No progress on working hours reduction

Negotiations between the Ministry of Labour, trade unions and employers on the implementation of the reduction of the working week to 37.5 hours have stalled. Its potential impact on the various economic sectors perpetuates a fruitless tug-of-war between these three actors.

The government’s proposal, with the approval of the trade unions, aims to reduce the legal limit on working hours from 40 to 37.5 hours per week in two phases: to 38.5 hours for the remainder of 2024 and to a maximum of 37.5 hours per week in 2025. This reduction in working time would not have to entail a reduction in pay.

If the proposal for the new working hours is finally implemented, it will, in theory, affect around 70% of the working population in Spain who are employed by others, equivalent to some 16.1 million workers, according to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) for the first quarter of 2024.

In practice, however, although the current legal limit is 40 hours, the average effective working day in Spain is already 37.7 hours for full-time jobs. Therefore, according to the Labour Force Survey (EPA), this measure would affect some 8 million workers who currently work more than 37.5 hours a week.

It has the general support of the population

According to surveys, 80% of the working population in Spain are in favour of a reduction in working hours if it does not involve a reduction in pay. While 70% would still be in favour even if it meant a reduction in pay.

On the other hand, almost two out of every three SMEs and the self-employed, 58.8%, believe that it would not be beneficial. Among the reasons they articulate for this position, 40% state that it does not fit the profile of the company, 17.1% believe that productivity will fall and 10.1% believe that it will cause economic problems.

A familiar pattern of negotiations repeats itself

As happened when the reduction of the working week to 40 hours in 1983 came into force, the new proposal has met with the employers’ refusal. Represented by the CEOE and Cepyme, it is repeating, albeit in more politically correct terms, what it said more than 40 years ago: if people want to work less, they will have to earn less. He argues that reducing working hours would increase personnel costs and affect the competitiveness of companies.

For their part, the CCOO and UGT trade unions show their support for the measure, even so, frustrated by the lack of progress towards a satisfactory agreement, the CCOO’s secretary for trade union action, Mª Cruz Vicente, has warned that “If the negotiations do not progress, we will call for demonstrations”.

In this context, the Ministry of Labour is willing to facilitate a gradual implementation adapted to the needs of different economic sectors. At the same time, the government insists that reducing working hours will be implemented, although it is willing to negotiate the details and deadlines.

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La pujada generalitzada de preus està complicant les finances de moltes llars. Cada vegada és més difícil quadrar els comptes per a arribar a final de mes i encara més dedicar una part dels nostres ingressos a l’estalvi. Davant aquesta situació, recollim onze consells per a millorar l’economia familiar.

