage," Romero explained.

The coordinator of the public sector of the CCOO, Mario Devis, denounced that the State "keeps negotiations blocked" and that compromised measures such as reducing the working day to 35 hours per week, correct professional classification, and early partial retirement remain pending. He also called for a multi-year salary increase that would allow for the recovery of purchasing power, and not just the increase planned for 2025. "We are asking for an increase that is at least equivalent to the CPI," he emphasized.

The unions have pointed out that the State has collected 7% more than the previous year and, even so, "maintains negotiations with the public sector at a standstill." If the Ministry does not reopen dialogue, the unions announce a mobilization in Madrid in November and do not rule out a general strike in December. "We lack dialogue with the Administration," they warned. "If there is a strike, it will be a failure of the government."