MADRID, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Global fast fashion giant Inditex and some other Spanish retailers have granted their workers significant wage hikes, prompting calls for caution from the wider business sector, which fears the blanket measures could further stoke inflation.

Inditex, owner of Zara, announced on Thursday a 20% pay rise for all workers at its stores in Spain, following two across-the-board wage hikes of 6.5% and 5.7% in 2022 and 2023 at the country's largest supermarket chain, Mercadona, and a 12% general increase at its smaller competitor, Dia.

Meanwhile, unions are discussing double-digit hikes with other supermarkets and department stores.

Spain's main employers' association, CEOE, on Friday welcomed the wage agreements in the retail sector, where wages are notoriously lower than the Spanish average, but warned that "in a situation like the current one, not all companies or sectors are in the same situation."

"We have called for prudence to avoid second-round effects when income increases are discussed across the board," he said in a statement.

Government officials have not responded to Reuters' requests for comment on the wage increases.

Higher wages tend to boost demand for consumer goods and often lead to higher prices.

The CEOE recently opposed the left-wing coalition government's decision to raise the country's minimum wage by 8%, which traditionally serves as a guideline for collective bargaining between unions and companies.

Runaway inflation, which hit consecutive three-decade highs in 2021 and 2022, averaging 8.4% last year, has exacerbated discontent among retail workers, leading to strikes and protests at Inditex in recent months, a first for the group.

Although Spain's headline inflation has fallen to 5.8% in January from a peak in July above 10%, core inflation, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, has continued to rise.

According to official data, retail wages stand at an annual average of €16,604 ($17,745), well below the country's average of €24,249.

According to data from the Spanish Tax Agency, salaries of retail workers in companies with annual revenues of at least €6 million increased by 6.3% on average in 2022 compared to 2021.

(1 U.S. dollar = 0.9357 euros)

(Reporting by Inti Landauro, Belén Carreño and Corina Pons; edited in Spanish by Benjamín Mejías Valencia)