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Inditex agrees to 20% pay rise in Spain - union groups

The salary increases reached as much as 40% in the areas of Spain that were the least well paid, the unions said
The salary increases reached as much as 40% in the areas of Spain that were the least well paid, the unions said

Zara owner Inditex has reached an agreement to raise salaries in its Spanish stores by an average 20%, Spain's two largest unions, CCOO and UGT, said.

The salary increases reached as much as 40% in the areas of Spain that were the least well paid, UGT said in a statement.

The increase means that Inditex will pay a minimum wage of €1,500 a month to shop assistants and a minimum of €2,041 in the case of workers with higher responsibilities at the stores, CCOO added in a separate statement.

Union groups said Inditex also agreed to continue increasing salaries in line with inflation over the next three years.

Like most countries, Spain has been grappling with strong inflation in recent months.

Its European Union-harmonised 12-month inflation was 5.8% in January, up from 5.5% in December and above the 4.7% expectation from analysts polled by Reuters.

CCOO and UGT represent more than half of the workforce at Zara shops in the country.

They have been in talks with Inditex to extend the pay rises and benefits to all shop assistants working for the company in Spain after shop workers in Inditex's hometown of A Coruna received a 25% pay rise in December.

In November, Inditex had agreed with UGT and CCOO to pay a one-off bonus of €1,000 in February for all full-time shop assistants employed across Spain, and now it has agreed to pay the same bonus next year.

Inditex employs 165,000 people in 177 countries, with a third of all staff based in Spain, according to its annual report. About 86% work in its 6,477 shops and most are women.

Among other brands Inditex owns are Massimo Dutti, Pull & Bear and Bershka.