Gone are those times when the employers signed a multitude of agreements with the Government and unions to deal with the pandemic. That climate of consensus is a thing of the past, it was probably also highly influenced by the dramatic situation at the time and because many agreements were generously showered with European funds. It’s been a long time since that agreement between the employers and the Government went awry and each time it has been poisoning itself more. The latest disagreement occurred this week, with the Observatory of Business Margins, promoted by the Ministry of Economy, which has published its first report, and which employers consider “pernicious because it stigmatizes obtaining benefits.”
In this context, a new forceful message has arrived from the bosses against the Government. The president of Cepyme, Gerardo Cuerva, has demanded that the government that comes out of the polls radically changes its economic policy. First, it has complained about the “climate of harassment against the company that unexpectedly left the Government of Spain itself”, and then, with its sights set on the next elections, it has claimed that “it is essential that the Government that emerges from the polls on next day 23 change the course”.
They are statements that he has made at the end of the General Assembly of Cepyme that was held this morning, in which he has reeled off the long list of grievances that he considers that the Government of Pedro Sánchez has committed. From the increase in the interprofessional minimum wage (SMI), to the increase in social contributions, which he affirms have harmed the operation of companies.
“It is impossible for Spain to grow and be competitive, if it is its own government that attacks companies, executes interventionist policies, introduces confiscatory taxation or limits business freedom itself”, Cuerva added, adding that, although facing the elections must be neutral, they also have to defend the companies.
The president of the CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, has also joined in criticizing the Government, who has focused on the vice president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, for disrespecting social dialogue. In reference to the latest proposals of the candidate Díaz, he has affirmed that “it does not make much sense that a few days ago another proposal was made that talks about one less hour of work with the same salary.” The president of the employer considers that the initiative goes against the agreement that a few months ago the employer and the unions signed on the reference salary increases included in the Agreement for Employment and Collective Bargaining (AENC)