1. Aplicar la fòrmula del 50/30/20. Es tracta d’intentar distribuir els nostres ingressos de forma que el 50 % es dediqui a les despeses (llum, aigua, lloguer, hipoteca, telèfon, menjar, estudis…), el 30 % al nostre oci (les nostres sortides en esmorzars o dinars fora de casa, vacances, regals…) i el 20% restant a l’estalvi.
2. Retallar subscripcions innecessàries. A quantes plataformes digitals estem subscrits? Les fem servir totes? Cal que les continuem pagant? I aquella subscripció a aquella revista que mai acabem llegint? Totes les subscripcions automàtiques s’han de revisar per valorar si són necessàries. Avui en dia existeixen diferents plataformes amb contingut en línia que són legals i gratuïtes, només cal fer una ullada per Internet per trobar-les. I recordem que les biblioteques també són una gran font de llibres i contingut audiovisual.
3. Revisar els nostres contractes de llum, gas i telèfon. Cal revisar amb molta cura els contractes que tenim amb les diferents companyies de serveis. És una de les partides on més diners se’ns en van sense adonar-nos al cap de l’any. No podem prescindir d’aquestes despeses, però sí reduir-les.
4. Fer més àpats a casa. Reduir les vegades que sortim a menjar fora de casa o que comprem menjar per emportar-nos pot arribar a ser una molt bona font d’estalvi. No cal deixar d’anar als restaurants, però sí reduir la quantitat d’àpats que fem fora de casa, i més si som una casa de família nombrosa.
5. Reutilitzar. Quan una cosa se’ns faci malbé, mirem si podem reparar-la i allargar-ne la vida abans de llençar-la a les escombraries. També és una bona eina d’estalvi comprar roba de segona mà, llibres, mobles i fins i tot electrodomèstics.
6. No comprar impulsivament. Una de les raons principals per les quals no fem un bon ús dels nostres diners són les compres compulsives. A partir d’ara, quan vulguem una cosa, donem-nos un marge de temps per saber si de veritat la necessitem. Ens sorprendrà comprovar que podem prescindir de gran part de les coses que volem comprar a cop de targeta.
7. Comparar preus. Quantes vegades ens ha passat que comprem un telèfon mòbil, per dir un exemple, i l’endemà veiem una oferta del mateix producte en una altra botiga? Això ens passa per no comparar. Hem d’aprendre a comparar tot el que comprem, fins i tot el menjar.
8. Fer servir menys el cotxe. Tot i que molta gent no pot prescindir del transport privat, sí que en podem reduir l’ús. Mirem d’utilitzar el transport públic o compartir cotxe si és possible. I fem ús també de la bicicleta, i sobretot, de les nostres cames, que caminar és sa i gratuït.
9. Escollir una bona entitat financera. Són necessàries totes les nostres targetes de crèdit? Quines comissions ens cobra la nostra entitat financera? Revisem si aquesta entitat financera ens ajuda a tenir una bona economia personal, o si, per contra, cal que fem un canvi. Actualment, hi ha moltes entitats financeres amb eines que ajuden a controlar les teves despeses i que alhora et donen un cop de mà per estalviar: escollim una bona entitat financera pel nostre futur.
10. Adaptar-nos a la nostra butxaca. Si ingressem una certa quantitat de diners, no fem més del que la nostra economia es pot permetre. No cal “estirar més el braç que la màniga”, com diem els catalans. Fem un ús responsable dels nostres diners segons els nostres guanys.
11. Ser previsors. Hem d’analitzar l’evolució de les nostres despeses en els últims mesos per comprovar en què se’ns va els diners i on podem retallar. Davant l’actual situació inflacionària, en alguns casos serà necessari aplicar una “economia de guerra” segons com estimem que evolucionaran els nostres ingressos i despeses.
12. Ja fa dies que sabem que els diners no fan la felicita. Però podem aportar estabilitat a la nostra economia personal per evitar-nos disgustos. A més, en aquests temps d’incerteses econòmiques, val la pena recordar la frase que ens va deixar el filòsof Sèneca: “No és pobre qui té poc, sinó qui molt desitja”.

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ACCIÓ has recognised this year’s 10 most innovative companies with the Catalonia Exponential Leaders’ award. They specialise in artificial intelligence, robotics and blockchain technologies, and are focused on revolutionising the fields of health, mobility, energy and food.

To give visibility to start-ups and companies that challenge established norms and reshape themselves through innovation, the Agency for Business Competitiveness (ACCION) organises the event known as ‘Catalonia Exponential Leaders’ every year.

In this year’s edition, a total of 213 projects were presented, of which 74% are emerging companies or start-ups and the rest are consolidated companies. The 10 chosen companies specialise in sectors and fields such as health and life sciences, mobility, energy, and food.

