Calviño foresees that the IPC will continue to fall in the coming months and asks for wage and benefit moderation

He avoids ruling on Díaz’s support for the mobilizations against CEOE and again advocates the income pact

30 Aug. () –

The First Vice President of the Government and Minister of Economic Affairs and for Digital Transformation, Nadia Calviño, assured this Tuesday that the cut in inflation to 10.4% in August reflects that this indicator “has begun to moderate” and has predicted that it will continue “on that path of decline” in the coming months.

However, Calviño, in statements to TVE collected by Europa Press, has indicated that everything will depend on exogenous factors, such as war and the functioning of supply chains. For this reason, he has said, it is important that the Government’s economic policy continues to be “coherent and responsible to deal with this uncertain situation in the best way”.

The vice president recalled that the peaks in inflation were reached coinciding with the start of the war and the gas and oil cuts from Russia to Europe, and she sees it as “normal” that underlying inflation has risen to 6.4% in August, it is reflecting the higher production costs due to the high prices of energy and other goods and raw materials.

“But this trend has to stop in the coming months so that the forecasts of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of Spain that we return to more normal levels next year are met,” the vice president pointed out.

Calviño has highlighted that not only fuels have played an important role in moderating inflation in August to 10.4%, but also the Government’s measures, which are helping to contain inflation and “relieve” citizens’ pockets .

In this sense, he has insisted that “everyone’s” objective must be to contain inflation, for which he has once again advocated a multi-year income pact, which includes moderation of wages and business profits to avoid an inflationary spiral. .

“The social agents have behaved with enormous responsibility and with them we have made very important decisions and reforms, such as the labor reform, which are helping our country. I trust that they will continue to act with that responsibility (…) From the Government We are going to help this income agreement, we are going to continue putting our shoulders to the wheel and I trust that everyone is up to the circumstances”, he underlined.

Calviño has avoided commenting on the support of the second vice president, Yolanda Díaz, for the union mobilizations against the CEOE so that it agrees to raise wages, and has reaffirmed the Government’s objective of raising the minimum interprofessional wage (SMI) to 60 % of the average salary, a measure that “makes perfect sense” in a context of rising prices like the current one.

In this sense, he has stated that the Government does not yet have any proposal to raise the SMI and that first the Committee of Experts, which meets on September 2, will have to be heard.

With regard to the salary of public employees, the first vice president has pointed out that raising it is being negotiated between the Treasury and the unions, but that said increase must avoid an inflationary spiral.

“We are going to try to find a rise that allows us to protect wages but avoid an inflationary spiral. Everyone’s objective must be to contain inflation. The moderation of both wages and business margins is key to avoiding entering an inflationary spiral. and from the Government all the measures we are taking go in this direction”, he argued.

WELCOMES THE REFORM OF THE EUROPEAN ELECTRICITY MARKET

The Vice President welcomed the reform of the European electricity market announced by Brussels, as Spain has been proposing it for some time, with specific proposals for reform “which are gradually making their way”. “Better late than never”, said the vice-president, who recalled that, among other measures, Spain has proposed to the European Commission to limit the price of CO2 emission rights, to decouple the price of gas from that of electricity and joint gas purchases.

GDP CONTINUED TO GROW IN THE THIRD QUARTER

On the other hand, when asked about the publication next Friday of the data on unemployment and affiliation for August, the first vice president pointed out that “all the data points to a normal evolution in the month of August” and that “nothing points to a slowdown very intense”.

Calviño has also pointed out that, with the data available to date, “which are few”, the indicators for the third quarter point to continued growth in the Spanish economy.