After a prolonged period of mobilizations and negotiations, both UGT and CCOO have reached a pre-agreement with the consultancy employers, AEC and ANIMESso that the sector finally has Updated the State Agreement on Consulting and Market Studieswhich had been expired for four years: since 2019. Finally, the text of the pre-agreement does not include several of the most controversial claims of the employer, who wanted to extend the working day in the consultants by agreement to 12 hours a day at the will of the company.
The agreement includes a Salary review retroactively from July 1, 2022 for the payment of arrears, 5.5% on average. This increase varies depending on each area and level with respect to the salary tables, which start at least from the SMI. At the lowest salary levels, this salary increase reaches 10.75%.
For 2023, an initial salary increase in tables of 2.5% has been pre-agreed with retroactive effect from January 1, and by 2024, the salary increase in tables will be 2% average. Of course, at certain levels with lower salaries the increase may be greater. In addition, it is guaranteed “that the SMI of the next years will be applied to the tables in the lower level of each area, and a minimum differential of 80 euros per year is added in each level, preventing the lower levels from being compressed” , as pointed out from UGT.
In addition, the professional classification of the workers affected by the agreement, which is around half a million, changes. There will be five areas, one more than those included in the current agreement. Level E-III disappears from all areas, which is now divided into a Programming area and a Consulting area.
On the other hand, a new area will be created for the CAUs, and in the future text of the agreement it will specify how each professional group will be according to the functions carried out in each area. As for the programming area, workers will automatically jump to the EI level after getting three years of experience at the E-II level.
From the UGT they also point out the link to the SMI, and the disappearance of level E-III, «It will mean by 2023 an update of more than 33% in tables, of the minimum wages of the agreement«. They also highlight that the personal supplement will be distributed between the base salary and the plus agreement, which will allow the real generation of three-year periods.for all levels that were below the SMI«.
This link to the SMI, together with the disappearance of the E-III level of all areas, will mean by 2023 an update of more than 33% in tables, of the minimum wages of the agreement. Also, “By dividing the personal supplement between the base salary and the plus agreement, it will allow the real generation of trienniums for all levels that were below the SMI«.
The mileage, which is currently at 0.17 euros per kilometer, will become 0.25 euros per kilometer. For the Market Studies area, the update will go to 0.22 euros from January 1, 2023, and to 0.23 from January 1, 2024. The allowances, which are currently at 52.06 euros, become of 55 euro. For area managers, inspector-interviewer and interviewer-pollster they go up to 38.55 euros.
The telecommuting It has also been regulated, and a minimum compensation for expenses of 17 euros per month is guaranteed by agreement. This amount can be improved by collective agreement in each company. From Comisiones Obreras they also highlight, however, that “All this must be specified in a text of the agreement, in which there are still aspects to be discussed, but we understand that a decisive step has been taken to make the XVIII State Collective Agreement a reality.”. It will be necessary to see, therefore, how the text of the definitive agreement of agreement for the sector remains.
