The president of the employers’ organization has the support of the majority, although some punishment for his assignments is expected
When Antonio Garamendi announced to CEOE’s board of directors last September that he would run for election on November 23, there was a dead silence.
There was no applause or jeers, no support or rejection. It was a prelude to the fact that the race to his second term at the head of Spain’s businessmen would not be as sweet as expected and that the discontent that had grown crescendo in recent months would cloud an election that was seen as a mere formality to have his office reconfirmed by acclamation.
From that moment on, the critical sector, led by the Catalan employers’ association, began to move in search of an alternative candidate to take on the current leader. On the table are such important issues to be resolved as the salary increase – including the minimum wage –, social contributions and European funds. But the attempts were in vain.
The two names that sounded the most, Cepyme’s chairman, Gerardo Cuerva, and that of the Madrid employers’ organization CEIM, Miguel Garrido, stood out and quickly issued two separate messages of support for the current chairman. Faconauto’s president, Gerardo Pérez, announced that he was considering running, but eventually gave up.
When no one thought another rival would emerge, an unknown Virginia Guinda, one of the many vice presidents of the Catalan employers’ association, stepped forward and proclaimed herself the surprise candidate.
No one in the CEOE thinks the Catalan businesswoman is going to win, but her criticism and staging of the climate of internal division that prevails in part of the employers’ organization could erode Garamendi to some extent.
The thermometer of the malaise will be measured by the votes Guinda collects – currently it has just over 50 of the nearly 800 contested votes – and the blank vote promoted in a particular sector.
The vast majority of organizations have given their official support to Garamendi: all territorial organizations except Catalonia, Cepyme, ATA, relevant sectors such as metal, hoteliers, insurance, private healthcare, construction, car dealerships… Even the employers’ organization Anfac, which was highly critical of the CEOE’s support for labor reform offered its support last Thursday.
However, the support of an organization does not mean that its members will vote in favour. There is no voting discipline, the paper going to the polls is secret and Guinda assures that he is “stealing” a lot of support from Garamendi.
“The operation is not for Guinda to win the election, but for a higher punitive vote against Garamendi,” said a member of the CEOE executive. What they do hope is that it will serve to curb Garamendi’s desire to change the bylaws to run for a third term.
The major criticism leveled at Garamendi, in addition to a certain lack of transparency, is that “absolutely everything is signed”, that is, they constantly make concessions to the government without taking into account the interests of the companies, according to a source, to this newspaper. Support for labor reform caused blisters, but what they consider “inexcusable” was the signing at the start of the legislature of raising the minimum wage to €950. “It’s making an agreement with a communist government,” they say.
Precisely this will be one of the first issues on the table, whoever is elected president: the new increase in the minimum wage for 2023. However, except for a surprise, on this occasion it is assumed that the CEOE will not support another increase, it could be expected to be between 1,050 and 1,100 euros.
It will be more likely to unblock collective bargaining and strike a new agreement with the unions that fixes the wage increase for employees for years to come. An increase between 3% and 5% could be agreed and revision clauses accepted with “moderate” inflation, so that 100% of the CPI deviation is not compensated and there is more time to fix it, explains a member of the CEO from
Nor is the employer expected to say yes to the second phase of the pension reform, which will be approved before the end of the year. Employers are refusing any increase in contributions, while the government plans to increase the contributions of workers who earn the most by 30%. And it remains to be seen whether they will support the fellowship statute.
The other two big challenges ahead are coming out of this price crisis and managing European funds and being able to reach companies, mainly SMEs.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
