Employers are not abandoning the idea that workers receive their gross salary and then pay their own contributions, as the self-employed do. It was the president of CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, who once again insisted on this proposal.
During his speech at the FAES Campus 2024, organized by the FAES Foundation, he wanted to focus on social security contributions, highlighting the “impressive” increase in taxes that the increase in contributions has brought about for companies and which has particularly affected small businesses.
“It’s as if in a community of neighbors we talked about expenses and said, but now the first and second pay, and the others don’t. Everything works like that,” criticized Garamendi, who insisted that The increase in contributions has significantly increased the costs of businesses.
“I would like to see what Social Security is doing with the self-employed, which removes the quota of self-employed people every month, so that I know what I earn and what Social Security takes or recovers from me. We think that Workers in this country should be paid their gross wages and then have the state collect it.“Because when you ask someone how much they earn, they only think about what they have seen deposited in the bank and they forget about double payments, deductions and social security. And if we saw that it was almost double, we would probably have more civic awareness to demand what the money is for,” he said, in statements collected by Europe Press.
The business leader defended this This money that Social Security takes from you belongs to the workereven if it is the employer who pays.
Previously, after the first proposal of the CEOE leader, the second vice president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, had asked the employers “to stop playing with these typical Milei proposals. There is no serious country in the world where progress is being made in a model that is: I give you your salary, you find a life. It’s every man for himself and, of course, we haven’t reached 21st century Europe for these models.“
working day
Garamendi also denounced that the reduction of the working day to 37.5 hours per week, demanded by the government and the unions, “breaks” the agreement of agreements that the employers’ organizations signed with CCOO and UGT in May 2023.
“A year ago, on May 1, 2023, the Minister of Labor and the unions were shouting in the streets that a national agreement on conventions had to be signed, which is very important and which we have achieved (…) And it turns out that the government and the unions are breaking the agreement and now saying that they want a reduction in working hours by law,” he criticized.
The business leader said that “No one asked in bars and stores” nor to companies that have services assigned by ministries, and therefore “hooked” to certain contracts, how it would affect them if the law reduced the working day to 37.5 hours per week.
“Then they tell you it’s good for productivity. Yes? In a bar? In a small business? And that surveys say people like it (the reduction of working hours). And I do, but I’m in a position that requires responsibility. Of course, if we looked at the surveys, why not 20 hours, because more people would say they think it’s good, I think that’s why we have to be there and apply what we have to apply,” he defended.
Collective bargaining
“They always tell us that we are the most powerful. Powerful is the one who has the Official State Gazette (BOE). Let them do it, but that breaks a whole evolution since the year 77 of the great agreements when that is what collective bargaining is for,” said Garamendi, who added that negotiating with the government and unions to reduce the working day is like playing a football match knowing in advance that you are going to lose 5-0.
“What I am demanding is the freedom to say what we think. In addition, in a few days, they (the unions) will come to the headquarters of the CEOE to put pressure on us. Well, there is the government, let them do it.” do what they want.” must do, I claim my freedom to say that we think it is bad for Spain“, Garamendi added.
The CEOE leader recalled that 21 agreements have been signed with the Government and that his organization is willing to talk, but not to “apply the roll.”
Regarding complaints from the negotiating parties that the employers’ organizations did not make proposals, Garamendi denied the majority. “Of course, we made them. The proposal is very clear. The proposal is collective bargaining, bipartite agreements,” he stressed.
