H&M agrees to pay a €500 bonus to 4,000 Spanish workers in January

Swedish fashion retailer H&M agreed to pay a bonus of 500 euros (about $530) to some 4,000 workers at its stores in Spain in January, two unions said on Wednesday, after its competitor Inditex offered 1,000 euros to his dependents in his country of origin.

The world’s biggest fashion retailers are responding to their workers’ demands for a pay rise to offset rising consumer prices.

H&M’s one-time payment was agreed with two of the largest Spanish unionsUGT and CCOO, the same ones that reached an agreement with Inditex last month.

“The H&M bonus is of a smaller amount, but it reaches more people,” said Lucía Trenor, a union representative for Comisiones Obreras, adding that the Inditex bonus, which will be paid in February 2023, depends on the number of hours the employees work. dependents.

H&M did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Sweden-based fashion retailer will pay 500 euros to all its store workers who have been employed in Spain since at least January 2022. The company will pay 250 euros to those who have worked at least six months.

Trenor said his union will continue to negotiate for higher wages beyond the one-time bonus.

The escalation of prices has pushed the Spanish unions to put pressure on employers, sometimes reluctant, to raise wages. Inflation has sparked strikes in various sectors, including air transport and retail.

Around 1,000 Inditex employees went on strike during the “Black Friday” in A Coruña, the company’s hometown in Galicia, and they plan to do it again on Friday and January 7.

Unlike Inditex, whose profits have continued to rise despite inflation this year, H&M has lost some ground and was the first major European chain to announce layoffs in November.