The major trade unions are calling for a minimum wage (SMI) increase of at least 7% by 2027, placing it above 1,300 euros per month. In a joint press conference held by the UGT and CCOO in Madrid, both organizations defended an increase that would update the threshold to at least 1,306 gross euros paid over 14 installments, or 1,524 euros over twelve. Currently, the state minimum wage is 1,221 gross euros in fourteen payments, which is equivalent to 1,424 euros in twelve monthly installments.

“Right now we have no plans to electrify Seat models”. The CEO of the Catalan industrial company, Markus Haupt, assured this Monday in Paris that the brand does not plan to electrify any of its cars, despite stating that “the future is electric”. Thus, Haupt pointed out that “regulation” will be what dictates the future of the Seat brand in the face of demanding European regulations to decarbonize the automotive industry. It will also be necessary to see what the evolution of the market is, which is increasingly betting on electric vehicles: “Even if there is a second period of flexibility (regarding emission regulations), we have to see if customers in the main markets will continue to buy combustion vehicles”.

The Volkswagen Group – parent company of the Catalan brands Seat and Cupra – demanded this Sunday in Paris to "reward" the production of vehicles made in Europe to be able to compete on equal terms with Chinese manufacturers. Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume asserted that Europe "must continue to guarantee fair competitive conditions in its own markets." "Whoever sells here must compete under comparable conditions and also create jobs and value here, in Europe," the executive emphasized, at an event also attended by the CEO of Seat and Cupra, Markus Haupt.

The business association Cecot held the 31st Business Night this Thursday in Sant Cugat del Vallès. During the meeting, the president of the association, Xavier Panés, questioned the call for a general strike due to the housing crisis: "Now, a strike? A strike against whom? Against the Government? Against companies? Immersed in a spiral of rising costs and international disruptions that make their viability and continuity more difficult every day". Furthermore, in light of the call for elections, the president of the Vallès business association called for maintaining "respect for institutions" and not "denigrating adversaries". The meeting was attended by the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, the president of the Parliament, Josep Rull, and the Spanish government's Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, among others.

As of this Monday, companies must transparently inform their employees about a series of working conditions. Specifically, companies must state in writing in employment contracts the existence of algorithmic or automated systems that intervene in decision-making regarding employees' working conditions.

Matías Carnero (UGT) is not only the president of the Seat works council, but he is also a member of the Volkswagen Group's supervisory board, the highest control body of the German company. He speaks with ARA in the midst of the consortium's crisis: the group is expected to eliminate up to 100,000 jobs worldwide and significantly reduce its models. The historic Catalan brand Seat could be greatly affected.

It was the year 1948 when the National Institute of Industry (INI), the Italian manufacturer Fiat, and a consortium of Spanish financial entities led by Banco Urquijo agreed to collaborate on the creation of a vehicle plant in Barcelona. Two years later, in 1950, the birth of the Spanish Society of Touring Automobiles (SEAT) would be signed before a notary, which would later become the industrial giant of Catalonia.

Employment in Catalonia once again rose above the four million mark. Specifically, according to data released this Friday by the Ministry of Social Security, 4.003 million Catalans were registered as employed in the month of September. Thus, compared to August, there are 38,014 more employed people in the country, which is equivalent to an increase of 0.96%. If we look at the data from a year ago, the year-on-year variation is also positive (+3.61%), and this translates into 139,583 more workers.

Workplace absenteeism has become the main battleground for Catalan business owners, and Foment del Treball, the employers' association that groups major Catalan companies, is proposing forceful measures to combat it. Among these, notable on one hand is the implementation of mandatory medical check-ups and allowing companies to access certain medical information of their employees on sick leave, and on the other, the possibility of dismissing workers who accumulate repeated or long-term absences, a measure that was eliminated with the 2020 labor reform.

The signing of mortgages continues its upward trend in Catalonia. During the month of July, 8,858 mortgages on homes were registered in the country, according to the provisional data updated this Monday by the National Statistics Institute (INE). The figure represents a year-on-year increase of 4.9%, and sets a new high for a month of July since 2010, when 9,547 signatures were formalized. It is also a monthly high in recent years, as so many had not been signed since October 2024 (8,910).

The Volkswagen group stars in two of the main appointments of the week: on one hand, Daniel Cortina will be the new director of institutional relations for Seat and Cupra; on the other, Skoda loses its CEO, Klaus Zellmer, who is joining Volvo as executive president. Another notable move is the hiring of Isabel Schnabel, from the European Central Bank (ECB), by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Also noteworthy is the announcement from Delivery Hero –owner of Glovo–, which is backtracking and, finally, Niklas Östberg will continue as CEO, after assuring in May that he was leaving the position.

