The difficulties that companies are experiencing after the hard blow of the Covid-19 pandemic have led them to suspend the wage increases for their workers that were foreseen in the agreement for 2021, with the approval of the workers' representation.

This is admitted by the Ministry of Labour, which in its December agreements statistics acknowledges that "the suspension of agreed wage increases until March 2021 by the negotiating committees due to Covid-19, or the significant reduction in the number of workers affected by the agreement, is observed in certain agreements".

Alfredo Aspra, Andersen's Employment Practice partner, says that in all collective agreements, the bargaining commissions meet at the beginning of each year - unless they have a mechanism for automatic application of the wage increase - and make the wage increase applicable to the current calendar year official.

In addition, Aspra says that many bargaining commissions, convened by the company, are agreeing to suspend any wage increase until at least March or April, when they will have a better idea of how the year will go. This is not a cut-off, it is a modification of the agreement, suspending it so as not to apply ipso facto the salary increases but to postpone it to March, April or May.

The full article can be read in Vozpópuli.