The IEF asserts regarding the Action Day that “we will have to see the cases” and advocates maintaining competitiveness

Bilbao, October 24 (European Press) –

The president of the Institute of Family Enterprises (IEF), Andrés Sendagurta, said regarding the reduction in working hours agreed between the PSOE and SUMAR in their government agreement, that we will have to “see the cases”, but he said and insisted that the “essential” matter is to maintain competitiveness. . “If not, we will die,” he warned.

After the conclusion of the XXVI National Congress of Family Businesses, held in Bilbao, Sendagurta referred in this way to the government agreement reached between the PSOE and SUMAR which includes, among other things, maintaining or reducing the tax on energy and banking companies . Working day to 37.5 hours or increased corporate taxes.

The head of the Family Business Institute, who noted primarily that family businesses pay “too much tax,” highlighted the importance of maintaining competitiveness because “if not, we will die” and “it will all be over.” “, so it is a “major” factor.

Furthermore, he stated that he did not know in detail what was covered, insisting that “competitiveness” was essential and not just a task for entrepreneurs. “If we all do not maintain the competitiveness of our companies, we will do nothing. I am not competing with a company from Seville or Cáceres, I am competing with companies in the United States, in Canada, that have other operations and with them I compete. We have to be competitive,” he said. So we all have to preserve that, the government, companies and society in general.”

Specifically, regarding the reduction of working hours, he noted that reconciliation and achieving “balance between family life and work life” were “essential,” but insisted that we must “maintain competitiveness.”

As he points out, it’s about “balance” and “keeping several dishes going at the same time.” “So, within that, if we’re family businesses, if we don’t take care of matchmaking and all that kind of stuff, who’s going to do it? Like I said, we have to be competitive because, if we don’t have anything to match up with,” he noted. “There’s nothing like sitting on a bench and watching the sunrise.”

When asked whether they thought this measure was good or bad, he replied that “it depends” and that we would have to see cases where “the day could go one way or it could go another way.”

Sendagorta explained that everyone has an interest in companies being “competitive, those that come to terms and those that do not,” and noted that everyone has an interest “in that,” but insisted that it is not important for business alone and “it is not a battle.”

“This should not be a conflict between the state, between the government, or between businessmen. We all have to have the same goal, and the goal is for our companies to be competitive, and for us to be competitive, we also have to care about our people,” he added. “This affects the workday and all these things as well, among many other things.”

Regarding whether he believes that shortening the workday can reduce productivity, he noted that “we will have to see” because “there are people who can complete their work in less time in one way and others in another way.” “There are things that are not all mathematics, and that is the case. We will have to see whether this is a good alternative or whether or not some extended working days are appropriate. We will have to see the cases,” he concluded.