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.

Foment del Treball is considering taking the regulation of speculative housing purchases, agreed upon between the PSC and the Comuns, to the Constitutional Court. This was announced by the president of this employers' association, Josep Sánchez Llibre, during the assembly held this Monday in Barcelona. "The recent agreement between the Catalan Government and the Comuns is the socialization of private property; it is an attack on private property, a measure that has no place in our society. If necessary, we will promote the filing of an appeal of unconstitutionality or the raising of a question of unconstitutionality against this measure, which we consider lethal for the Catalan economy and society." He added that "the rules of the game cannot be changed from an ideological corner, thinking about propaganda or looking good." During his speech, in addition to insisting on reducing the tax burden in Catalonia, he urged President Salvador Illa to seek support from the opposition should ERC not support the budget. Despite stating that the budgets are "highly taxed and very interventionist," he asserted that the country needs a budget, without which €4 billion in investments will be lost. He explained that the Ministry of Public Works will negotiate amendments with parliamentary groups "aimed at reducing the tax burden and improving the supply of affordable housing." Regarding the budget, he did not mention Junts, but he did mention their rejection of the 37.5-hour workweek, highlighting the "courage" of the post-convergent party in voting against it along with the PP and Vox. This has allowed them to "stop the Ministry of Labor's unhealthy obsession" with "imposing" the reduced working hours. He also warned of "new legislative threats," ranging from extended leave policies "to the participation of unions on boards of directors." Legal certainty and investment

He insisted on preserving social dialogue, which he described as "a jewel of our democracy," and argued that the housing crisis will only be solved with increased supply, especially considering the influx of immigrants, which he defends as a way to "sustain the labor market," and the regularization process planned by the Spanish government. Sánchez Llibre championed private property and reiterated his criticism of the PSC and Comuns agreement on speculative purchases because "without legal certainty there is no investment, no housing, no industry, and no innovation." "A major public-private partnership is the only solution that will work," and he asserted that "it is unacceptable" to try to correct "the failure of housing policy" by making homeowners subsidiarily responsible or, worse still, scapegoats for errors that are not theirs." Regarding taxes, he mentioned the increase in the tourist tax and the municipal surcharge, which "will bleed businesses, entrepreneurs, and workers dry," and he insisted that Catalonia has become "a tax hell." One of his objectives is to negotiate budget amendments with the various parliamentary groups "aimed at reducing the tax burden and improving the housing supply," given the stalled industrial investments. "Catalonia needs to bring forward network investments to support both production and consumption," he said. "BK_SLT_LNA~" public and private sector."

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The debate on whether or not to force workers to get vaccinated against covid-19 is back in the spotlight. Last Thursday Italy approved a decree that forced all employees in both public and private companies. as well as the self-employed, to get a covid pass from October 15. This shows that they have received at least one dose of the vaccine or that they have had the disease. This Monday morning, it was the president of the Catalan employer association Foment del Treball, Josep Sánchez Llibre, who spoke in favour of applying this measure in Spain in an interview with TVE: "There is a 3% or 4% of the Spanish and Catalan workforce that could have got vaccinated and has not done so, and this can hinder companies' full economic recovery," he said. Then he added: "I think it would be good to make it compulsory, but it is a decision that is in the hands of the government and doctors".

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