The relationship between the president of the Spanish employers' association Conpymes, José María Torres, and the Catalan Pimec, one of the founders of this organization, which was established in May 2021, is rapidly deteriorating. So much so that Pimec is considering promoting a split from this organization or achieving a change in the presidency, according to close sources. Torres, who headed the only candidacy for the presidency and renewal of the board in the electoral process that opened last October, has chosen to proclaim himself winner again during the organization's assembly held this Thursday in Madrid, with the majority of affiliated organizations against him.

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 People's Party (PP) is missing a key piece in its solution plan for Catalonia: funding. Although it knows that without Catalonia's support, reaching the Moncloa Palace (the Spanish Prime Minister's residence) becomes much more difficult, it often plays on anti-Catalan sentiment, which benefits it abroad. That regional funding is an uncomfortable issue for the party led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo was made clear this week during the speech by the PP's Deputy Secretary for Economy, Alberto Nadal, at a luncheon organized by Pimec (the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Association). Following the presentation by Pimec President Antoni Cañete and his subsequent remarks, when Nadal was asked about Catalonia's fiscal deficit, which, according to 2022 data published by the government, ranges between 8.2% and 5.2% of GDP, he offered no answers. He argued that each autonomous community has its own interests and, therefore, should establish expert committees to determine their needs and then share them. Together, he said, they would be able to reform the model, conveniently ignoring the fact that the reforms implemented so far have always originated in Catalonia. Little else. He didn't quite convince the audience of an organization that had signed a document with seven other business and economic organizations demanding improvements to the Spanish government's funding proposal, the so-called G-8. The attendees applauded when Nadal pledged to lower taxes, deregulate, and repeal certain environmental and labor laws if he were to come to power in Spain. But on the issue of funding, the proposed solutions fell short.

The latest rail crisis has put the spotlight on freight trains, which were also brought to a standstill as a result of theGelida commuter train accidentIn which a train driver died. Rail transport still has very little weight in Catalonia's productive sector, with the vast majority of goods moving by road. Currently, rail accounts for only 4% of freight in Catalonia, far below the European average of 17%, although some are already talking about saturation on the tracks. The recent blockade has highlighted the precariousness of this network, and this is where Pimec is calling for it to be made more resilient. To this end, the main measure the employers' association is requesting is to double the tracks in order to separate freight traffic from passenger traffic. Currently, both national and international freight transport runs on the same tracks as commuter, regional, and high-speed trains. "Goods and people cannot pass through the same infrastructure: they have very different needs," criticizes Ignasi Sayol, president of Pimec Logistics. A request that has found consensus among all the political groups with which the employers' association met this Friday, with the exception of the CUP and Aliança Catalana, which did not attend.

The first measure the People's Party (PP) will take if it governs in Spain will be a "first tax reform" focused on recovering the income tax increase due to inflation in recent years. This is what the PP's Deputy Secretary for Economic Affairs, Alberto Nadal, stated at a luncheon organized by PIMEC in Barcelona. The other immediate initiative would be "to repeal the legal measures that hinder the rental market, as well as certain environmental and labor regulations." Referring to the policies advocated by Elon Musk in the US and Javier Milei in Argentina, Nadal, who served as Budget Secretary under Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, asserted that "chainsaws don't exist, but files do." He also stated that when the PP was in power, it increased public spending at a rate lower than the economy's growth, thus "creating room to lower taxes."

The agreement between the Government, employers' associations (Foment del Treball and Pimec) and unions (UGT and CCOO) to pass the budget includes two points relating to the granting of sick leave. one of the most controversial topics of recent weeksThe agreement also underscores the need to "continue strengthening primary care"—the main manager of temporary disability (TD) claims—with an investment of up to €3.878 billion. It also includes the objective of "improving the entire care process" surrounding these procedures, "automating tasks and allowing for a reduction." Among these actions, the agreement indicates that an increase in situations where TD can be prescribed from the hospital is anticipated.