1. BlindStairs. The platform proposed by BlindStairs works like an ‘anonymous Linkedin’. Its innovation begins with its anonymisation methodology, with a proprietary system of specialised AI models to anonymise professional profiles, to a level that until now has been unfeasible to automate and scale, eliminating any type of bias by gender, age or any other socio-demographic factor.
2. Cuatrecasas. The Cuatrecasas law firm has been working in the field of generative artificial intelligence since 2015. Grouped under the CELIA division (Cuatrecasas Legal Expert – AI), they have enabled the firm to improve the quality, efficiency, and impact of its legal services. For example, the Harvey project, a digital legal assistant capable of answering legal questions and making legal comparisons and strategies, already has more than 1,000 users.
3. Magnetika. This company offers a new wireless charging solution for electric vehicles, such as electric bicycles, urban vehicles, mobile robots or drones. New wireless charging solutions are changing the market, offering a more efficient, convenient and sustainable alternative to conventional wired or contact charging.
4. Navozyme. Leading the transformation of the maritime industry with disruptive solutions that use blockchain technology to introduce pioneering electronic certificates, ensuring data integrity and real-time verification of documentation during port processes. In addition, thanks to the use of artificial intelligence to analyse data in real-time, Navozyme optimises the arrival of ships in port, reducing waiting times and minimising the carbon footprint.
5. Ocean Ecostructures. Ocean Ecostructures has developed a technological solution to offset the impact of port and offshore structures by regenerating marine biodiversity. This solution is based on the installation of biomimetic, multi-technological and digitally monitored micro-shells (LBU) using robotic technology and AI.
6. Oniria Therapeutics. Oniria Therapeutics is focused on the fight against cancer by offering an innovative approach to the oncology market with the oral drug ONR-001 (currently at TRL 4/5). This drug achieves, for the first time, over-activation of TET2, an essential tumour suppressor and dynamic factor that modulates many aspects of the tumour cell related to cancer persistence. It aims to reduce patient relapse or persistence and resistance to current treatments, which are responsible for 90% of cancer deaths.
7. ScentXP. The technologies developed by ScentXp aim to reinvent the olfactory industry, starting with perfumery and cosmetics, transforming the industry’s value chain by orienting it towards digitalisation, sustainability, visualisation and graphic representation of odours, making it more democratic, transparent and accessible.
8. Suara Cooperativa. Suara Cooperativa’s Social Digital Lab is implementing new services to improve people’s mental and physical health and wellbeing, using immersive and virtual reality. These services are materialised thanks to collaboration in three areas and between three actors: the social axis, Social digital Lab, the technological axis, Broomx, and the scientific axis, Consorci Sanitari de Terrassa.
9. Time Is Brain. For every hour it takes to receive treatment for a stroke, the chances of recovery fall by 20%. In this context, Time Is Brain has developed BraiN20, a medical device in the form of an easy-to-install tablet that uses sensors to monitor the brain’s viability in real-time.
10. Uobo. Despite the exponential growth experienced in recent years in terms of alternatives to animal products, there is little in the way of products that can replace chicken eggs. Uobo markets a 100% vegetable liquid egg mixture that offers the same versatility as traditional eggs and makes it possible to prepare all kinds of dishes without having to resort to the exploitation of animals.

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Money laundering operations by criminal organisations can involve businesses the public administration and large banks working together to give a legal appearance to money obtained illegally. Juan Carlos Galindo, an expert in the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, explains the mechanisms money launderers use.

Almost three-quarters of criminal networks in the European Union use some form of money laundering to finance their operations and hide their assets. These transactions are estimated to have a total value of between 117 and 210 billion euros in the EU.

The main purpose of money laundering is to legalise the proceeds of criminal activity. It can be a relatively simple process carried out locally or nationally, or a very sophisticated process involving numerous intermediaries in several jurisdictions using the international financial system.

In an interview on the “ConPdePodcast” programme, Juan Carlos Galindo, an expert in the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, describes in detail how money is laundered. He begins by explaining the possible origins of this term: one that attributes the concept to Al Capone, who bought a chain of laundromats to use them as a legal front to recycle the money obtained from his criminal activities and another that mentions a Colombian method of counterfeiting American banknotes.

Galindo explains that there are three stages in money laundering – placement, transformation, and integration – and gives some practical examples:

1. Placement: This represents the first step in integrating the proceeds of crime into the legitimate financial system. This can be done through shell businesses, such as restaurants or cafés, which appear to have legitimate income.

2. Transformation: Layering or transformation involves converting the money into various financial or real estate assets to distance its illicit origin. This includes buying stocks, bonds, property and other assets through different companies.

3. Integration: The third and final stage of the laundering process aims to bring the money back into the market as apparently licit capital, allowing the criminal to make use of this money without arousing suspicion.

11Onze is the community fintech of Catalonia. Open an account by downloading the app El Canut for Android or iOS and join the revolution!

In contrast to inflation, deflation is an economic phenomenon characterised by a generalised and sustained fall in the prices of goods and services. While this may initially seem like good news for consumers because it increases their purchasing power, it can negatively affect the economy.

Inflation is an economic concept linked to the evolution of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) that almost everyone is familiar with, but what do we know about deflation? Contrary to inflation, deflation or negative inflation is a generalised and sustained decline – for at least two semesters – in the prices of goods and services.

Deflation is often associated with economic crises and recessions. It occurs when the supply of goods and services in an economy exceeds demand, forcing companies to cut prices to sell production and avoid accumulating large amounts of stocks.

