Antonio Garamendi has done a Florentino Pérez. To the surprise of many, he has brought forward elections for the Spanish employers' association CEOE, which were due to be held at the end of this 2026 and will now take place in September or October. The move, announced this week, is reminiscent of what the president of Real Madrid did in May, when he announced early elections, which resulted in another term for Florentino at the helm of the white club. Will the president of the CEOE have the same luck?

The war in Iran and its global economic ravages have made it rain on wet for Spanish small and medium-sized enterprises. According to the latest indicator of the SME situation prepared by the Spanish employers' association Cepyme, state SMEs were already suffering a situation of "stagnation" in the second half of 2025, before the start of the conflict. According to the employers' association of SMEs linked to the CEOE, the smallest companies reached 2026 in "a more unfavorable situation to face the risks" that materialized with the clashes in the Middle East. The president of the business organization, Ángela de Miguel, has lamented the conclusions that can be drawn from the semiannual report, which shows "weak and unequal growth" among small companies. "Today, SMEs are not doing well," she said in a press briefing.

The employers' associations CEOE and Cepyme agreed on Tuesday to propose a 1.5% increase in the national minimum wage (SMI) by 2026, which would bring it to €1,202 gross per month, paid in 14 monthly installments (€16,824 gross annually). The organizations stated that this increase is in line with the planned raise for public sector employees next year and coincides "with the objectives of the European minimum wage directive." A few weeks ago The CCOO and UGT unions proposed raising the minimum wage by 7.5%....up to €1,273 gross per month, and to include income tax (IRPF) for the first time. Meanwhile, the committee of experts convened by the Ministry of Labor has not yet submitted its proposal. According to a statement released by employers, data from the Active Population Survey (EPA) shows that the minimum wage (SMI) has already exceeded 60% of the average net salary used by the Ministry, headed by Yolanda Díaz, as the criterion for setting it. "CEOE and Cepyme use the EPA as a reference because the Wage Structure Survey (EES), which serves as the basis for calculating the average salary for the group of experts advising the Ministry of Labor, does not include wages in agriculture, livestock farming, fishing, or domestic service, among others, which creates... "These sectors are heavily reliant on labor and concentrate a large part of the minimum wage, so the average salary resulting from the Wage Structure Survey is higher than the actual figure, and the resulting minimum wage is oversized," the employers' associations argued. In their view, the latest minimum wage increases are "penalizing employment" in these sectors. According to their calculations, using the EPA (Active Population Survey) data for 2025 as a reference, the minimum wage would be €15,760 gross per year, €816 less per year. "In other words, the minimum wage is currently 4.9% higher than it should be," the employers' associations CEOE and Cepyme stated. In fact, they believe the minimum wage should not be increased next year, but they propose a 1.5% increase because it aligns with the planned increase for civil servants and the objectives of the European directive for setting the minimum wage. "Precisely to respect collective bargaining, we are conditioning this 1.5% increase on..." "Compliance with the absorption and compensation rules of the Workers' Statute," they say.