The clash between Cepyme, the association that represents small and medium businesses, and the government led by Pedro Sánchez is unfolding in full view. Gerardo Cuerva, president of Cepyme and a vice president of CEOE, spoke of exhaustion and voiced sharp concerns about what he described as ongoing attacks on business freedom. In a preface to a potent Cepyme manifesto, he condemned what he called interference, harassment, and government intrusion into private enterprise.
He argued that private enterprise has little room to maneuver under a government advancing what he labeled communist theses. This statement came just ahead of Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the president of the Community of Madrid, addressing Cepyme’s general assembly in Madrid. The event was also slated to feature José Luis Escrivá, the minister of Digital Transformation, though scheduling conflicts prevented his attendance.
Ayuso reinforced the message by criticizing the current bureaucracy and the level of taxation and intervention she believes have not been seen since Spain’s transition to democracy. She tied these policies to a coalition government and presented Madrid as a model of economic vitality in contrast to Catalonia, which she described as burdened by taxes and red tape, and damaged by separatist business activity in the region.
Moderation urged by Garamendi
In his closing remarks, Antonio Garamendi, the CEOE president, distanced himself from the harsher rhetoric earlier in the day. He urged a positive yet firm, but measured, approach and asked everyone to leave the gathering with a spirit of moderation.
Garamendi reached out to Pepe Álvarez, the secretary general of UGT, who joined the event toward the end, to confirm that CEOE would continue negotiating at the table. While Cuerva had echoed calls to raise the tone, invoking a line historically linked to former CEOE president Jose Maria Cuevas, Garamendi reinterpreted that sentiment toward ongoing dialogue: negotiate, always negotiate, even when it seems nothing remains to negotiate, and keep the process moving.
The exchange reflected a broader dispute between the CEOE-COPE factions and the government over Yolanda Díaz’s reform proposals. The vice president proposed reducing the standard 40-hour work week to 37.5 hours starting January 2025 without business representatives’ consent and planned to present a final proposal to Cepyme that could win backing or end talks.
In parallel, Conpymes, a patronal association, offered to join negotiations on work-life changes after Cepyme reportedly resisted the ministerial push. Led by José María Torres and claiming to represent more than two million small businesses and self-employed workers, Conpymes aimed to formally request participation in the discussions about shortening the work week.
OIT complaint and representation issues
Garamendi confirmed that Cepyme would sit at the Monday negotiation table on the work schedule but also announced a formal complaint to the International Labour Organization regarding the government’s preference for regional deals over national ones. The tripartite labor reform agreement, he argued, would be breached by such a move.
He also defended the representativeness of Cepyme and CEOE and signaled that the organizations would challenge arrangements meant to favor allied associations. Earlier government actions had broadened the Economic and Social Council to include regional business federations, including Catalan leaders, and considered bringing Conpymes to the state level. The government also signaled plans to regulate corporate representation more broadly.
Interlocutors deemed compliant
From the start, Cuerva’s speech referenced Yolanda Díaz without naming her directly, criticizing recent decisions on representation in social dialogue. He argued that those lacking deep experience with two decades of social dialogue want to disrupt it by adding new interlocutors who would be cooperative or subservient to agendas aimed at weakening business influence.
Cuerva lamented that anyone who does not understand how dialogue has functioned for decades should not attempt to undermine it by expanding the circle of stakeholders who can influence policy, insisting that the goal is to shield business from excessive interference.
Beating the drums or negotiating?
The Cepyme manifesto, released after the Madrid assembly as an eleven-page document, called for dignity in business and warned against stigma around profits. It criticized what it called overregulation and both internal and external controls over companies. The text demanded respect for collective bargaining and internal flexibility within firms, while opposing reforms tied to the governing agreement between the PSOE and Sumar. It urged restraint in wage policy and universal social contributions, voicing concerns about the latest increases in the minimum wage and the accompanying tax burden. It defended how firms manage working hours and upheld robust social dialogue.
Cuerva spoke of the need to raise one’s voice when the attack on business freedom becomes extreme. He suggested that silence and fatalism would not work and cited a historical note attributed to a former CEOE president about listening now not yet, and drums must be sounded to be heard again.
The debate over shortening the working week continued to heat up as Cepyme and the broader CEOE family faced a government push to 37.5 hours starting in 2025. The government faced a cautious response from Cepyme, while Conpymes pressed for formal participation in negotiations, signaling ongoing tension in Madrid’s business-government interface.
All parties, observers, and business groups watched closely as negotiations and confrontations continued, with a clear message emerging: the balance between regulatory ambition and enterprise freedom remains a central battlefield in Spain’s economic policy debates, and the outcome will shape the path for many small and mid-sized firms for years to come. The public record notes these exchanges as a snapshot of a moment when leadership, ideology, and practical concerns about livelihoods intersect in the capital city and across the country (Cepyme manifesto; CEOE leadership statements; and government communications).