Collective agreement extractive industries, glass and ceramics 2026: what companies must do

Key data

If your company operates in the extractive, glass, ceramics or exclusive trade of these materials sector, you have an immediate obligation: to verify that your working conditions comply with the XXIII State Collective Agreement, published in the Official Gazette on May 2, 2026 through the Resolution of April 23, 2026 of the General Directorate of Labor.

Publication in the Official Gazette is not an administrative formality without consequences: it grants the agreement general regulatory effect, which means it binds all companies within the functional and territorial scope defined, regardless of whether they are associated with any employers' organization or not.

What does this regulation establish?

The XXIII Collective Agreement sets the minimum working conditions applicable to all workers and companies in these sectors at the national level. The regulated matters include:

• Salaries: salary tables applicable by professional category.
• Working hours: ordinary hours, distribution and limits.
• Professional categories: classification of positions and groups.
• Labor rights: vacation, leave, working conditions and other rights recognized to workers in the sector.

As it is a collective agreement with national scope, it prevails over company or lower-scope agreements in everything that does not improve the conditions agreed at a higher level, in accordance with the concurrence rules of the Workers' Statute.

This agreement replaces the previous edition (XXII Collective Agreement) and updates the sector's conditions. Companies that were applying the previous agreement must verify what aspects have changed and update their internal policies accordingly.

Economic and operational impact

The main impact for companies is the need to review and adapt their salary structures to the new agreement tables. If the current salaries of any worker are below the agreed minimums, the company is obligated to regularize them from the date of application of the agreement.

Beyond direct salary costs, companies must consider the operational impact in the following areas:

• Employment contracts: review of clauses that may contradict the new agreement.
• HR policy: updating internal procedures for professional classification, leave and working hours.
• Payroll management: adaptation of software or calculation processes to the new salary tables.
• Inspection risk: non-compliance can result in labor sanctions and labor inspections, with the reputational and economic cost that entails.

The impact is especially relevant for industrial SMEs in these subsectors, which often do not have specialized HR departments and may not have detected the changes introduced by the new collective agreement text.

Who does it affect?

The agreement binds all companies and workers included in its functional and territorial scope:

• Companies in extractive industries (mining, quarries and related activities).
• Companies in glass industries (manufacturing, processing and related activities).
• Companies in ceramic industries (manufacturing of ceramic products for construction, domestic and industrial use).
• Companies engaged in exclusive trade of extractive materials, glass and ceramics.
• All dependent workers of the above companies, regardless of their category or seniority.

The territorial scope is national, so it affects companies in any autonomous community in Spain.

Practical example

An SME manufacturing ceramic products with 15 workers that was applying the XXII Collective Agreement must, after the publication of the XXIII Agreement:

1. Download the complete text of the new agreement from the Official Gazette and identify the new salary tables by professional category.
2. Compare the current salaries of each worker with the minimums of the new agreement. If any worker earns below the new minimum for their category, the company must regularize the difference from the date of application of the agreement.
3. Review the contracts in force to detect clauses that may have become outdated with respect to the new regulation of working hours, leave or professional categories.
4. Update the payroll system with the new salary tables to avoid errors in future payments.

If the company does not conduct this review and the Labor Inspection detects conditions lower than those agreed in the agreement, it may face labor sanctions and the obligation to pay salary differences retroactively.

What should companies do now?

1. Download the complete text of the XXIII Agreement from the Official Gazette and distribute it to the HR manager or external labor advisor.
2. Review the salary tables of the new agreement and compare them with the current salaries of each worker by professional category.
3. Regularize salary differences if any worker receives remuneration below the new collective agreement minimums, from the date of application.
4. Update employment contracts that contain clauses incompatible with the new collective agreement text.
5. Review the working hours and leave policy to ensure it complies with what is agreed in the agreement.
6. Update payroll software with the new salary tables before the next payment cycle.
7. Document the adaptation process to be able to prove compliance in the event of a labor inspection.