Consummated break. Pimec and 18 other organizations have decided to withdraw from the state employers' association Conpymes. With this decision, the Catalan business organization presided over by Antoni Cañete culminates a long period of discrepancies with the entity it helped found in 2021 to act as a counterweight to the CEOE. The Catalan SME employers' association and the others that have chosen to leave, and which claim to represent 80% of Conpymes' representation, denounce “a prolonged process of irregular management that the entities consider unilateral, undemocratic, and removed from the collective project that motivated their participation”.

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.

The announcement by the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, of the dissolution of the Cortes and the call for general elections on November 29th has put the country's productive fabric on alert. The Catalan association of small and medium-sized enterprises, Pimec, has demanded that the main parties ensure the upcoming election campaign serves to "place the productive economy and SMEs at the center of the political debate." In a statement, the organization presided over by Antoni Cañete demanded that "the political situation does not sideline the reforms needed by the productive fabric."

The plenary session of the Chamber of Commerce of Barcelona, meeting this Thursday, has narrowly approved the reform proposed by the executive committee to expand from two to ten the paid vocal seats granted by greater voluntary contribution, the so-called silver chairs. The body was 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.

Justice has declared null Leitat's employment regulation file (ERO), approved in 2024 and which affected 115 workers. The social court of Terrassa has ruled in favor of the 59 former employees who sued the company for formal defects in the collective dismissal. Furthermore, the judge considers it proven that the company "failed to negotiate in good faith" with the staff.

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.

Ignasi Pietx (Barcelona, 1965) is the general director of the design and printing company Artyplan and current president of Comertia, the Catalan employers' association for retail trade. Just at the midpoint of his term at the head of the entity, the executive reviews the main demands of the Catalan family business in the retail sector, in two years marked by a good economic performance at the macro level, but at the same time a global instability that has diminished consumer confidence.This June marks two years since his appointment as president of Comertia. In all this time, has trade in Catalonia improved or worsened?

“More industry, but, above all, of better quality”: Salvador Illa and the country's main economic agents have sealed this Monday the new National Pact for Industry. The roadmap until 2030 foresees an investment of almost 4,500 million euros in 190 actions comprised in five major areas, such as innovation or employment. During his speech, the President of the Generalitat emphasized that the agreement "is not a sectoral pact" but a "national and future pact". The text has been agreed with the two main employers' associations in the territory, Foment del Treball and Pimec, and the two majority trade unions, Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) and UGT. The objective: that by 2030 industry represents 25% of Catalonia's gross domestic product (GDP), the macroeconomic indicator that measures the monetary value of all final goods and services produced within a territory.

The Mobile World Capital Barcelona foundation, the entity linked to the MWC technology congress that manages its legacy in the city, now has new leadership. The foundation's board of trustees has appointed journalist Laia Corbella as the new general director. Corbella takes over from Francesc Fajula, who left the organization in May to lead the artificial intelligence gigafactory project in Móra la Nova.

The president of Pimec, Antoni Cañete, has called on Brussels for business regulation that is "simpler, more proportionate and adapted" for SMEs. The leader of the Catalan association of small and medium-sized enterprises met this Thursday with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and warned of the "bureaucratic overload" that the business fabric suffers from, which "hinders its competitiveness and growth".

The co-founder and managing partner of Asabys, Josep Lluís Sanfeliu, has been endorsed by the Barcelona Global supervisory board as the new president, an appointment that will be ratified by the partners' assembly on June 19. Sanfeliu, who will succeed Ramon Agenjo (Damm) for the new term until 2028, will have as vice-presidents Rafael Fontana, lawyer and honorary president of Cuatrecasas; Lluís Seguí, co-founder and CEO of Miura Partners; and Carmina Ganyet, corporate director general of Colonial, the only one to repeat in the same position. The supervisory board has endorsed Sanfeliu's candidacy and the board.

The president of the Terrassa-based employers' association Cecot, Xavier Panés, has been confirmed as the sole candidate in the entity's elections. As reported by the Vallesana association this Wednesday, Panés's was the only proposal submitted during the formalization period, which concluded on Tuesday. The list has the backing of 100% of the Cecot assembly's endorsements, well above the 25% threshold required for anyone seeking the presidency.

