The divergence in positions between businessmen and the Executive is increasingly evident. The tense meetings (and their subsequent harsh statements) on the proposal to cut the workday This Wednesday, there was new evidence of the existing tension: the absence of representatives of the Executive at the Annual Assembly of Cepyme.
The Minister of Digital Transformation, Jose Luis Escriva,was announced to inaugurate the assembly of the employers’ association of small and medium-sized companies, but he will not attend, as confirmed by sources from the Ministry of Digital Transformation, who clarify that he never committed to attend due to scheduling problems.
The employers’ association that he presides over Gerardo Cuerva There will therefore be no ministerial presence at its assembly, although the President of the Community of Madrid will attend its inauguration, Isabel Diaz-Ayuso. The president of the CEOE, Antonio Garamendi will participate in its closing.
The absence of representation by the Executive coincides with the announcement that a manifesto against “interference” by the Executive and in favour of business freedom will be read at the Cepyme event. The document Manifesto of the Spanish SME for the freedom of enterprise It will be read by small businesses throughout Spain and is intended to be a reaction to the “continued approval of interventionist measures against Spanish companies” by the Government.
Although the employers’ association has not commented on the matter, business sources say that the Government (although not the Ministry of Digital Transition) put pressure on them yesterday to obtain a copy of the manifesto when its existence became known. They were not sent it and today, according to them, Escrivá’s attendance at the event was cancelled. The Ministry insists that it was never confirmed.
The presence of ministers at major Cepyme events is common. At the awards given out a few months ago by the minister Carlos Body He attended the ceremony accompanied by King Felipe. And Escrivá himself also participated in the awards ceremony for SMEs that are leaders in business growth.
In any case, the event is being held this afternoon at the headquarters of Banco Santander in Madrid and comes at a time of great tension between the Executive and the employers. Last Monday, the employers’ association decided to ignore the ultimatum issued by the Ministry of Labour headed by Yolanda Diaz and attended the social dialogue meeting without an alternative proposal for reducing the working day in Spain.
That same day, Cepyme had calculated that the reduction in working hours proposed by Díaz would cost companies around 12 billion euros. Specifically, they estimated a direct cost annual turnover of 11.8 billion euros due to the increase in hourly wages that shortening the working day entails and another indirect cost that could exceed 42 billion euros a year if we take into account what will not be produced, according to a study published this Monday by Cepyme.