New collective agreement for frozen seafood products 2025-2029: what changes for your company

Key data

Companies engaged in the processing and transformation of seafood through freezing and refrigeration have had a new collective agreement published and registered since October 8, 2026, with retroactive effects from January 1, 2025. The Resolution from the General Labor Directorate formalizes the agreement reached between CONXEMAR, UGT-FICA and CC.OO. de Industria, and establishes the labor rules for the entire sector until December 31, 2029.

If your company processes frozen or refrigerated fish, shellfish or cephalopods, this agreement directly affects you. And if you were applying another sectoral agreement, you have pending review work.

What does this regulation establish?

The agreement regulates the labor conditions of all companies in the sector and articulates mechanisms to resolve conflicts and adapt previous situations. These are the central elements:

A critical aspect: the retroactivity to January 1, 2025. Although the agreement is published in October 2026, its effects start almost two years earlier. This requires reviewing whether the conditions applied since January 2025 comply with what was agreed.

Economic and operational impact

The most immediate impact for companies that were applying another sectoral agreement is the obligation to review and adapt their labor conditions. The regulation establishes that the most favorable conditions already enjoyed by workers cannot be eliminated: they must be maintained as non-absorbable personal salary supplements.

This has direct consequences for payroll and salary structure:

• Non-absorbable personal supplements are consolidated as a fixed cost in the salary mass.
• They cannot be offset by future agreement salary increases, which can generate salary divergences between workers with different seniority or background.
• Payroll management becomes more complex if workers under the adapted old agreement coexist with new hires under the new framework.

On the operational side, adherence to the VI Agreement on Autonomous Resolution of Labor Conflicts means that conflicts must attempt to be resolved through extrajudicial means before resorting to courts. This can reduce costs and time in dispute management, but also requires knowing and activating the corresponding procedures.

The Parity Commission (CONXEMAR + UGT-FICA + CC.OO. de Industria) acts as a first filter for interpretation questions and application conflicts. Its agreements are binding if they reach 60% majority from each representation.

Who does it affect?

• Companies engaged in the processing and transformation of fish through freezing or refrigeration processes.
• Companies that process shellfish with freezing or refrigeration processes.
• Companies that process or transform cephalopods (octopus, squid, cuttlefish, etc.) through freezing or refrigeration.
• Workers of all categories in such companies, both permanent staff and fixed discontinuous workers.
• Companies that were applying another sectoral agreement and must now adapt to the new framework.
• HR directors, labor managers and advisors who manage payroll and hiring in these companies.

Practical example

Imagine a canning company in Galicia that processes frozen octopus and squid and that until now applied a provincial sectoral agreement. With the entry into force of this agreement, the company must:

1. Review whether the salary and labor conditions it was applying are equal to or better than those of the new agreement.
2. Identify which workers have more favorable conditions (for example, a transport allowance or seniority supplement higher than the new agreement).
3. Maintain those conditions as non-absorbable personal salary supplement in the payroll of each affected worker, without being able to offset it with future salary increases from the new agreement.
4. Correctly record these supplements in the payroll system to avoid problems in a labor inspection.
5. Communicate to the legal representation of workers the adaptation made and the new applicable framework.

If the company has fixed discontinuous workers, it must also review that their contracts comply with the modalities provided in the Workers' Statute as reflected in the agreement.

What should companies do now?

1. Verify if the agreement applies to you: Confirm that your activity fits in the processing or transformation of seafood products (fish, shellfish, cephalopods) with freezing or refrigeration processes.
2. Review the agreement you were applying: If you were applying another sectoral agreement, identify the differences with the new framework and start the adaptation process.
3. Audit more favorable conditions: Detect which workers have conditions superior to those of the new agreement and consolidate them as non-absorbable personal salary supplements in payroll.
4. Review fixed discontinuous contracts: Ensure that fixed discontinuous contracts comply with the modalities provided in the Workers' Statute according to the new agreement.
5. Know the conflict resolution mechanisms: Familiarize yourself with the VI Agreement on Autonomous Resolution of Labor Conflicts and the procedures of the Parity Commission to resolve doubts or disputes before resorting to judicial proceedings.
6. Apply retroactive effects from January 2025: Review if there are pending regularizations from January 1, 2025, the date the agreement came into force.

Official source

Consult complete regulation in official source

Notice: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific decisions, consult a qualified professional. Source: https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2026-20971