The Catalan pharmaceutical company Salvat announced this Wednesday the intention to concentrate all its production capacity at the factory it has in Alcalá de Henares, in Madrid. Conversely, this decision implies stopping production at the Esplugues de Llobregat plant. As reported by La Vanguardia and confirmed to ARA by union sources, the move will affect between 130 and 150 workers at the Catalan plant, who have for the moment been notified of a geographical mobility file. Currently, between 300 and 350 people work at the Salvat center in Esplugues de Llobregat.

A report by the Labour, Economic and Social Council of Catalonia (CTESC) confirms that Catalan self-employed workers retire later and receive lower pensions than salaried employees. Specifically, while self-employed workers end their professional careers at 66.5 years of age –1.4 years later than the average–, their average retirement pension is 1,063 euros, which is 657 euros less (38.2%) than that of salaried employees, which is 1,720.6 euros.

In the last decade, paternity leave has been updated almost constantly. Until 2016, Social Security only covered 13 working days for fathers, extendable to 15. Since then, however, the coverage of the leave has been continuously expanded, first increasing to four weeks in 2017 and, a year later, to five. Furthermore, in 2019 it was approved to progressively equalize the leave for both parents in three phases: the fathers' leave increased that same year to 8 weeks, in 2020 it was extended to 12 and, finally, in 2021 it became comparable to that of mothers, which at that time was 16 weeks. Currently, birth leave is up to 19 paid weeks per parent.

The Minister of Business and Labour, Miquel Sàmper, has announced the creation of a second office for Acció, the agency that works for the growth of Catalan companies, in India. This will be located in the country's capital, New Delhi, and is expected to be operational before the end of 2026. Until now, Acció had a single office in India located in Mumbai. With this announcement, the minister begins an institutional trip to New Delhi and Mumbai to increase opportunities and strengthen trade relations between Catalonia and the Asian country.

Barça's delegate members are called this Saturday to the club's Ordinary General Assembly. This year, very relevant points for the blue and garnet future will be discussed: from the expansion of financing to finish the Espai Barça to the ratification of the members of the new board of directors. Also, the projects to create a luxury real estate complex in Dubai in partnership with an Emirati company (Ohana Real Estate Development and Construction LLC) and the idea of creating an indoor amusement park at the new Camp Nou will have to be put to a vote. This last proposal has been surrounded by controversy due to the links of Babylon Park Spain SL –partner of the project– with Israel.

"The Spanish banking sector had never earned so much money, and its staff have never been worse off." Comissions Obreres has announced an autumn of mobilizations in the banking sector across the State due to the "unbearable working climate" that staff are suffering amid a context of record profits. The pressure measure will arrive, therefore, a few months before the negotiation tables for the sector's next collective agreement are established, which are scheduled for the first quarter of next year. During a press conference held in Madrid this Thursday, CCOO requested that a salary improvement of 7% be studied for 2027, and 4% annually between 2028 and 2030. It also demanded that the next agreement establish a maximum of 1,600 annual working hours, which workers would achieve by gaining a long weekend each month.

The continuity of Seat is hanging by a thread. Although the Catalan brand's models currently continue to have a great market outlet, the Volkswagen Group is studying the possibility of retiring the historic firm by 2029. The decision is part of the restructuring plan being promoted by the German giant, which plans to halve its models and also significantly reduce production. The group's proposal, moreover, will also have serious consequences for the workforce: 100,000 layoffs are expected worldwide.

The Spanish government is convinced that the Seat brand will survive the cuts being studied by the Volkswagen group. In an intervention at the Fòrum Europa Tribuna Catalunya, the Secretary of State for Industry, Jordi Garcia Brustenga, has assured that he has "zero doubts" about its continuity, and has asked the German group to continue investing in the Catalan company and launching "new models." Garcia Brustenga also highlighted the "intangible" value of Seat in the territory. The future of the historic brand is up in the air after the company itself admitted last week that it is analyzing the possibility of eliminating it starting in 2030.

"Today we are taking another step in the fight against job insecurity in our country." The Council of Ministers approved this Tuesday the transposition of a European regulation that will guarantee that workers have more "transparent" access to their working conditions. As the Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, has explained, the rule will allow for combating precariousness by guaranteeing "adequate and immediate" access to the essential characteristics of the employment relationship.