Torres keeps up the pressure on the Spanish employers' association Conpymes and appoints a board of directors
The businessman, who proclaimed himself president again, faces opposition from organizations that are part of it
BarcelonaJosé María Torres keeps the pressure on the Spanish employers' association Conpymes after being re-elected president last week in a tense assembly where many of the member organizations showed themselves to be against his way of doing things and acting. Torres, on Maundy Thursday, which is a holiday in Madrid, and after the controversial meeting of March 26, has communicated the composition of his board of directors. It includes four vice-presidencies with Pompili Roiger, of Ancoporc (pork merchants); Pedro Mulero, of Foesc - which groups leisure companies -; María Francisca Serón, of Pymes Melilla; and Juan Ignacio Guerrero, of the doctors' association Unipromel.In addition, Mauro Lorenzo, of the Valencian Unión Gremial, will be the treasurer and Anselmo Rodríguez, the general secretary. There are also 13 vocal positions that, according to critical organizations, are not very representative. For example, entities such as the Catalan Pimec, founder of this employers' association in 2021, and which held a vice-presidency, are leaving the governing body. In a statement, the new board sets as priority objectives Deteriorated relations
Torres's relations with organizations that are part of it deteriorated following a commercial mission that this businessman, founder of the company Numintec, organized in Israel last November, in the midst of tension between Benjamin Netanyahu's executive and Pedro Sánchez's. The Catalan Pimec, one of the promoters of Conpymes with the aim of counterbalancing the large employers' association CEOE, completely disassociated itself from President Torres's initiative. Since then, Torres's relations with the organization chaired by Antoni Cañete have deteriorated, according to knowledgeable sources. Now, discontent is more widespread and different organizations are studying the next steps to take to curb Torres's actions, according to the consulted sources.
Another reason for the clash is also that Torres intends to finalize his participation in social dialogue, a goal that Pimec has also been pursuing for years. The Catalan employers' association has made progress in this regard, such as its incorporation into the National Advisory Commission on Collective Agreements and the State Council for SMEs; but it still cannot join the Economic and Social Council (CES), a commitment made by the Ministry of Labor that has not been fulfilled and, moreover, faces total opposition from CEOE. The organization chaired by Cañete does not rule out taking legal action to defend what it considers a right after it was published in the BOE of May 2024 that the CES was given three months to modify its internal operating regulations and include Pimec.
In last week's assembly, at which Torres was proclaimed president, some of the attendees expressed their opposition. "I have never seen what [Torres] is doing before," stated consulted sources, who reiterated the need to analyze the situation and see what can be legally done to stop Torres.
He, for his part, states that in the new stage, Conpymes "will promote a governance model based on balance and the real representativeness of the Spanish business fabric." The objective, he adds, is "to ensure that no organization can concentrate decision-making power within the confederation on its own" and that "strategic decisions are made based on agreement, consensus, and respect among organizations of different sizes and sectors, avoiding imbalances and ensuring fair and plural representation."
