The majority of employers of small and medium-sized enterprises in the country have shown firmness by publishing a manifesto in which they set out the seven points in which they consider that the government’s decisions have a negative impact on the growth of the business sector.
Recently, the employers’ union Cepyme put on the table the main aspects that threaten the strengthening of small and medium-sized enterprises. One of the key points is the cost and bureaucratic, fiscal and social charges faced by the nearly 3 million SMEs established in Spainone of the countries in which the survival of this economic model is most precarious, according to data managed by OECD experts.
Added to this is the Government’s speech with which, Cepyme indicates, Those who want to undertake are stigmatized. In doing so, a change of culture is being promoted regarding the figure of the entrepreneur, based on the search for profit, profitability and success in business. This is what the employers’ association states in an 11-page document entitled Manifesto of the Spanish small and medium-sized enterprise Cepymein which they reaffirm the raison d’être of the business world and highlight seven points that threaten its improvement.
“The goal of business is to make profits. And that shouldn’t make us ashamed.“Only companies that make profits survive, and only those that make solid profits can invest, increase their workforce and raise salaries. When a company makes a profit, it enriches the entire society,” says the document signed by all owners of small and medium-sized businesses in the country.
The document questions the proliferation of mandatory registers, plans and protocols that the company must adhere to, which represent a heavy burden and bureaucratic cost for SMEs that are forced to hire specialized consultants, using their resources to fulfill obligations. -productive bureaucratic obligations.
In this context, Cepyme underlines that In Spain, companies contribute 32.4% of tax revenues, compared to an EU average of 25.8%.a burden that is likely to increase due to the imposition of new environmental taxes. In the manifesto, Cepyme expressly requests the cessation of control of the company and over-regulationwhich, according to them, is accompanied by an avalanche of regulations that are difficult for companies to bear, especially the smallest ones, which is why they denounce “government interventionism.”
In addition, non-intervention of wages is also claimed. In doing so, employers reinforce the idea that Wage increases must be linked to productivity. And the opposite example of what has been mentioned is the approval of the increase in the Interprofessional Minimum Wage, which, they point out, “has been higher than 60% in recent years, at the same time as productivity per employee has been falling.”
The manifesto presented by the president of the employers’ association, Gerardo Cuerva, states that The increase in the SMI was carried out “ignoring the consequences and their impact on the sectors concerned”.as well as the increase in social security contributions and the reduction of working hours without a reduction in salary, are measures which directly affect the general formation of salaries.”
In this way, from the point of view of the companies, “the bipartite wage negotiation is distorted, canceling the agreements and signed agreements, which break their balance.” At the same time, the structure built between unions and employers for more than a century is delegitimized, explains the text.
Internally, situations such as those mentioned above strain the relationship between the worker and the company because they increase conflicts within the workforce due to the homogenization of wages. In this sense, it is requested that the company have the freedom to organize working time and resources without government interference. That is, the organization of production, its operation and decision-making are private spheres of the company, whose resolution corresponds only to the company itself and the workers involved.
Another point that stands out is that SMEs call for reduction of social security contributions and taxation so that they do not harm competitiveness. For this reason, it is important for Cepyme to put an end to the continuous increase in social security contributions that has been made in recent years, as well as those that will be implemented in the short term. This is because The increase in social security contribution revenues compared to the pre-pandemic level is 31.7%.
Tripartite negotiation
The confederation also included in its manifesto the demand for respect for collective bargaining, which is why it “demands respect for the loyalty and trust with which social agents participate in social dialogue, the system born from the Transition, based on tripartite negotiation between the Government and the representatives of employers and workers.”
Likewise, they stressed the importance that the proposals of social agents have their place in the agreements reached and are not distorted after the approval of the standard. That is why “it is essential to stop approving labor market reforms without even consulting those affected,” Cepyme said.
And he demanded that collective bargaining be respected: Labor relations in our country are based on nearly 5,000 existing collective bargaining tables.where unions and employers negotiate and adapt not only wages, but also working conditions to each sectoral or commercial reality”, specifies the document which refers to the importance of business freedom which is summed up as “supporting private initiative and encouraging” the increase in investments and productivity. “.
Without directly referring to the ongoing debate on the reduction of working hours proposed by the government, the Cepyme manifesto states that there is an organization of time and work resources “without interference”. In other words, the organization of working time, the organization of production, its operation and decision-making are private areas of the company, which it is up to the company and the workers concerned to resolve. “We will have jobs if we have companies”, underlines the employers’ association of Spanish small and medium-sized enterprises which represent 99.8% of the productive fabric with almost 11 million jobs.
Finally, in the manifesto, the Spanish Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises also commits to respecting the internal flexibility of the company. It denounces that with the increase in the cost of dismissal, expanding the causes of nullity and introducing uncertainty in its treatment by extending the deadlines “are bad solutions on the part of the Government”. Cepyme explains that the viability of companies is in danger: either they adapt or they disappear.
