The state collective agreement for graphic arts sets wage increases until 2029

The General Directorate of Labour, under the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy, has registered and ordered the publication of the state collective agreement for graphic arts, paper handling, cardboard handling, publishing, and auxiliary industries, effective for 2026-2029. The resolution, dated September 10, 2026, appears in the Official State Gazette (BOE) no. 235, of September 23, 2026, with the reference BOE-A-2026-19751. The text establishes the labor conditions for the entire sector for the next four years.

The agreement, with code 99000355011982, was signed on July 9, 2026, by the business associations FEIGRAF, AFCO, and the Publishers’ Guild, and by the union CC. OO., and was corrected on September 2, 2026. The resolution bears the signature of the Director General of Labour, María Nieves González García, and is based on Article 90 of the Workers’ Statute and Royal Decree 713/2010, of May 28, regarding the registration and deposit of collective agreements.

The text replaces the agreement published in the BOE on October 13, 2023, and will be in force from January 1, 2026, until December 31, 2029, extendable year by year unless there is an express notice of termination. Its functional scope covers pre-press, press, and post-press, paper and cardboard handling, publishing, and auxiliary industries, and its application is mandatory throughout Spanish territory.

Staggered salary increases until 2029

• 2026: increase of 3.20% over the tables in effect since January 1, 2025.
• 2027: increase of 2.80%.
• 2028: increase of 2.80%.
• 2029: increase of 2.70%.

Review clauses are added: if the sum of the year-on-year CPI for December 2026 and December 2027 exceeds 6%, that difference will be applied with a maximum cap of 1.5% and effect from January 2028. An equivalent mechanism operates at the close of 2029 if the sum of the CPIs for 2028 and 2029 exceeds 5.5%, with effect from January 2030.

The 2026 tables place the total annual gross between 39,860.45 euros (level 1) and 17,215.71 euros (level 18), with a linear supplement of 5,362.59 euros. The increase is mandatory from the signing of the agreement and enforceable from its publication, and back payments must be paid before October 31, 2026.

Working hours, vacations, and supplements

• Annual working day: 1,760 hours of effective work in 2026 and 2027, and 1,752 hours from January 1, 2028.
• Vacations: 30 calendar days, with a minimum of 22 working days.
• Night shift supplement: 30% of the base salary, which rises to 35% on Sundays and holidays.
• Toxicity or unhealthy conditions supplement: 20% of the base salary.
• Seniority: 3% for every three-year period and 3% for every five-year period.
• March payment: 34 days of base salary.
• Mandatory daily registration of working hours, kept by the company for four years.

Equality, LGBTI, and new commissions

Chapter 12 develops the equality plans, which are mandatory for companies with 50 or more employees, and the harassment protocol, with investigations to be conducted within a maximum period of 10 business days. Additionally, the protocol against harassment and violence toward LGBTI people is incorporated, in accordance with Royal Decree 1026/2024 and Law 4/2023, featuring a joint instruction commission that must issue a report within a maximum of 30 business days.

The agreement creates a Joint Parity Commission for interpretation and oversight, based in Madrid, and provides for the establishment of two working commissions: one on the professional classification system and another on the increase in temporary disabilities within the sector. Companies not affiliated with the signatory employers’ associations will pay 150 euros per consultation, and the parties adhere to the VI ASAC.

The agreement regulates the working conditions of the graphic arts, paper and cardboard handling, publishing houses, and their auxiliary industries for four years, with agreed salary increases, a reduction in working hours starting in 2028, and new equality and harassment prevention protocols. For the sector’s workforce, the immediate effect is the updating of the 2026 tables and the payment of arrears before October 31.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 235, September 23, 2026, Sec. III. Other provisions, pp. 125347-125418 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-19751).