Barcelona business group Foment del Treball is preparing a white paper on absenteeism in Catalonia, with publication due by mid-September. President Josep Sánchez Llibre says the plan is part of his new mandate and is aimed at improving productivity across the region.
The proposal focuses on a problem Foment says is costly for companies and the wider economy. Sánchez Llibre wants to cut the estimated €35 billion cost of absenteeism in 2025 by half, back to the €17.5 billion figure recorded in 2019. He also said Spain has a general absenteeism rate of 5.5%, compared with 2% in the European Union.
The white paper will be coordinated by Jordi García Viña, a professor of labour law. The team also includes Fernando Casado, president of Asepeyo, Pedro Pablo Sanz, director general of the mutual insurance company association Amat, Daniel Torró, CEO of Geseme, Antonio Salas, an expert from Amat in Madrid, lawyer Manel Silva, and Yesika Aguilar, Foment’s director of labour resources. The group plans to consult universities, trade unions and other civil society figures before drawing conclusions.
Sánchez Llibre also set out wider priorities for his mandate, including defending entrepreneurs and private property, keeping dialogue open with the Generalitat and the Spanish government, and pushing for tax cuts, better infrastructure, reindustrialisation and more affordable housing. He said absenteeism must be tackled with the help of trade unions and the Catalan Health Institute (ICS), and argued that some absences, especially from Friday to Monday, are a concern.
He criticised Catalonia’s tax burden, calling it too heavy for families and businesses, and said the region needs reforms to personal income tax, wealth tax, inheritance tax and gift tax. He also pointed to Rodalies commuter trains, used by 400,000 people a day, and said Catalonia still faces a €50 billion state investment deficit. Foment has repeatedly argued that unexecuted state investment should be transferred to the Generalitat.
On the wider economy, Sánchez Llibre said industrial GDP has fallen from 30% two decades ago to 20% now, and that Catalonia needs more reindustrialisation. He also said affordable housing is under pressure as the population reaches 8 million, blaming poor public management, a lack of land and legal uncertainty for builders and owners.
