Josep Sánchez Llibre: "7.5% of sick employees account for 54% of absences"

BarcelonaJosep Sánchez Llibre (Vilassar de Mar, 1949), re-elected president of Foment del Treball less than a month ago, prioritizes the fight against absenteeism and plans to have a white paper with solution proposals ready by the first fortnight of September. He already has the list of professionals who will prepare it and explains it in this interview with ARA, conducted during a break at the Annual Meeting of the Cercle d'Economia.

What are your priorities in this term?

— The defense of the entrepreneur, of private property and of entrepreneurship. And seeking spaces for dialogue with the Generalitat government and with the central government to try to achieve a tax reduction, as well as resolving the infrastructure deficit in Catalonia and drastically reducing absenteeism, which is one of the main factors affecting productivity and businesses.

You announced a white paper with a diagnosis and proposed solutions against absenteeism. How did that go?

— We will start working soon, in the coming weeks. Its members will be headed by Jordi García Viña, who is a professor of labor law, as coordinator and president; and the rest are Fernando Casado, who is the president of Asepeyo; Pedro Pablo Sanz, who is the general director of the employers' association of work mutuals, Amat; Daniel Torró, CEO of Geseme, dedicated to the prevention of occupational risks; Antonio Salas, who is a great specialist from Madrid, within Amat; lawyer Manel Silva and Yesika Aguilar, who is the director of labor resources at Foment. We plan to give the results in the first half of September.

Is it that advanced?

— Yes. We have a lot of data and proposed solutions. Within this driving group, we will include universities, unions, and other relevant figures from civil society. We will try, in the conclusions, to incorporate all those relevant assessments or data that they give us.

What is the objective?

— Reduce absenteeism from 2025, which represents 35 billion euros in costs for companies and Social Security; to that of 2019, which was 17.5 billion. We are talking about reducing it by 50%, which will not be easy. And we will also try to include members of the administration who are currently in the healthcare field to appear for this white paper.

How serious is the problem comparatively?

— Spain today leads absenteeism, with 5.5% in general terms, and the European Union average is 2%. Therefore, we more than double, in six years, absenteeism.

There is a practically in terms contradiction between you and the unions on this issue. What is the way to get closer to it?

— Absenteeism is beginning to be a common cause in the EU. A company with 15% absenteeism can never be competitive; and there is absenteeism in Catalonia and Spain, even with higher percentages. With the unions, we must agree to provide the Catalan Institute of Health with more resources, both human and financial. But we will also have to analyze with them the absences that stem from cunning, those that go from Friday to Monday. 7.5% of workers on sick leave are responsible for 54% of absences. There is a lot of recidivism. And we have to solve this, one way or another.

The proliferation of sick leave is often attributed to mental health. Is it the fault of a low-wage environment?

— It is true that the minimum wage does not motivate. It doesn't even help you make ends meet. To try to reduce absenteeism, we need union complicity. We have the ICS collapsed, it cannot speed up reports, nor the care of injuries. A combination must be sought between mutual accident insurance and healthcare.

When a lack of productivity is pointed out, it is often linked to low wages.

— For a company to be competitive, it must produce more and more and be more cost-efficient. I agree that there are salaries that do not allow one to reach the end of the month, but companies must be able to pay them; and also be competitive. And, sometimes, it is not possible, because the market is what it is. From a humanistic point of view, the entrepreneur is willing to pay high salaries if the company allows it because it helps to have the necessary talent to be competitive. But first, one must see if the company is capable.

What responsibility do employers have for the lack of productivity?

— There are a series of classic measures. First, invest in innovation. Second, increase business size: one with 25 professionals is much more competitive than one with 5. And third, improve education and vocational training, where we are lagging behind. There are pending reforms such as competitive taxation. We must try to ensure that the disposable income of professionals is higher than now. The modifications are not difficult: deflate and lower personal income tax; eliminate wealth tax, or reform donation and inheritance tax. Why in Catalonia do we have to pay more taxes to leave an apartment to a child than Valencians or Madrilenians? We have a suffocating tax system.

A fiscal hell?

— It can be said. We have infernal tax pressure, which suffocates families and businesses. And the Generalitat should be aware that this makes it even more difficult for workers to make ends meet.

And the infrastructures?

— If we want to be more productive, it cannot be that Rodalies, which is used by 400,000 people a day, does not work. Foment has repeatedly denounced the deficit of 50,000 million euros with the State.

And the production model? Because if Rodalies works well, but people work in hotels and bars...

— The hospitality sector has always been an important economic driver for the development of Catalonia. It's another matter that 20 years ago, Catalonia had reached 30% of its industrial GDP, and now we are at 20%. We must try to reindustrialize the country so that the sector has more specific weight, generates more added value, and higher salaries.

Does housing play any role in improving productivity?

— The population has increased by two million people. We are in Spain of 50 million, Catalonia of 8 million, and we must ensure that the people who come, and also our young people, have affordable housing. And it must be said clearly that if there is no affordable housing in Catalonia, it is due to the disastrous management of public administrations, which have been incapable of generating land and multiplying supply. Furthermore, they have blamed small owners with tendentious legislation that seeks to socialize private property. 25% of the housing price are taxes, first of all. And, secondly, there has been no legal certainty for developers and owners.

What do you think of the line the budgets are on, now that there is an agreement?

— We have always been objective. Both to Mr. Aragonès' Government and to Mr. Illa's, we have told them that a country cannot function without budgets. It is shameful that an executive can go on for years and years without rendering accounts. Therefore, we greatly value the pact with Esquerra Republicana and the Comuns. However, we ask that the accounts do not increase the tax pressure.

How do you value President Sánchez's announcement that he will present new budgets soon?

— Foment has always maintained that a country needs Budgets. I have reasonable doubts that these budgets will be approved and that in the end it will all remain an announcement.

How do they see the funding? From Foment, they did not see the Government's proposal clearly.

— We said it was insufficient. Welcome the additional 4 billion, of course. But Foment has always advocated for an approach similar to the fiscal concert, without losing sight of the fact that Catalonia must be supportive. The country must collect, settle, manage, and inspect all taxes it generates through a tax agency, including corporate tax.

And the investment consortium? What do they think about how it turned out?

— We must improve what is necessary so that the investment deficit does not continue to explode. It would be necessary for the parliamentary formations to make a common front in Madrid to demand that all budgeted and unexecuted investments by the State be transferred to the Generalitat.

What do you think about the supposed motion of no confidence with Josep Sánchez Llibre as president of the Spanish government. Would he be willing to?

— Absolutely no political party has spoken to me about it. Nor do I even consider it.

Some link him strongly to Junts. Some say too much.

— Foment del Treball must have a good relationship with all parties. The reduction of working hours was one of our central themes, because, if approved, it would have meant the disappearance of thousands of SMEs. And it is true that, in the negotiations, Junts was crucial. But also the PP and Vox. Thanks to them we overturned this legislation, which went against the industrial fabric. That we are linked to Junts should not surprise us. I wish we had found this complicity in the debate with the PSC or with Esquerra Republicana.

How does the Spanish political situation affect the economy?

— The polarization in Spanish politics is detrimental to the country's image and investor confidence. A legislative formula should be sought so that a budget cannot be indefinitely extended. Fortunately, despite everything, we employers have shown great resilience. Their role must be valued. And also that of the unions, because we have avoided labor conflict through collective bargaining.