The Catalan government needs a budget to function properly. Currently, it is still operating under the extended 2023 budget, which severely limits the administration's room for maneuver and leaves it short of approximately €1.5 billion. This amount remains unused because new expenses or projects cannot be included due to the lack of a budget. This sum is equivalent to the annual allocation of departments such as the Department of Business and Labor or the Department of Universities and Research. The truth is, citizens deserve a government that operates with a budget that reflects the country's current needs, not figures that were based on the reality of three years ago. Furthermore, having a budget would allow the government to make the most of the resources generated by record tax revenues thanks to economic growth. This includes both taxes in which Catalonia participates, such as personal income tax (IRPF), and those collected directly and transferred to the government (inheritance and property transfer taxes) under the current financing system.

Catalan remains the primary language of Catalan companies. This is the main positive conclusion of a survey conducted by the employers' association Pimec among its members. However, the study also raises some concerns. The first is that, despite being the primary language, it is losing ground. Specifically, the surveyed companies perceive that its use has fallen by 10.9 percentage points compared to 2012. The second worrying conclusion is that, depending on the person they are communicating with, companies are increasingly switching languages. In fact, Pimec notes that the decline in Catalan's importance in business has occurred precisely because of the second concern: companies are increasingly adapting to the demands of their interlocutor, whether a client or a supplier. The survey indicates that 60.7% of companies switched languages ​​to adapt to the client in 2012, and now 71.2% do so. This shift occurs not only in oral communication but also in written communication. Written communications in Catalan addressed to clients accounted for 76% in 2012, but now stand at 55.5%. Furthermore, the use of languages ​​other than Catalan in these communications has increased by 20 percentage points. A decrease, albeit smaller, in the number of companies' websites in Catalan has also been observed. On a positive note, the study indicates that 65.6% of companies always or mostly communicate with their clients in Catalan, whether in person or by phone. This is in addition to the fact that 80.7% of SMEs use Catalan in their written communications to clients and suppliers, and that in the digital sphere, 74.5% of companies have a website in Catalan, while 49.5% publish almost all of their social media content in Catalan.

In response to the increase in extreme weather events, Pimec has called for an urgent review of the climate leave policy. This measure, recently incorporated into the Workers' Statute, allows employees to take up to four paid days off if commuting to work poses a risk. While the employers' association shares the priority of protecting people's safety, it considers it "unfair" that the financial burden should fall solely on the company.

The employers' association Pimec estimates that sick leave costs the Spanish economy €162.564 billion annually, equivalent to 10.2% of GDP. This data is taken from the report. Evolution of sick leave in Spain 2013-2025, Presented this Wednesday in Madrid by the employers' association for small and medium-sized enterprises.

The rail chaos of recent weeks has not only affected commuter rail users. It has also impacted Catalan production, with freight lines closed for days. This disruption is expected to continue. it lengthens Because of the improvement works to be carried out, Pimec demands that the push for a national railway pact go "beyond commuter rail" and address the entire network in a comprehensive way, including regional trains, freight trains and strategic connections.

The Catalan Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Food, Òscar Ordeig, called on Thursday for innovative policies in the agri-food sector, both public and private, to ensure that food production, which has sometimes "been subordinated to other paradigms," becomes Catalonia's flagship project in the coming years. "Environmental policies have been implemented without considering agri-food policies; urban planning policies have been implemented without considering food production policies; and health policies have been implemented without considering that we have a Mediterranean diet, a UNESCO World Heritage Site," Ordeig explained on Thursday at the Pim headquarters. In addition to this need for a forward-looking vision in the sector, Ordeig also stated that it is necessary to make decisions to move forward and find a balance between "not forging ahead without thinking, and thinking without forging ahead." "We have met many times with the sector to be clear about where we needed to go, but above all we have had to make decisions, manage, manage, and manage," explained the regional minister, who cited the recent health crises that have affected the agri-food sector in Catalonia as an example.

Sílvia Orriols, president of Aliança Catalana, will participate next Saturday in a meeting organized by Emilio Cuatrecasas, honorary president of the renowned law firm, at the Hotel Terraverda in the small municipality of Gualta, with a group of members of the collective.Empordà Small CommitteeThe positive electoral prospects predicted by all polls for the party—the latest CEO survey gave them up to 20 seats in future Catalan parliamentary elections—have sparked interest from the economic and business world. Aware that the emergence of the far-right pro-independence movement in institutions is not a passing phenomenon, the establishment wants to know firsthand what their intentions are.

