PRESS RELAESES

PIMEC asks the new Government for a favourable environment for SMEs to survive the current economic crisis. The employers' organisation also states that the most important priority for the Catalonian manufacturing and business community is to ensure the SMEs are seen to be the economic and social boosters, and the main generator of jobs in this country. This is confirmed by the fact that SMEs represent 99.8% of businesses in Catalonia, 72.3% of workers in the private sector and 63% of the Catalonian GAV.

In this sense, the employers’ organisation asks for the Catalonian Government not to behave as the Spanish Government, which has not taken into account the SMEs in the meeting which was held with entrepreneurs with the intention of analysing the current economic situation.

Secondly, the employers’ organisation states that in order to create employment and for the SMEs to recover and grow, it is essential that the SMEs and self-employed workers have access to credit. In this sense, it believes that the Catalan Institute of Finance must increase its resources and that Avalis must promote its role as Mutual Guarantee Company.

These priorities are gathered in the PIMEC Proposals which the employers’ organisation has provided to all political parties with parliamentary representation. Among the necessary measures, the Government must also face the following aspects quickly:

• Simplify and reduce the different levels of Catalonian Administration 
• Simplify the administrative procedures and the law 
• Develop a labour law which is adequate for SMEs 
• Create specific innovation programmes for SMEs 
• Apply the Arrears Law.