The president of the Spanish Confederation of Employers’ Organizations (CEOE), Antonio Garamendi, pointed out this Wednesday that Spain is suffering from an “institutional drift” in which decision-makers are “more focused on their electoral and ideological interests.” He also criticized the Ministry of Labor for subjecting companies to “regulatory suffocation.”
In this regard, during his speech at the CEOE general assembly held this Wednesday in Madrid, he noted that while the world is facing “historic challenges,” Spain is busy managing “the latest scandal,” which causes major debates to be postponed. As an example, Garamendi recalled that Spain has been without a General State Budget (PGE) for three years.
Garamendi indicated that the current landscape in Spain is “bleak” and stressed that Spain’s institutional instability is “the worst-case scenario” for ensuring the “smooth running of economic activity and employment,” even more so “in this highly volatile context” which demands “making decisions with a vision for the future, designing strategies, and acting with intelligence and unity.”
Regarding the Ministry of Labor, he denounced a “regulatory suffocation” and stated that between September 2022 and December 2025, there were 61 changes to “the core regulation governing labor relations.” According to his statements, all of this occurred “without social dialogue” and, at times, without consultation or through “merely formal” consultations. Garamendi maintained that this situation has caused “legal insecurity,” “intrusiveness” into companies’ freedom of organization, and “constant interference” in collective bargaining.
The president of CEOE also argued that a significant portion of the wage improvements agreed upon between employers and workers ends up in the hands of the government through taxes and social security contributions. According to his figures, for every 100-euro wage increase, the worker receives around 65 euros, while the remaining 35 euros go toward contributions and taxes. In this sense, he defended the need to index Personal Income Tax (IRPF) to inflation to prevent workers from losing purchasing power due to inflation.
