EUR 1,047. This is the barrier that the Government of Spain wishes to place on the Interprofessional Minimum Wage (SMI) for the year 2023, which currently amounts to 950 euros. This forecast will affect thousands of Basque citizens, as the regional governments of the south of the Bidasoa, for the time being, have not had the slightest trace of that competition.

The minimum wage has been extended in several European countries a long time ago to guarantee workers a basic income. For example, in the French State, including Ipar Euskal Herria, the barrier is 1,554 euros, closer to the average wage. But for the European economic elite that minimum has always been a hindrance to creating jobs under the conditions they would like.

Following the announcement by the Spanish Government, the Bank of Spain, which also has the financial controller, has issued a report highlighting the alleged employment breakdown caused by the rise of the SMI in 2019. The Spanish media of the elite have been affected by this measure, which has eliminated “100,000 jobs” on the one hand; on the other, it has actually been 174,000 lost; by unemployment among the elderly and young…

The report emphasises “evidence”: The increase in SMI negatively affects job creation. But the Working Population Survey says just the opposite, because in the year that the SMI increased, thousands of people started working.

But the message from the Bank of Spain is clear: Don't come back up! And we know what that high financial institution is eating, whether it's private banking or big business. Call it pressure, threat, or blackmail if you want. What should we expect from government envoys? The trade unions and parties that have been given shelter should at least sow the wind so that the promise to raise the SMI gradually.