A new setback for the Chambers of Commerce law: employers' associations and unions undermine the consensus

BarcelonaIt seemed that 2025 would be the year the Catalan Chambers of Commerce Law, a text that has been expired for over 10 years and regulates the function of the 13 Catalan chambers of commerce and part of their funding, would finally be renewed. In July, it was achieved to bring a bill to ParliamentThe proposal, agreed upon by the Catalan Chambers of Commerce, the employers' associations Pimec and Foment de Treball, and the trade unions CCOO and UGT, was presented to the Catalan Parliament in November for a full debate without any amendments. However, a few days later, the employers' associations and the unions sent a joint letter to the leaders of the parliamentary groups expressing "concern about fundamental issues affecting the institutional balance of social dialogue and its preservation as an essential public good for the country's economic and social progress, and about the impact on certain activities resulting from the proposed law on the third sector and the law on Chambers of Commerce." This last-minute setback has come as a major blow to the chambers. According to sources consulted by ARA, and despite the prior consensus on the text, the battle has once again centered on representativeness: economic and social stakeholders are demanding the removal from most articles of the law of the sections that would allow for representation by the Chamber, insisting on the expression "of an advisory nature," thus eliminating any option for representation or participation. According to the president of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and the Council of Chambers, Josep Santacreu, "the processing of the law is not halted, but [this obstacle] may cause a slight delay" in its approval. "We are very negatively surprised by the lack of transparency, but we remain calm. The proposed amendments do not respect the 2014 Basic Law of Chambers of Commerce, nor the 2002 Catalan Law, nor the reality of chambers of commerce in Spain or Europe," Santacreu counters. "What we will not allow is for them to prevent us from doing what the Spanish Chambers of Commerce law permits," he asserts.

The Confrontation

From the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, an internal source consulted by this newspaper explains that "the issue is at the center of a fierce battle between employers' associations and the chambers." "This proposed law states that the chambers neither want nor should have any involvement in social dialogue, but the employers' associations are clinging to the fact that the law actually says they must participate everywhere, and they believe this means it's them and no one else; but the chambers must also be able to be there, because they represent their members: that's the real point of contention," this source points out. In short, this source says, "the chambers already agree that they shouldn't participate in social dialogue, but they don't want to relinquish their role as representatives of all the country's economic sectors."

According to the sources consulted, it is primarily Pimec, chaired by Antoni Cañete, that is leading this last-minute demand. In this regard, the small and medium-sized business association argues that "we agreed to a text stating that the Chamber of Commerce cannot participate in social dialogue, but this was modified at the time, and then this part reverted to its previous wording." In response, a source close to the negotiations indicates that they are aware "that a minor last-minute modification was made as a technical amendment, but Pimec has taken advantage of this to submit many more amendments," they explain. From CCOO, the Secretary of Trade Union Action for Catalonia, Enrique Rodríguez, explains that the union has not submitted any amendments, but has joined the joint position with the employers' associations and UGT "to preserve a space where the most representative organizations are present, a space for consultation and dialogue." In this regard, Rodríguez explains that "a Chamber of Commerce is a public entity, financed by the Generalitat (the Catalan government), and is not a social partner; therefore, it does not play the facilitating role that employers' associations and unions can play when we negotiate and reach agreements with the administration," he points out. Thus, he is emphatic: "Opening the Chambers of Commerce to social negotiation goes against the Constitution."

Financing and legal framework

The last Catalan chambers of commerce law dates back to 2002 and had not yet been updated. This law became obsolete more than 10 years ago because a new national chambers of commerce law was passed in 2014, rendering the Catalan law outdated. However, despite the fact that a new Catalan chambers of commerce law should have been approved in 2014, the lack of consensus between the Council of Chambers and the main economic and social stakeholders, such as employers' associations and unions, prevented the text from being passed. Thus, Catalonia is one of the few autonomous communities that does not have its own law.

One of the main objectives of the law is to define the scope and functions of the Catalan chambers of commerce. "The law finally states what we should be doing, which is primarily an advisory role for the public and private sectors," Santacreu explained in July, when the bill was presented to the Catalan Parliament. "The chambers of commerce have absolutely no desire to compete with companies in our country, but rather to put forward powerful national projects that no one else is currently undertaking," asserted the president of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce. Specifically, the proposed text recognizes the chambers as advisory, representative, and collaborative bodies with the government agencies they represent, promote, and defend the general interests of commerce, industry, shipping, and services. This representative role would be realized through the commissions and working groups that comprise the chambers and their participation in other entities. Furthermore, the bill also addresses funding: it proposes a specific budget allocation for the chambers, which would provide much-needed relief to these institutions, whose current funding relies on programs, European projects, business services, and services provided by the Council of Chambers. However, some voices point to the fear among social partners that, through this law, subsidies will have to be divided among five instead of four entities: "CCOO and UGT are afraid that the total amount to be distributed, if it has to be divided among more entities, will be smaller," says one business source. Another adds: "Employers' associations also receive subsidies, and they don't like anything that encroaches on their territory," they emphasize. Finally, voices within the Chamber believe that "if this law has to pass with the employers' associations' amendments, it's better that it doesn't pass, because they want to take away the Chambers' representation of all sectors, and that can't be. The Barcelona Chamber alone already represents more than 500 institutions," they remind us.