Antonio Garamendi clearly won his re-election as president of the CEOE in November and from that moment he began to take measures to restructure his team, with significant changes, such as the signing of José Luis Ayllón, who was former president Mariano Rajoy's chief of staff, to handle relations with the courts. However, he has now also taken a step that affects him personally. It is about regularizing his employment situation, moving from his current situation as a freelancer to that of a senior manager contract, with a salary of about 380,000 euros.
Until now, Garamendi was paid as a freelancer 350,000 euros (300,000 fixed plus 50,000 in variables). To this amount is now added the 3% increase for this year, which has been adopted for all CEOE employees, plus the update of the two previous years. In his senior management contract, he will contribute for all items in the General Regime, except for unemployment and FOGASA, with which he is excluded from protection for these items.
It is information that El País has advanced and that the CEOE has confirmed to La Vanguardia. In this way, throughout his first term, Garamendi received his remuneration as president through a commercial contract, which included him within the special regime for self-employed workers (RETA). That is, a self-employed person, a natural person who does a job without having an employment contract that links him to a company.
A situation that still persists, because from the CEOE they indicate that although the procedures are advanced, the change in their employment situation has not been finalized.
It was at the meeting of the board of directors on January 25 when Garamendi raised the option of moving from his situation as an autonomous to that of the general regime. The president of the CEOE Budget Control Commission, Alejandra Kindelán, stated that the step was taken on the advice of the employer's lawyers. CEOE sources add that it was specified that given the representation tasks and especially the executive nature of its functions, it was more logical for it to enter the general regime.
For her part, the Second Vice President and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, has stated that she was unaware of Garamendi's employment situation and has asked for consistency. "With a salary of 400,000 euros, he will have enough perspective to show that the workers, who are also having huge benefits in large companies, have to raise wages throughout the country.
In the CEOE statutes, the question of the remuneration of its president is left open. Article 8 only indicates that "the president may or may not have remuneration, and if he does, it must be approved by the Board of Directors and published in the audited annual accounts".
In a statement, the CEOE has requested "respect for the decisions that are adopted within the organization's governing bodies", noting that the employer's statutes indicate that it is up to the Board of Directors to decide whether the president receives remuneration and in what amount They also add that Garamendi's remuneration "as well as his link with the Confederation, has been unanimously approved within the Board of Directors," in accordance with internal principles and transparency.
