The Chamber of Commerce approves by a narrow margin the expansion of the 'silver chairs'

BarcelonaThe plenary of the Chamber of Commerce of Barcelona, meeting this Thursday, has approved by the narrowest of margins the reform proposed by the executive to expand from two to ten the paid vocalies granted by greater voluntary contribution, the so-called silver chairs. The body has been completely divided in the session, with a tie of 29 votes in favor of the measure and 29 against. The decision was unblocked by the casting vote of the president, Josep Santacreu.

The proposal, which Santacreu's executive put on the table last week, generated friction within the corporation; a rift that has been staged with the final arithmetic of the body. The 21 vocal members who were part of the pro-independence candidacy Eines de País opposed it. The association of small and medium-sized enterprises, Pimec, also did, although the critics did not manage to gather a majority.

The measure approved this Thursday, it must be said, does not modify the composition of the current plenary. The eight additional silver chairs will not be added until the next term, following the chamber elections scheduled for 2027. The Chamber defends the reform, stating that it stems from "the will to achieve balanced and proportional representation of the self-employed, small, medium and large companies within the highest governing and representation body of the corporation".

Once the expansion of paid vocalies comes into effect, the distribution of the 60 vocal members that make up the body will change. Specifically, the chamber seats awarded by the suffrage of employers in the demarcation will decrease from 52 to 44. The 10 silver chairs will be added, as well as the six vocal members that are now already awarded to the most representative employers' associations in the country, Foment del Treball and Pimec.

The Chamber's executive presented the measure last week, with the aim of expanding the vocalies awarded for economic contributions from the current two to ten. The Spanish Law of Chambers establishes a minimum of two vocal members in this format, which is already covered in the corporation today; and a maximum of 14. Currently, the two paid seats in the body's plenary are occupied by Criteria, the investment arm of La Caixa, and the RACC.

The proposal was approved by the executive body despite the opposition of the Pimec representatives present. The two companies that have accessed the plenary under these conditions pay a total of 75,000 euros per year.