The employers' association has taken a little longer than other organizations, but it has also joined in the resounding criticism of the investiture pacts formalized by the PSOE with Junts and ERC mainly. The CEOE considers that they damage the separation of powers and legal security and warns that with the climate that is being created "it is very difficult for there to be economic growth and job creation."
A significant detail is that in the declaration at no time is the word amnesty mentioned and it is left in "the agreements reached within the framework of the investiture." The mention or not of this word was decisive for the attendance at the meeting of the president of the Catalan employers' association Foment del Treball, Josep Sánchez Llibre, who represented the most moderate voice in an executive committee with the majority of actors demanding forcefulness.
Sánchez Llibre had been speaking with the president of the CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, in recent days to convey his interest in focusing on economic measures and, especially, not explicitly mentioning the amnesty. Seeing that the purpose was within reach, he decided to attend the executive committee of the CEOE and assumed the final statement.
The position of the employers does not spare criticism of the Government. He mentions “the serious impairment that these agreements can cause to the separation of powers and legal certainty”, and also highlights that they “directly affect the principle of equality between all Spaniards”.
From this point on, criticism focuses on the economic measures, warning that “an increasingly complicated business climate is being created, in which it is very difficult to have economic growth and job creation.” In addition, a warning of market distortion and deterioration of Spain's foreign image is added.
Concerned about the mention in the PSOE-Junts agreement of a plan to facilitate the return to Catalonia of the headquarters of the companies that marched with the process, the employers' association warns against any coercive measure, by highlighting the right of companies to decide where develop your activity.
During the debate, the majority of employers demanded the toughness and forcefulness that judges and prosecutors have previously shown. For example, the forcefulness of the small business employers' association, Cepyme, and that of the self-employed, ATA, as well as the construction employers' association (CNC) stands out. The territorial organizations of Murcia, Navarra, Galicia, Andalusia, Madrid and the Basque Country also asked for toughness.
On the contrary, it was the president of Foment, Josep Sánchez Llibre, who led the voice of moderation, demanding a position more on economic policy than on political debate. He asked to contribute to the climate of consensus and dialogue, and stop the tension.
Sánchez Llibre even suggested that, in the upcoming legislature, the employers' association may sometimes be interested in using the parliamentary support of PNV and Junts. He considers it a window of opportunity that, in an exercise of pragmatism, can be taken advantage of.
Deep down, Foment is more concerned about the PSOE pact with Sumar than the one it has signed with Junts. He criticizes it precisely for what it implies of a reduction in working hours, the increase in the SMI and other measures that he considers to negatively and directly affect companies.
What became evident in the debate is a clear difference in criteria between a majority that demands forcefulness and tough positions, while a minority, which includes Foment, places emphasis on economic and business content. At the meeting, the two approaches were presented clearly, without reaching a confrontation.
One of the points on which there is complete agreement is the criticism of the Government for what they consider to be a disdain for social dialogue, as decisions on labor matters have been made without taking the employers into account. This is what they consider “a violation of the framework of labor relations and spaces of consensus.”
Another point that many employers' associations also criticized is the specific support that the new Government will grant to Conpymes, which they consider is already granting social partner treatment. This is a long battle for representativeness in collective bargaining that both CEOE and Cepyme will do their best to maintain their current position. And the intentions of the new Government in this area also worry them.
The statement also does not lack a call to return to consensus between the two major political forces, something that in the current climate seems more than impossible. Specifically, what is proposed is "to demand a return to the great political and social consensus and moderation, embodied in our Constitution."
On the other hand, the CEOE indicates that it will defend constitutional principles also in European bodies, with the help of BusinessEurope. The objective “must be to preserve social peace and coexistence among all Spaniards within the constitutional margins.”
For its part, the acting Government already yesterday morning, before the executive committee of the CEOE, recommended that the employers "move away from ideological proclamations." These are statements from the Secretary of State for Employment, Joaquín Pérez Rey, who declared himself surprised that the CEOE had convened the executive committee, and stated that “I encourage you to continue working for the good of your country, to move away from the proclamations ideological and that they dedicate themselves to what they know how to do, which is to negotiate the best measures to improve the labor market.”
At the same time, yesterday the second vice president and acting Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, announced that the first measure that the coalition Government will take will be to raise the SMI: “We will immediately call on social agents to continue raising the interprofessional minimum wage. and that it lives up to the needs of our society,” said Díaz. It will be a new element that the CEOE will understand as a rupture in social dialogue, and an increase that, predictably, will be carried out with the sole support of the unions.