In principle, lower prices may seem to be a good thing, since it will lead to a price adjustment that favours consumers. In other words, if wages are maintained, people’s purchasing power increases. But it can also generate a vicious circle of falling prices, leading to a reduction in spending and causing consumption and investment to stagnate, resulting in lower economic growth and higher unemployment.

Negative effects of deflation on the economy

Deflation can discourage consumption: if we believe that the price of a product will continue to fall, we will postpone our purchasing decision in the expectation of a better price. Therefore, if this sentiment is maintained over time and all consumers postpone their purchasing decisions, businesses will be forced to continue lowering the prices of their products due to the lack of sales. This effect is known as a deflationary spiral.

This will lead to lower profits for businesses, which will have to cut costs, so they will tend to also cut wages or lay off workers, causing unemployment to rise. Thus, deflation can create or worsen a recession, triggering long-lasting economic crises.

On the other hand, asset prices, such as stocks and real estate, may also fall during periods of deflation, negatively affecting the net worth of individuals and firms. This effect can make it more difficult to service debts by increasing the real burden of debt, which could lead to households and firms being unable to meet their obligations.

That is why central banks aim for price stability in their monetary policy and control of the money supply, aiming for inflation of around 2%. These measures are implemented to mitigate the possibility of deflation and thus avoid having to inject money into the economy to increase the money supply, reducing the value of money to raise prices.

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A study shows that the benefits of biodiversity are equivalent to twice the global GDP.

No country has achieved the diversity targets set by the Convention on Biological Diversity, with a deadline in 2020. We now face a funding gap of more than $700 billion by 2030, warns the UN Secretary General. 

That is why 2021 has to be the year for reconciliation between humanity and nature. So far we have been destroying our planet, we have been abusing it as if we had a spare one, our current resource consumption requires almost two planets, but we only have one. If we compare the history of the earth to a calendar year, we have used one third of those natural resources in the last 0.2 seconds.  

Actions such as air, land, and water pollution have provoked a counter-attack by nature that is evident in record temperatures, the collapse of diversity, the spread of deserts and in the numerous and increasingly dangerous extreme events such as fires, floods, and hurricanes.

A planet for biodiversity 

Biodiversity or biological diversity is, according to the International Convention on Biological Diversity, the term that refers to the wide variety of living things on Earth and what happens to the natural patterns that shape them. They are the result of billions of years of evolution according to natural processes and also the increasing influence of human activities. Biodiversity also includes the variety of ecosystems and genetic differences within each species that allows the combination of multiple life forms. The mutual interactions with the rest of the environment make the sustainment of life on earth possible.

Biodiversity is an essential basis for our economic well-being. While industrial production is currently one of the main causes of pressure on biodiversity, such as land use, overexploitation or pollution, businesses in all sectors can also be key drivers of biodiversity conservation. All stakeholders now need to work together to integrate the value of biodiversity into our decision-making and develop solutions that harmonise nature and economic growth.

Biodiversity in business

Many companies are not willing to let company growth come at the expense of people and the planet. For this reason, they are changing the way business is done. Internal plans have been carried out to help create a world in which we can all live well within the natural limits of the planet. By using resources to address issues such as health and hygiene, gender equality, climate change and plastic packaging waste, long and short-term benefits to society are being generated. 

In 2010 many companies started to be sustainably conscious, the impact that all these changes have made is quite significant: costs and risks have been reduced, and of course, the most important value, to build trust in the consumer. 

Danone, for example, is acting against climate change, biodiversity loss and water scarcity. It is reducing its carbon footprint with the aim of achieving zero emissions by 2050. Beyond its production sites, it is working towards these goals in areas where it shares responsibility, especially in agriculture, promoting regenerative agriculture to protect soil, water and biodiversity, promoting animal welfare and empowering a new generation of farmers.

It also has its own policies and tools aimed at promoting biodiversity:

• An example of this is its forestry policy, where it makes a statement of intent to eliminate deforestation from its supply chain and contribute to reforestation.
• Or the fund dedicated to promoting its local ecosystems, the Danone Ecosystem Fund, which supports the company’s projects with a social purpose. This is the case of Renueva, a Danone Aguas waste management and revaluation system which, together with other partners, works to recycle out-of-home consumer packaging, and has a plant in Barcelona Montcada i Reixac.

 17 goals to transform the world

The United Nations has created 17 goals to transform our world. The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint for a sustainable future for all. They are interrelated and incorporate the global challenges we face every day, such as poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, peace, and justice. 