Without surprises, as everything at Foment del Treball. The president of the large Catalan employers' association, Josep Sánchez Llibre, has revalidated his position without opposition, as he did in the other two electoral contests, in 2018 and 2022. Amidst a long ovation from the noble hall of the business association's headquarters, on Via Laietana; and driven by Vangelis's scores in Chariots of Fire, Sánchez Llibre has accepted the assignment in the presence of the top brass of the Catalan private sector. The new stage, the third, will last until 2030. Among others, present in the front row were the president of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), the main Spanish employers' association, Antonio Garamendi; the president of Banco Sabadell, Josep Oliu; or the former Spanish Minister of Employment and Social Security and president of the CEOE Foundation, Fátima Báñez.

Catalan employers' associations and trade unions will participate in the decision-making of the parity consortium for investments between the State and the Generalitat. The budget agreement ratified by the Govern and Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya this Tuesday foresees the creation of an advisory council to "guide the functions" of the body, as well as the investment company that must be established to guarantee its execution. This was confirmed by the executive to the most representative economic organizations –CCOO, UGT, Pimec, and Foment del Treball– in the meeting they held, the four of them, with the Minister of Economy and Finance, Alícia Romero, and the Minister of the Presidency, Albert Dalmau, this Tuesday. The representatives of workers and employers have welcomed the proposal, although they have assured that "the small print still needs to be read".

Without surprises, as everything at Foment del Treball. The president of the large Catalan employers' association, Josep Sánchez Llibre, has revalidated his position without opposition, as he did in the last electoral contest, in 2022. Amid a long ovation from the noble hall of the business association's headquarters, on Via Laietana; and driven by Vangelis's arrangements in Chariots of Fire, Sánchez Llibre has accepted the mandate in the presence of the top figures of the Catalan private sector. The new term, the third, will last until 2030. Among others, at the front row were present the president of the Spanish Confederation of Employers' Organizations (CEOE), the main Spanish employers' association, Antonio Garamendi; the president of Banc Sabadell, Josep Oliu; or the former Spanish Minister of Employment and Social Security and president of the CEOE Foundation, Fátima Báñez.

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.

The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, will attend the annual meeting of the Cercle d'Economia to be held from June 1 to 3 in Barcelona, the first meeting with Teresa Garcia-Milà as president of the institution. This year the central theme will be Europe's strategic autonomy in the context of the war in the Middle East, which adds to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the difficult relations of the Old Continent with the administration of Donald Trump in the United States.

The president of Foment del Treball, Josep Sánchez Llibre, has decided to run for a third term at the head of the Catalan employers' organization, until 2030. He communicated this today to the board of directors, in which the organization's next elections have been called for May 18, instead of July 18, which is when the term expires. The deadline for submitting candidacies is May 8. In 2024, the statutes of this employers' association were modified to lift the term limit, established until then at two consecutive terms, which leads to the current president. The change gave Sánchez Llibre the possibility to run for president again, which he has finally decided to do.

The Spanish government is working on a package of measures to address the economic consequences of the war in the Middle East, especially the surge in energy prices. Meanwhile, employers' associations, unions, and various sectors of the economy are already presenting them with different demands, some of which share a common denominator: a tax cut. In fact, following the round of political talks between the Ministry of the Presidency and the parties in Congress, this Thursday morning it is the turn of the major unions and employers' associations: CCOO, UGT, CEOE, and Cepyme will meet with the Spanish government's economic ministers at the Ministry of Economy.

The severe windstorm that has been battering Catalonia this Thursday has led to the suspension of educational and university activities, as well as a recommendation from the Catalan government to take extreme precautions, avoid non-essential travel, and opt for teleworking. This scenario, in which an authority issues recommendations, limitations, or prohibitions on mobility, creates rights and obligations for workers—such as having paid leave or working remotely when possible—and also for companies—paying for this leave or facilitating teleworking. All of this is covered in Article 37.3.g) of the Workers' Statute, which states that employees "may be absent" from work for up to four days "with the right to remuneration" if they are unable to attend their workplace due to the authorities' directives regarding the weather. However, this right generates an economic cost that raises the following question: who should bear it?