• The president of the employer's association of the Social Economy, Juan Antonio Pedreño, proposed to the minister “that CEPES be consulted in the round of meetings that the Government has begun for the reconstruction, since we are a business agent at the highest level and companies of Social Economy can contribute a lot to that debate ”.
• Yolanda Díaz announced at the meeting the immediate creation of the Social Economy Dialogue Table, while also announcing that the Council of Ministers approved two CEPES proposals in favor of cooperatives and labor companies.
• The Minister promised to promote and defend the European Action Plan for the Social Economy before Europe and to resume talks with the 16 EU Governments that are part of the Monitoring Group of countries that are committed to the Social Economy, and that Spain currently presides.
• Pedreño specified that "the Social Economy is and will be a key actor in the response to this crisis", and stated that "without solidarity there will be no possible future, and we will do everything possible to support and contribute to the reconstruction and recovery of Spain "
• CEPES delivered a report to the Minister that includes 341 initiatives and actions of the Social Economy before COVID-19.
Madrid, April 22, 2020 .- The Board of Directors of the Spanish Business Confederation of Social Economy, CEPES, has proposed, in a meeting held with the Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz , an active presence of the Social Economy in the pacts for the economic and social reconstruction of Spain.
CEPES President, Juan Antonio Pedreño , stressed that “the Social Economy is and will be an essential actor in the response to this crisis, so it must work together with the rest of business and union actors in the economic and social reconstruction of Spain. and Europe, since we can contribute a lot to that debate ”.
For this reason, Pedreño expressly requested the minister that "CEPES be consulted in the round of meetings that the Government has begun for the reconstruction, since we are a business agent at the highest level and Social Economy companies can contribute much to that debate " In this sense, he recalled that in Spain there are about 43,000 social economy companies that represent 12.5% of employment and with a turnover of around 10% of GDP ”.
Pedreño explained to the Minister the key role of Social Economy companies in the urgent response to this crisis, working on the front line and showing their values and principles, solidarity being one of them. The President of CEPES stressed that “without solidarity there will be no possible future, and we will do everything possible to support and contribute to the reconstruction and recovery of Spain.
In addition, the CEPES Board of Directors presented the minister with a series of very specific proposals regarding DUAL Vocational Training and the need to reinforce it, since it will be a key element in recovery. Another important topic of the debate held focused on the change in the production model, which involves strengthening the industrial sector and moving towards a different economic model, more sustainable, with values and in any case different from the current one.
The president of CEPES stressed that "favorable times are coming for the Social Economy, not only in Spain, but also in Europe, which is strongly betting on the Social Economy, in short, towards a new productive model, with values, sustainable and with the people in the center ”.
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Yolanda Díaz: "We are entering the moment of the Social Economy"
During the meeting, Yolanda Díaz pointed out that "the Social Economy is a bulwark for the country and it must be placed in the institutional place it deserves." In addition, he added that "the pandemic has put the whole of society to the test and faces us with new challenges, and the Social Economy is reacting to the pandemic in accordance with its principles and values, key to democratic societies."
The minister recalled "that the Social Economy had an exemplary role in the previous crisis, and it will also do so in this one." In addition, he expressed his gratitude for the opportunity of the meeting with the top leaders of the Spanish Social Economy.
Díaz affirmed that “we are entering the moment of the Social Economy. It is time to reinforce its role, to consolidate it and, in particular, to make visible the enormous effort of the Spanish economy during this period to continue reinforcing its role in Europe, where it is already a benchmark ”.
The European Union's commitment to the Social Economy
Pedreño, who also chairs Social Economy Europe (SEE), specified that "Europe has put the Social Economy in its sights" and presented to the Minister the package of measures that the European Social Economy has presented to the Presidencies of the Commission, the Parliament and the Council of Europe. In it, an ambitious plan for economic recovery at the European level is requested, as well as a powerful multi-year plan until 2027 and mobilization of investments in innovative projects, where the Social Economy will have a fundamental role.
Furthermore, Pedreño recalled the mandate of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen , to the European Commissioner for Employment, Nicolas Schmit , to prepare a European Action Plan for the Social Economy, which currently represents 14% of GDP community and has 2.8 million companies.
For her part, the minister promised to promote and defend this Action Plan before Europe, to resume talks with the 16 EU governments that are part of the Monitoring Group of countries that are committed to the Social Economy, and which Spain presides over. right now
Table of the Social Economy
At the meeting, Minister Yolanda Díaz and the general director of Autonomous Work, Social Economy and Social Responsibility of Companies, Maravillas Espín , proposed to the Board of Directors of CEPES to immediately set up the Social Economy Table for economic reconstruction and social of Spain; and its next development was discussed.
CEPES proposals approved by the Council of Ministers
qThe Minister of Labor and Social Economy also specified that the Council of Ministers (on Tuesday, April 21) approved two proposals submitted by CEPES that show “their support for the Social Economy and our commitment to articulate mechanisms that guarantee their liquidity and the maintenance of their businesses. "
"First, we have taken the extraordinary measure that allows, on a temporary basis, to make flexible use of the cooperatives' promotion and education fund in order to mitigate the effects of COVID-19. This enables the option of using a mandatory reserve fund to provide liquidity to the cooperative at this time of need or to allocate it to fight the effects of COVID-19. This measure does nothing more than highlight the various internal systems for guaranteeing the survival of the entity characteristic of the coperational and that turns them into companies with greater capacity for resistance and survival during crises, ”explained the minister.
"On the other hand, we have taken the extraordinary measure that allows us to extend the term provided for in art. 1.2.b of Law 44/2015, on labor and investee companies, which extends the time available to labor companies owned by two partners to 50% from 36 to 48 months. This measure will only affect labor companies that started in 2017 and aims to ensure that in times of special economic difficulty, the qualification of a corporate option is lost and thus favor the consolidation of businesses with strong social commitment, "added Díaz. .
More than 340 Social Economy companies show their actions before the Covid-19
The President of CEPES delivered a report to the Minister, carried out with the collaboration of the 27 members of the Social Economy Association and its associated companies, which details the measures taken to combat COVID-19 carried out by 341 companies of this business model.
This report shows initiatives of all kinds of Social Economy companies, from large companies to SMEs and small enterprises, in all economic sectors. The CEPES president pointed out that “the report aims to send society a message of recognition, social responsibility, solidarity, improvement and the effort that this business model is carrying out in these days of national emergency. A people-centered business model ”.
The meeting was held in a constructive, positive, intense climate and where several lines of work have been agreed with the team led by the Minister, who has always been open to requests from the CEPES Board of Directors and who will leave. working and finalizing in the coming weeks.
