Spain Government’s express inspections ensuring strict Covid-19 protocols are met during lockdown sparks backlash from SMEs

SPAIN’S government has announced that it will carry out express inspections to ensure that all firms returning to work during the lockdown follow strict Covid-19 guidelines.

However, the announcement has sparked backlash from the country’s business associations, such as the Confederacion Empresarial de Organizaciones Empresariales (CEOE), because the government has not facilitated access to necessary materials cited in their guidelines, because of the current shortage of protective equipment.

The Ministry of Employment’s Yolanda Diez announced earlier today that there will be express inspections carried out at firms reopening today, to ensure that the government’s strict safety guidelines are being adhered to. However, many firms have announced that many of these measures simply can’t be met given the lack of safety material and equipment.

Iñigo Ferndandez de Mesa, the Vice President of Spain’s Confederation of Business Organisations (CEOE), has alerted the government to the fact that the majority – around 95 per cent – of small and medium businesses (SMEs/Pymes), can’t access these materials, which will therefore make it difficult for these businesses to reopen. He has also criticised the government for not helping SMEs to access these materials, which are in severe short supply.