The metal trade agreement of Cantabria raises wages until 2030

The Directorate General for Labor, Social Economy, and Self-Employment has ordered the registration and publication of the Collective Agreement for the Metal Trade sector of Cantabria for the years 2026-2030. The resolution, signed on October 9, 2026, by the director general Jaime Gonzalo Alonso Rozadilla, appears in the Official Gazette of Cantabria (BOC) no. 200, dated October 19, 2026, section 7.3, with the official reference CVE-2026-8073 and agreement code 39000315011981.

The text was signed on May 21, 2026, by the negotiating commission, composed on one part by the business association PYMETAL and on the other by the unions FeSMC UGT and Federación de Servicios CCOO, representing the workers included in its scope. It was submitted for registration in the Registry of Collective Agreements, Collective Labor Agreements, and Equality Plans of the Autonomous Community of Cantabria (REGCON) on June 8, 2026, and was finally corrected on October 9, 2026.

The resolution is based on Article 90 of the Workers’ Statute, Articles 2 and 8 of Royal Decree 713/2010, of May 28, and the transfer of functions to the Autonomous Community of Cantabria carried out by Royal Decree 1900/1996 and Decree 88/1996. The agreement orders the registration and deposit of the agreement and provides for its full publication in the regional gazette.

Five years of validity and salaries linked to the CPI

The agreement has a duration of five years, from January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2030, and is considered automatically terminated on September 30, 2030. The party wishing to open negotiations for a new text must submit its proposal in writing at least two months prior to expiration.

Regarding remuneration, the text establishes:

• 2026 Fiscal Year: an increase of 3.5% over the salaries in effect as of December 31, 2025.
• 2027 to 2030 Fiscal Years: an increase equivalent to 110% of the previous year’s CPI, with a guaranteed annual minimum of 2% even if the CPI is lower or negative.
• An annual update of 1% from January 1, 2027, for the concepts in articles 17, 18, and 26.
• Two extraordinary payments, in July and December, and a profit-sharing payment before March 15.

The 2026 salary tables, included in Annex I, range from 1,596.81 euros per month for the director to 1,143.75 euros for the concierge, messenger, and cleaning staff. A sales assistant receives 1,340.18 euros and a porter 1,154.94 euros.

Working day, breaks, and compensations

The annual working day is set at 1,759 hours of actual work, with a weekly count of 39 hours, and vacations are increased to 30 calendar days, or 26 working days if split. The agreement limits annual overtime to 80 hours and regulates work on Saturday afternoons, in shopping centers, and on authorized holidays of opening.

Among the agreed compensations, the following stand out:

• 12.76 euros for each Saturday afternoon worked.
• 22.90 euros per month for shopping center staff, with an additional 12.76 euros starting from the third Saturday of the month.
• A supplement of 175% of the daily salary for working authorized holidays, plus one alternative rest day.
• Special working days with departure at 5:00 PM on January 5 and at 3:00 PM on December 24 and 31.
• Per diems of 22.22 euros (half) and 44.44 euros (full), and mileage of 0.20 euros in 2026, increasing to 0.24 euros in 2030.

Joint Commission, Equality, and Back Pay

The agreement creates a joint interpretation commission based at the ORECLA headquarters, composed of five members from PYMETAL Cantabria and five from CCOO and UGT. It will meet every two months and resolve ordinary matters within 15 days and extraordinary matters within a maximum of 72 hours.

The text requires companies with 50 or more workers to develop an equality plan, demands a prevention protocol for sexual and gender-based harassment, incorporates digital disconnection, and creates a sectoral occupational health and safety commission that will meet at least three times a year. Additionally, companies must take out an accident insurance policy with a capital of 15,000 euros and provide two sets of work clothes per year or pay 234.80 euros instead.

Back pay derived from the application of the agreement must be paid within one month of its publication in the Official Gazette of Cantabria, according to Article 54.

The agreement organizes the labor conditions of an extensive sector, defined by the CNAE activity codes in Annex II, which ranges from the wholesale trade of machinery and metals to watchmaking, hardware, household appliances, and vehicle rental. For the sector’s workforce, the publication marks the entry into force of a stable five-year framework, with guaranteed increases of at least 2% annually and economic effects from January 1, 2026, which obliges companies to regularize pending payments within one month.

Source: Official Gazette of Cantabria, no. 200, October 19, 2026, section 7.3, page 52958 (official reference: CVE-2026-8073).