The leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has caused a real earthquake this week by advocating for a salary cut for those on sick leave. Spoiler alert: this already happens. In the case of common illnesses, such as the flu or back pain, for example, there is no benefit during the first three days; from the fourth day up to the 20th, the worker receives 60% paid by the company; from the 21st onwards, 75% is paid by Social Security. However, there may be modifications included in the collective agreement and other amounts or 100% may be paid, as is the case with maternity or paternity leave, which is paid by Social Security. When it is an accident or occupational illness, 75% is paid from the first day by the company.

The German automotive group Volkswagen reported this Thursday that it will reduce its production capacities by 25% to 9 million vehicles annually to adapt them to the global market situation and increased competition. The company, which has an installed capacity of 12 million vehicles, will also gradually reduce the supply of its car models by up to 50%, concentrating on the most attractive market segments. Currently, the group is configured with around 150 models, across all brands.

The president of the CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, has celebrated the “sensitivity” of the leader of the Popular Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, to the “problem” of labor absenteeism. Garamendi has advocated for “sitting down and talking with everyone” to tackle what has become the main battleground for Spanish employers.

Catalan firms dedicated to the auditing sector in Catalonia have noted that the emergence of new technologies and artificial intelligence is making it difficult for them to attract talent, as the profile of the professionals they need has changed. According to the Catalonia Audit Barometer presented at the Auditorium Forum, 80.3% of companies in the sector consider attracting qualified professionals their main concern.

1,882 days, equivalent to five years and two months. This is the time a Catalan worker will have to wait before the trial for their dismissal begins. And it is not an isolated case: according to a report prepared by the UGT of Catalonia, among all dismissal cases that exceed six months of waiting – a time that the union considers "acceptable" for proceedings to begin – they are, on average, extended by 574 days, that is, one year and seven months. With the data from the study – which collects 1,499 cases – the UGT has denounced the delay that workers suffer once they initiate a lawsuit.

For a customer to enter a store and be served by an employee with an intellectual disability should be a completely natural situation. Today, unfortunately, it still isn't. To understand why, we need to change our perspective on what intellectual disability is.

"Our society has not had a serious debate on this topic." This is how Joan B. Casas, dean emeritus of the College of Economists of Catalonia (CEC), expressed himself regarding immigration and its impact on Catalonia. Casas is co-author of a new report presented this Tuesday at the CEC headquarters titled A Useful Migration Policy for Economic and Social Transformation, prepared by the group of experts Economists for Well-being, which outlines the shortcomings of migration policies in Spain and identifies specific solutions so that the arrival of foreign population helps to create an economy that works "for the benefit of the natives, those who have come, and those who may come in the future", in the words of Josep Reyner, another of the co-authors.

Kings League, the company founded by former Barça footballer Gerard Piqué that organizes streaming football tournaments, has filed a collective dismissal procedure (ERO) to lay off 41 of its 83 employees, as reported by the law firm Col·lectiu Ronda in a statement on behalf of the staff.

The Basque group Aernnova has sold one of the two company branches of Serra Soldadura at auction, the Barcelona industrial company it has owned since 2008 and for which it has filed for voluntary liquidation. According to the works councils of Serra Soldadura, the sale will only serve to safeguard 10 of the 190 jobs the company has.

Ficosa's management and unions seal a preliminary agreement to reduce the impact of the redundancy plan (ERO) announced a few weeks ago. The pact – which must be ratified this Friday by the workers – reduces the number of affected people compared to initial forecasts at the historic Viladecavalls plant: while the company initially planned to lay off 172 people, it has finally been agreed to reduce layoffs to 105. In addition, voluntary departures will be prioritized, so once the workforce accepts the conditions, interested workers will have two weeks to decide if they wish to join.

Employment in Catalonia breaks a new record, reaching 4 million. Specifically, according to data released this Tuesday by the Ministry of Social Security, 3.97 million Catalans were registered as affiliates to the organization in May, representing an increase of 1.28% compared to April. This is the second consecutive month that the Catalan labor market has broken the record for active employees. Furthermore, compared to May of last year, 89,882 jobs have been created in Catalonia, placing the figure 2.32% higher year-on-year.

