Agreeing with unions on wages is the number one priority of bosses who want to ensure social peace, even if there is a setback in the elections. After setting aside the income pact, tackling government interventionism and facing another possible increase in SMI completes the most pressing challenges.
Negotiating wages with unions
This is the number one item on the CEOE employers association’s agenda to date. The aim is to reach an agreement with trade union organizations within the framework of the Employment and Collective Bargaining Agreement (AENC). What is striking about this is that there is not only a willingness to deal, but also a clear confidence that it will succeed in business entities. At the ceremony held on April 25 to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Cepyme, Antonio Garamendihead CEOE, He noted that he hoped “to be able to comment on something in a few days” on this issue: “We are working diligently”, more than in other cases, resources from employers were riveted. Even close media confirms that progress has already been made in aspects covered by AENC but not exactly wages: “progress is already being made on equality, occupational risks, remote work”…
Regarding the figures, the unions Discussed 13.8% wage increase for the period 2022-2024It will be divided by 5% in 2022, 4.5% this year, and 3.7% in 2024. Executive sources describe the request as “brutal” (no counteroffers or positions have been disclosed from the CEO), plus a more or less veiled threat from unions to escalate conflict (strikes, not even ruling out a general strike) if a negotiation fails. These executive sources warn that the government has even publicly exerted pressure in this war: “Announcing the creation of a labor margins observatory demanded by the unions is not a graceful way of exerting pressure,” they warn. .
But the truth is, with an agreement on wages, both employers and unions gain. Entrepreneurs, because reaching an agreement provides a stable frame of reference for agreements between sectors and provinces and, above all, because it ensures social peace in the short term in case of a change of government that will lead the PP to Moncloa. The unions, because they need a victory that will bring them back to the fore after forming the entire legislature in the shadow of vice-president and Minister of Labor Yolanda Díaz.
Tone down attacks on businessmen and raise against intrusiveness
Here are two of the most exciting topics in business. The different way of addressing them was evident in the Cepyme act. CEOE’s Garamendi called for legal certainty and regulatory stability, and promised to work “for social peace”. Although Garamendi has also made harsh statements criticizing the attacks on businessmen and the public targeting of some of them, it is true that he has been criticized for being somewhat cold on these issues within the organization: “He is not fighting with enough strength”, these sources point out. Gerardo Cuerva, president of Cepyme, took a stronger line by demanding “freedom and respect”, denouncing interventionism in policies like “housing law” and warning against populism. The title of the day that presided over the 45th anniversary celebrations says it all: “On business dignity.”
Other media explain that one of the problems is that it is not possible to explain well that cases such as Ferrovial’s (which caused an economic and political storm by announcing its relocation to the Netherlands) do not represent a business class. In Spain, 95% consists of SMEs and micro SMEs: “While in government they pass laws against them. Mountain goatThat confrontation where there are only 35 companies, where the government is only after election revenue, conditioning and damaging the rest”.
Prepare for another new rise in SMI
Some sources close to business assume that companies should already make it after increases in the Legislature’s Interprofessional Minimum Wage (SMI) (a 50% increase, up to 1,080 euros per month in 14 payments). getting ready in the middle of the election campaign, The government considers the opportunity to announce a new increase“We currently have the highest SMI in Europe as measured by the average salary in Spain,” criticizes sources close to the CEOE, who added that increases in SMI “directly raise the contribution bases” of salaries. The official position at CEOE is that “we are not against raising wages, but a balance must be struck so as not to undermine competitiveness”.
Regardless, the truth isn business sharply criticizes general increases in contributions in the legislatureThese include not only the SMI, but also those produced by pension reform (“operating costs have gone up a lot”). Now that the Income Pact appears to have been put on hold for purely electoral reasons, prices will be one of the industry’s heavy burdens. As one employer recalled, “We have the third highest contribution margin in the European Union, reaching almost 40% of the gross salary.”