The president of the business association FemCat, Tatxo Benet, has placed Catalan financing at the center of the private sector's target. In a speech at the FemCat Forum, his first since his appointment, Benet described the “fiscal treatment” that Catalonia receives from the Spanish state as “shameful” and “intolerable.” In this regard, he defended “the right and the duty” to point out this grievance “every time they speak about the development of our country.” The business conference is being held this Tuesday at the Petit Palau of the Palau de la Música.

The Catalan employer associations Foment del Treball and Pimec have written their letters to the Three Wise Men ahead of the general elections on November 29th. Specifically, both business organizations presented a series of demands this Friday for political parties to consider ahead of the polls, but above all, for the future Spanish government to take into account. Foment del Treball did so in Barcelona and Pimec in Madrid, and both agree on some elements: rethinking taxation, the problem, in their view, of what they call "labor absenteeism," and the need to deflate the personal income tax (IRPF) to improve real wages.

The reform of the administration has made headway in Catalonia. Or at least that is how it is viewed by the more than 200 entities and business associations that are part of the Forum of Entities for the Reform of the Administration (FERA), an organization established about two years ago to demand reforms in the public sector. The processing of the bill for professional managers in the public sector – a regulation that is part of this process, approved in July by the government of Salvador Illa – overcame the obstacle last Friday in the parliamentary committee, where ERC, Comuns, and the PP presented amendments to the entirety. Junts avoided proposing one, and in this way, the vote next month in Parliament will be reached with the possibility that the regulation will continue its path.

The Ministry of Labor maintains its intention to approve the increase in the interprofessional minimum wage (SMI) before the end of the legislature. As the Secretary of State for Labor, Joaquín Pérez Rey, indicated this Wednesday, the will is to push forward the 2027 update "as soon as possible." And the facts demonstrate this: this Wednesday, the ministry has summoned the employer associations – CEOE and Cepyme – and the unions – CCOO and UGT – to address the increase. At the social dialogue table, in addition, the proposal from the committee of experts will be presented, which advises that, for the coming year, the SMI should be raised by 4.9%, up to 1,281 gross euros in 14 payments, as explained in a press conference by Pérez Rey. Currently it is 1,221 euros.

Do not rule it out. After the general elections on November 29, a new state-wide business association could be born. Once the link with Conpymes was broken by the Catalan Pimec, which was a founder, and a group of 18 other organizations, this state entity is beginning to be glimpsed to defend small and medium-sized enterprises. Those who have unsubscribed consider that Conpymes is now left as "a group of friends with little representativeness", while from the organization chaired by José María Torres they ensure that the entities that have left already had an expulsion file open and state that they maintain some 60 organizations as members.

Consummate break. Pimec and 18 other organizations have decided to withdraw from the state employer 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 association and the others that have chosen to leave and who claim to represent 80% of Conpymes' representation denounce “a prolonged process of irregular management that the entities consider unilateral, undemocratic, and distant 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.