The company Guala Closures—specializing in the manufacture of bottle caps— has notified its staff of its intention to file for a collective redundancy procedure (ERO) at its plant located in Olèrdola (Alt Penedès). According to union sources, the company plans to lay off 82 of the 87 employees working at the center.

Barcelona has already built a digital workforce that rivals any ecosystem in the region. According to the latest Digital talent overview, elaborated by the Mobile World Capital Barcelona foundation, the country's capital already concentrates more than 135,000 information and communication technology professionalsThe calculation of the purchasing power of digital employees is more favorable in Barcelona. If the cost of living in all cities is equated, the country's capital is located just below the European average, which drops to 54,000 euros per year. Some environments, such as London, fall several positions due to the progressive increase in the cost of housing and consumer goods. This, in the words of the director of digital talent at MWCapital, Jordi Arrufí, creates a balance that makes Barcelona more attractive than other competitors. "Salaries are competitive, which is an ambiguous word. They are attractive for companies compared to Northern Europe, but the worker has a significantly higher standard of living than the city average," considers the expert. That is, "with lower salaries, digital workers in Barcelona live better".

A report by the Council for Work, Economy and Social Affairs of Catalonia (CTESC) delves into the role of newcomers in the country's economic fabric and focuses on the significant differences they have compared to nationals regarding occupational conditions. A clear example of this inequality is found in salaries: according to the study, the gross annual salary of foreigners is 22.3% lower than that of Spanish nationals. This difference currently translates into an average of 6,891.64 euros less gross per year.

It was planned that this Wednesday morning the future of the historic Barcelona industrial company Serra Soldadura would reach a turning point. After Aernnova – owner of the company since 2008 – filed for voluntary liquidation bankruptcy to dissolve Serra Soldadura, this Wednesday the auction of the two companies that form it was scheduled. However, as union sources explain to ARA, the auction has been declared void after no potential buyer has come forward. "We didn't expect this," explain CGT sources, which holds the union majority in the company.

One in four Catalan workers are exposed to the implementation of artificial intelligence. Specifically, a study by the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce details that 26.5% of employed individuals have medium or high exposure, while 29% of workers would not experience any impact from the technology. By gender, women also present a higher percentage of exposure at all ages, and the gap is even more pronounced between those aged 35-44 and those aged 45-54, where 22.6% and 23.8%, respectively, could be highly affected. It should be noted that the study's exposure level does not solely measure the risk of substitution, but also the potential for task transformation.

In recent years, the role of immigration has been placed right at the center of the country's social debate. And, in economic terms, arguments for and against have suggested that it both enriches and impoverishes us. But, really, what are the jobs that immigrants hold in Catalonia? What type of foreigner has more weight in each sector? This year's extraordinary regulation has amplified the debate on whether demographic growth will or will not be sustainable in the long term. For now, a large part of the business community has not hesitated to position itself in favor, seeing foreign talent as the best way to fill the gaps in the Catalan labor market.

When Noemí Selfín felt strong enough to return to the labor market after 16 years away from work, she knew she had to reinvent herself. At 52, with a disability resulting from an aggressive cancer and a career interrupted for over a decade by treatment, she sensed her resume would hardly compete on equal terms. “So many years out of the labor market made my profile unattractive. I needed to retrain,” she explains. During the pandemic, she began to orient herself towards tech profiles and enrolled in one of the tech bootcamps – intensive training courses – driven by Eurofirms Foundation.

During the last ten years, the number of foreign workers in Catalonia has doubled and they now total 773,000 employed. A report by Foment del Treball estimates the increase in this group between the first quarter of 2016 and that of 2026 at 386,700 people. The strong growth has boosted their weight in the net new employment created in Catalonia over the last decade, to the point of absorbing more than half (52.3%). This figure places the country almost 15 percentage points above the national average, which stands at 37.5%, despite La Rioja (55.2%), Castilla y León (58.9%), and the Basque Country (59.2) having larger proportions.

The president of Pimec, Antoni Cañete, has proposed an agreement with the government, parties, and unions to utilize the 60 million from the agreement with Social Security to strengthen primary care and reduce absenteeism. In this way, he insists on the warning he already gave in an interview with ARA, in which he warned that these resources are not being executed and must be returned.