In order to leave no one behind, it is important that we achieve each of these goals by 2030:

1. End poverty
2. Zero hunger 
3. Health and well-being 
4. Quality education
5. Gender equality
6. Clean water and sanitation
7. Affordable and clean energy
8. Decent work and economic growth 
9. Industry, innovation, and infrastructure
10. Reducing inequalities
11. Sustainable cities and communities
12. Responsible production and consumption
13. Climate action
14. Undersea life
15. Life of terrestrial ecosystems
16. Peace, justice and strong institutions
17. Partnerships to achieve their goals

And this is our daily goal and that of business too. There will probably be many companies that will put this into practice anonymously. Other companies will post on their website the development plans and all the changes they have made; some examples are: Cepsa, Decathlon, Ferrovial, San Miguel Mahou, Iberdrola, Unilever, Danone, among others. 

Biodiversity is part of progress

We have to demystify the idea that biodiversity is synonymous with increasing costs, but quite the opposite. They go hand in hand together with the economy. Thanks to these gestures and changes, not only will we be able to reduce costs, but we will also have a healthier, more sustainable and better life for future generations. 

A documentary not to be missed is “David Attenborough: A Life on our Planet”, in which the renowned naturalist reflects on both the defining moments of his life and the devastating changes he has witnessed. The documentary is available on the Netflix platform and addresses some challenges of life on our planet. He explains how much ground the natural world has lost globally in less than a century, he witnesses the change in nature in his more than 50 years of work, and notes that the world is a unique and spectacular wonder. Moreover, Attenborough sends a message of hope to future generations, revealing the solutions to save our planet from disaster.

We can start with the famous 7 R’s: Recycle, Reuse, Reduce, Redesign, Repair, Renew and Recover. Among all of us, we can achieve it. Do you want to be part of this change? 

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Southeast Asia has long been observing BRICS’ expansion from the sidelines, but in recent months, more and more ASEAN countries are considering joining the group in search of new trade opportunities and as a hedge against geopolitical risks.

BRICS, which stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is a term that was supposedly coined by a Goldman Sachs economist to refer to emerging economies. Initially as BRIC, with the “S” added later when South Africa formally joined the group in 2010.

From these five original members, the intergovernmental organisation has expanded to ten, adding Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to the group now known as BRICS+. The different member countries hold the presidency on a rotating one-year basis, with the presiding country leading the annual summit.

The popularity of this multipolar force that aims to redefine the international political and economic order, hitherto dominated by organisations created by Western powers that have often looked after their own interests while neglecting the needs of developing economies, has been reflected in the more than 40 countries that have expressed interest in joining the grouping.

For many years, Southeast Asia, a vital region of the Global South, has been largely absent from the BRICS. This is about to change after watching closely as the economic partnership has become the world’s largest gross domestic product (GDP) bloc, contributing 31.5% of global GDP.

Diversification and new trade opportunities

Beyond GDP, BRICS+ represent 45% of the world’s population, 25% of world trade and a great opportunity for developing economies that want to diversify their economic and political alliances in an increasingly multipolar world.

Malaysia and Thailand are the latest Southeast Asian nations to apply to join the enlarged BRICS group, while other nations such as Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Indonesia have also expressed interest in joining this association of emerging economies.

China has been Malaysia and Thailand’s largest trading partner for over a decade, so for these nations to join the BRICS is a natural progression of their good relations with the Asian giant. According to James Chin, Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Tasmania, “Both Thailand and Malaysia are seen as middle powers. It is better for them to join groups like the BRICS to have more of a voice on the international stage. But the biggest benefit will be trade.

On the other hand, Washington’s increasing antagonism with the use of economic sanctions against China, Russia or any other country that challenges its economic and geopolitical hegemony is causing public opinion to turn against the US. According to the latest State of Southeast Asia 2024 survey by the Yusof Ishak Institute (SSEA), a majority of respondents conclude that, if forced to choose, they would prefer ASEAN to align with China rather than the US.

This represents a reversal of the trends of previous years, which saw greater regional support for alignment with the US. At the very least, it is a clear example that the BRICS are not just a purely economic grouping, as some parties claim, but have become a major player in the global geopolitical chess game, with China and Russia increasingly influential to the detriment of the established Western powers.

