The camera law overshadows the patron saint's Christmas celebrations: "It's like the Hundred Years' War"

BarcelonaThe traditional Christmas meetings of Pimec and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, held this Thursday – which have coincided for several years now – have become a battleground for the controversy surrounding the law on chambers of commerce. How He already explained it NOWLast month, the employers' associations Pimec and Foment del Treball, along with the unions CCOO and UGT, sent a letter to parliamentary groups expressing their disagreement with the bill presented in the Parliament of Catalonia. This came as a shock to the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and the Council of Chambers of Commerce of Catalonia, given that the text "had been agreed upon." According to Pimec, the text that has finally entered parliamentary proceedings is not "exactly" the agreed-upon text, and therefore the social partners have submitted a series of amendments. Although the law is now in the hands of politicians and its future course no longer depends on business institutions, the negative sentiment surrounding it is clear. When asked about this discrepancy, the president of Pimec, Antoni Cañete, asserted this Thursday during the Christmas breakfast that the text as it currently stands "creates legal uncertainty and an overreach of authority" by the chambers of commerce, "which cannot under any circumstances participate in social dialogue." "The chambers of commerce must act as chambers of commerce, employers' associations as employers' associations, and unions as unions," Cañete stated, adding that "order" is necessary. Thus, the president of Pimec said that they did not oppose the bill's passage at the time, but that the text, after thorough analysis, includes elements that "concern" them. "It's like the Hundred Years' War," Cañete joked. "We've been debating this text for years." "We are not against the legislative process itself, we are against the ambiguities that could create uncertainty," he said, while also asserting that "it is a matter of democracy" and that they hope the political parties will take their amendments into account.

For his part, the president of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and president of the Council of Chambers, Josep Santacreu, refuted Cañete's remarks during the institution's Christmas cocktail party, held this Thursday a few hours after Pimec's event: "We respect the role of employers' associations, and they have to do our job," he asserted. He also affirmed that the Chambers of Commerce law is "absolutely respectful" of employers' associations and "fully takes into account" their role in social dialogue. However, Santacreu admitted that "four lines out of two thousand" have been amended, but maintains that the Chamber has no intention of entering into social dialogue. Nevertheless, he warned that they will not relinquish their "consultative, representative, and participatory" role. And he cautioned: "What we will not do at any time is renounce who we are."

According to Santacreu, the disagreement with Pimec stems from the Business Association's request to clarify the actions behind the chambers' functions. The Chamber's president expressed openness to discussion but insisted that they absolutely do not want a role in labor issues. "We never get involved in social dialogue. You will never have heard me make any statement that touches on anything related to labor relations," he asserted. "We believe that a country must have strong institutions and a strong government. And everyone must play their part. It is essential to have strong unions and strong employers' associations, but it is also important to have strong chambers of commerce," he concluded.