The Gelida train tragedy The train accident on Tuesday night—in which a trainee driver died—combined with the tragedy of the train collision in Córdoba over the weekend—which left dozens dead—has overshadowed current events, including the economic one. Antoni Cañete, president of Pimec, expressed his regret over the accidents and, regarding the complete disruption of commuter rail service in Catalonia, stated that "the necessary safety measures were taken, but obviously this has economic consequences due to the difficulty in finding jobs." According to Cañete, among the business community, "there has been a climate of unease, but we don't believe there has been a collapse; we believe that today's events should have minimal impact on the economy," he asserted. "Although today's incident was an accident, Pimec has been talking for a long time about the lack of investment in infrastructure, which has many consequences, such as today's complete service disruption," the president of the employers' association lamented.

From 2013 to 2025, sick leave taken by Catalan workers has more than doubled, and of these, leave due to mental health reasons has almost tripled, in this case between 2015 and 2024. The data comes from a report presented by the employers' association Pimec. one of the major current concerns of the business communityWhile thirteen years ago a total of 773,000 sick leaves were recorded in Catalonia, in 2024 this figure skyrocketed to 2,093,000. The study shows that the Principality has gone from an average of 3.8 hours of sick leave per month per worker – this indicator excludes vacations and other leaves, such as maternity or personal leave – to 8 hours recorded in the third quarter of last year, an increase of 110%. Even so, most of these absences from work are short. In more than 75% of cases, the leaves did not exceed 15 days. In fact, the employers' association also notes that while the number of temporary disabilities has steadily increased (+170% between 2013 and 2024), the duration has decreased: it averages 27.2 days, the second lowest figure among the autonomous communities, surpassed only by Navarre's 26.5 days. Paradoxically, Navarre and Catalonia have the highest average monthly incidence of sick leave, at 56.4 and 52.6 workers per 1,000, respectively. "We have a structural problem. We can't get on a highway, see cars going the wrong way, and think they're the crazy ones," lamented Antoni Cañete, president of Pimec. However, he assured that employers do not intend to "penalize" employees for being sick, but rather to prevent the misuse of the system.

The Christmas parties hosted by employers' associations are one of the most enjoyable moments for journalists who cover business organizations. They aren't usually held to announce any news, but rather as a moment of relaxation. A chance to let their guard down. A "we'll talk about that in January." And, indeed, we will talk about it for sure, in January. Because these Christmas parties—breakfasts, cocktails, light meals, lunches—also serve as an opportunity to take stock of the year, list achievements, and outline the challenges for the coming year.

The traditional Christmas meetings of Pimec and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, held this Thursday – which have coincided for several years now – have become a battleground for the controversy surrounding the law on chambers of commerce. How He already explained it NOWLast month, the employers' associations Pimec and Foment del Treball, along with the unions CCOO and UGT, sent a letter to parliamentary groups expressing their disagreement with the bill presented in the Parliament of Catalonia. This came as a shock to the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and the Council of Chambers of Commerce of Catalonia, given that the text "had been agreed upon." According to Pimec, the text that has finally entered parliamentary proceedings is not "exactly" the agreed-upon text, and therefore the social partners have submitted a series of amendments. Although the law is now in the hands of politicians and its future course no longer depends on business institutions, the negative sentiment surrounding it is clear. When asked about this discrepancy, the president of Pimec, Antoni Cañete, asserted this Thursday during the Christmas breakfast that the text as it currently stands "creates legal uncertainty and an overreach of authority" by the chambers of commerce, "which cannot under any circumstances participate in social dialogue." "The chambers of commerce must act as chambers of commerce, employers' associations as employers' associations, and unions as unions," Cañete stated, adding that "order" is necessary. Thus, the president of Pimec said that they did not oppose the bill's passage at the time, but that the text, after thorough analysis, includes elements that "concern" them. "It's like the Hundred Years' War," Cañete joked. "We've been debating this text for years." "We are not against the legislative process itself, we are against the ambiguities that could create uncertainty," he said, while also asserting that "it is a matter of democracy" and that they hope the political parties will take their amendments into account.