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The low yields still offered by bank deposits and the low interest paid in the latest auction of Treasury Bills are not enough to offset inflation, which in Catalonia remained at 3.6% in June. What other options are there to offset the price rises and protect our savings?

After experiencing a third consecutive rise in prices, inflation in Catalonia stagnated in June and remained at 3.6%, according to data published last Friday by the National Statistics Institute (INE). This is the same year-on-year variation recorded in May and two-tenths of a percentage point above the national average.

In this context, the enthusiasm for buying Treasury Bills experienced since December 2023 by retail investors seeking to offset inflation and make their savings more profitable than the low remuneration offered by large banks for deposits, is not being compensated as expected.

In the latest auction of Treasury bills, which took place at the beginning of the month, the Treasury paid an average interest rate of 3.4% for one-year bills and 3.3% for the six-month benchmark. Moreover, the consensus among experts is that the yield on Treasury Bills will fall even further in the coming months, as the official price of money falls.

On the other hand, Spanish banks still do not offer deposits with interest rates that compensate for rising prices. To find the few European banks with deposit accounts that match or exceed inflation, we have to look beyond Spain. This is the case of the Lithuanian bank, Mando Bank (3.66%), or Latvia’s BluOr Bank (3.65%).

High returns with low-risk

As a general rule, investments that offer high returns come with high risk, while low-risk investments offer more stable, but potentially lower, returns. However, at 11Onze we have shown that this does not always have to be the case.

Saving with 11Onze is always based on one maxim: they have to be safe propositions. That is why we have made a firm commitment to gold, because of its historic role as a store of value. This precious metal not only represents a useful and effective way to diversify our savings and investments, but it can also help us to obtain liquidity in case of need.

At Preciosos 11Onze we offer gold bars in two formats: Gold Patrimony and Gold Seed. Bearing in mind that gold has doubled in value in the last five years and that its price rose by 15% in 2023, it has consolidated itself as an excellent option for dealing with inflation.

Earning money at the banks’ expense

Social justice does not have to be at odds with making a profit on your savings. Thanks to Litigation Funding, you can help others who have been abused by banks or the government while earning returns of between 9% and 11% on your money.

It is a product that has been structured exclusively for members of the 11Onze community, offering two ways to participate: an option that returns your capital and possible profits after one year, or another option in which your capital works for a few years and provides you with a monthly return in six months.

Almost 100% of Litigation Funding’s clients have reinvested their money in the same product. Considering that the capital is 100% insured and that it has had a 100% success rate in litigation since its launch just over a year ago, you have no excuse for having your savings standing still!

Preciosos 11Onze makes it easy to buy gold, at the best price and with total security. Give us a call and speak to one of our agents without compromise to clarify any doubts you may have and protect yourself from economic crises with the ultimate safe-haven asset: physical gold!

Despite the increase in the tax burden, the Tax Agency has collected 55% less than it had planned to collect and 34% less than in the previous year. What explains the final result and the discrepancy between forecasts?

Although 24,013,000 million tax returns have been completed, 4.9% more than last year, the Tax Agency has collected less than half of what it had planned at the start of the 2023 Income Tax Campaign.

According to elEconomista‘s analysis of the official data, a total of 16.2 million returns have resulted in a refund of 13,576 million euros, compared to the 11,650 million that had been expected. Therefore, taking into account the lower collection and the increase in the amount to be returned, the net collection will be 3,216 million euros, 55% less than the 7,258 million euros expected to be paid this year and 34% less than the 4,900 million euros collected in 2022.

These figures may seem contradictory when taking into account the increase in the tax burden and the fact that the Spanish economy grew by 2.5% in 2023, five times higher than the eurozone average. Specifically, domestic demand accounted for 1.7 points of growth in 2023, while external demand accounted for the remaining 0.8%. So how can this drop in revenue be explained in the face of GDP growth and tax rises?

Has the data been manipulated?

Marc Vidal, technology and economic analyst, has examined the results and points out that the government’s forecasts are unreliable, as they are based on data that do not reflect reality: “The tendency to manipulate the data to make them look more favourable generates serious distortions, and this is a clear example of it”.

On the other hand, Vidal does not rule out the possibility that the increase in taxes is stifling people. “It is possible that the higher tax burden and the increase in taxes are reducing the capacity of Spaniards to generate wealth or invest, which in turn reduces the final tax collection”. A fact confirmed by the latest report presented by the Institute of Economic Studies (IEE), according to which the tax burden in Spain is almost 18% higher than the European Union average. This places Spain among the OECD economies with the highest taxation, in 31st position out of the 38 countries analysed.

This situation can end up hurting economic activity, so that tax revenues and refunds are not spent on goods, services or investments, but rather on survival. As the analyst warns: “A government that does not know how to reduce the size of the administration and believes that everything can be solved by raising taxes will only amplify this disconnect between what it wants to receive and what can be given”.

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We have heard many times that management salaries are above what is reasonable and fair. That, in fact, the differences between the highest and lowest paid in a company cannot be infinite. And in fact they should be very finite and limited. It is unreasonable to think that in a company there has to be someone who has infinitely more responsibility than the rest of the workers. But if we look at reality, we see that we accept the opposite. And is that a good thing?

If we look at companies that have gone bankrupt mainly because of the irresponsible actions of a few, we see that in general they cannot be made to pay back what they have taken, or repair what they have damaged. In some cases certain liabilities can be criminally prosecuted, but these are minimal, as excessive greed or greed does not appear to be a criminal offence in the criminal code. In fact, being greedy (but calling it ambitious), is behaviour that is quite generally encouraged in companies.

But it is not always the case that the negligent manager is driven by greed when he or she engages in behaviour that can lead to disaster. And often these behaviours and decisions of people in charge of high-risk situations cannot be detected in time to avoid undesirable consequences. We could find recent cases, such as those where the economic future of people with retirement savings is at risk (bank failures) or, even more important, those cases where human lives could be lost (for example the recent case of the train accident that we have in mind these days).

More control, fewer problems?

We wonder how it can be that such essential matters are sometimes left in the hands of a single person, and that the negligence of a single person (due to excessive greed or possible carelessness) can be the sole cause of an unavoidable misfortune. These cases make us think about how the situation could be resolved in order to avoid such dire consequences. Could controls be put in place that would make it possible to avoid these consequences? And what should these controls be? But more importantly, does it make sense that certain decisions, actions, and behaviours are in the hands of a few managers? Is this the most effective way to exercise control in order to avoid what is not wanted at all?

It seems clear that in a system where those who have responsibility are rewarded too generously, and made responsible and infallible, it is not good for anyone. In the long term, not even for the manager himself, although in the short term it may seem so. It creates a false aspirational, pyramid-like motivation, where everyone wants to get to the top. But when they get there, they must be infallible: zero defects and no chance of failure. In case he has no bad faith, it can end very badly, if the consequences of his action or omission are disastrous.

And despite acting in bad faith, if he measures the consequences of the action well, and they are not punishable, he can wipe out the welfare of many people and go unpunished. And incorporating formal controls is not feasible, since creating controls that can foresee everything is not possible. So how can we do it? It seems that one way would be to foster a culture of co-responsibility. We can all be greedy, but if we all have to reach a goal together, and we have to support each other, the temptations are lessened. In the same way, human errors are compensated for, because it is possible for one person to be negligent or overconfident, but for all of us to be so at the same time, it seems more complicated. The pressure is reduced, checking on each other makes us more cautious, and also, and very importantly, we have to share the credit when things go well. This helps us to realise that one person alone will not get as far as a well-knit team.

Sharing to tap people’s potential

Organisations work best when people give their best and do so motivate beyond the salary they receive or the status they get at work. And they do their work without following the fine print of their employment contract, and therefore have an involvement that goes beyond their contractual obligations.

In times of difficulty, companies can succeed if workers have internal motivations that make them go beyond their obligations, providing that quality that cannot be measured, but which is key to creating a work climate that facilitates collaboration and where work can bring satisfaction to everyone. It seems utopian to say this, but it is clear to many employers that their companies work when people are valued in the workplace and can fulfil themselves professionally. And therefore, they actively encourage this atmosphere of trust where employees are willing to contribute that extra that is neither financially remunerated nor specified in an employment contract.

Solidarity has a spontaneous and voluntary nature. Encouraging it should be based on the recognition that the worker does it because he/she wants to, and that it has merit precisely because he/she does it that way. What is spontaneous on the part of the worker can be recognised. But it must be by recognising its spontaneous nature, never through an incentive associated with the fulfilment of an objective. This must be kept in mind so as not to lose that special quality that requires genuine recognition, without forcing it to be there.

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