Antoni Cañete, president of Pimec, has been re-elected vice-president of European SMEs at the SME United assembly, where Italian candidate Davide Galli was elected president for the 2026-2027 term, replacing Finn Petri Salminen. With Cañete's re-election, Catalan SMEs consolidate their presence in the European social dialogue. The Pimec president represents Pymes Group—which works jointly with the Balearic employers' association PIMEB—in this organization and "leads the only SME organization in Catalonia and Spain with its own voice in Brussels," according to a statement from the organization. Ángela de Miguel, president of Cepyme, an organization linked to the CEOE (Spanish Confederation of Employers' Organizations), has also been appointed vice-president. During his speech, the president of Pimec explained the commitment to continue working on the strategic priorities of recent years, among which the fight against late payments stands out. He also highlighted the push for SME participation in public procurement, the need to reduce bureaucracy, facilitate business financing, and promote legislation that prioritizes smaller companies. In this regard, Cañete insisted on the need to promote the regulation against late payments in the European Commission's 2026 work program and the creation of an effective sanctions regime and compliance authorities in all member states "to guarantee the viability and competitiveness of SMEs and not jeopardize economic activity, which generates it." Regulatory framework

Furthermore, he also highlighted SME United's actions during 2025 aimed at raising awareness about the need for a regulatory framework that allows legislation to prioritize smaller businesses. In this regard, Cañete emphasized the promotion of the "T" manifesto.Think Small FirstTo work on legislation that is proportionate, practical, and adapted to the specific characteristics of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially regarding administrative simplification. Soler, Director of International Relations and European Affairs at PIMEC, as representative within Group I (Entrepreneurs) of the EESC, and Rosa Solanes, as PIMEC's Permanent Delegate in Brussels and coordinator of sectoral policies at SME United, stated that "the business organization is consolidating its influence in Europe and confirming its commitment to positioning SMEs."

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Pimec Autónomos held its third annual Night of the Self-Employed on Monday, an event where the association's president, Elisabet Bach, advocated for "fairer rules of the game, adapted to the current reality," and for reforms to the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers (RETA) and the Personal Income Tax (IRPF) to better suit the characteristics of self-employment, as well as administrative simplification. The event was attended by more than 250 people and also featured speeches by the Minister of Economy and Finance, Alícia Romero, and the president of Pimec, Antoni Cañete. The president of Pimec Autónomos emphasized that there are 570,000 self-employed workers in Catalonia, and that 9 out of 10 Catalan businesses are micro-enterprises and self-employed individuals, with or without employees, contributing 25% of the Gross Value Added (GVA) and 20% of employment. "We are the foundation of the country's productive economy," Bach asserted. In this regard, the president urged the authorities to address the factors that "diminish the growth potential" of the self-employed, such as excessive bureaucracy and a reform of the Personal Income Tax (IRPF) "that encourages savings and investment, growth, and does not penalize the self-employed when things are going well, under conditions similar to other business structures." "We also advocate limiting the liability of the self-employed, excluding essential assets from their business liability," Bach asserted. "Every self-employed person represents a life project, and we must ensure that a failure does not shatter a life."

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"Today, Pimec urges political parties to create a law promoting business development to eliminate the obstacles to company growth." This was stated on Wednesday by Pimec President Antoni Cañete and the President of the SME Observatory, Oriol Amat, during the presentation of the study. Business dimension: Diagnosis and proposalsThe study, based on a survey of 348 responses, begins with the observation that larger businesses lead to greater innovation, greater internationalization, higher productivity, and consequently, greater access to financing and resilience. "There are obstacles that act as brakes," warned Cañete, noting that 99.8 percent of businesses are SMEs, and 94 percent of these are micro-enterprises. "We need to legislate with small businesses in mind first, and there are three levels at which we have to work; we're starting here in Catalonia, but next week we'll present it in Madrid because there are decisions that also need to be made at the national level," explained Cañete, while also mentioning his position within the European employers' federation, holding the seat of SEME. "A legislative commitment to growth, investment, fair taxation, and a more agile administration is key," summarized the president of Pimec. "We're talking about a national issue," he asserted.

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